tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84029982023091682742024-03-04T22:27:19.276-08:00Christ FellowshipLake Bridgeport, Tx Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.comBlogger418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-90464177476516094642021-07-27T14:09:00.005-07:002021-07-27T14:09:40.823-07:00Helmet of Salvation – Eph. 6:10-18<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, I did some research on goals this week and by “research”, I
mean I googled it, right? Here’s a couple of quotes that I found
about goals. <i>“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your
eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No
one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” </i>― <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/566.Paulo_Coelho">Paulo
Coelho</a> <i>“If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather
courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it
a reality.” </i>― <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5059226.Roopleen">Roopleen</a> <i>“Reach
high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the
goal.” </i>― <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/36913.Rabindranath_Tagore">Rabindranath
Tagore</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, what I learned from my “research” was that there are a lot
more people who are good at coming up with quotes than there are at achieving
goals. Do you know what the goal of our church is? It is
not something we voted on. The Leadership Team didn’t come up with
it. The goal of our church is to further the
Kingdom. That’s our goal because we are a church. If any
church has something else as their main goal then they are churching
wrong. We are not to try to further our church or ourselves but to
do whatever it takes to promote the Kingdom of God. That is the
Biblical model of the goal of the church and we continue to strive for that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">If that is our goal, then what do you think is the goal of the
enemy? In our series the last few weeks we have been seeing that our
battle to reach that goal is not against flesh and blood but against Satan and
his demons and all the dark forces of evil. What do you think their
goal is? Their overall goal is to hinder the
Kingdom. They want to kill it, make it go away, distract it,
whatever they can do to hinder the progress and the promotion of the Kingdom of
God, and they should. That’s a good plan for them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fortunately for us, we have the playbook of the
enemy. We have a powerful force in the canon of scripture and
especially in this passage we have been looking at over the past few weeks
in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Ephesians 6:10-18</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">. This helps us to understand the
schemes of Satan so we know not only what he has done in the past but we see
how to expect him to attack in the future and I will say again that I believe
that is one of the reasons why our church has been put to the test so often and
so hard lately is because Satan has had to up his game and he is ticked off
about us focusing on how to defeat him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are a lot of classic books on the art of war. </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Sun
Tzu</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> wrote a book by that very name that is popular with military
strategists. Almost all other big names in military strategy have
written books on how to be successful in battle. </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Hitler</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> had
Mein Kaumpf. </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Napolean, Ghengis Khan, Alexander the Great </b><span style="font-family: georgia;">and
</span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Hannibal</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> all had notes or writings explaining the best ways to be
victorious over the enemy. And do you know what they all considered
to be one of the most vital parts of military strategy? In fact, it
is part of the strategy used even in the latest wars the United States has
fought. It is the strategy of deception.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Deception. It is important to have the latest
technology and the largest force possible and to be well trained with an
excellent chain of command who communicate well but all these being equal, if
you can make your enemy think you are going to do one thing and you do another,
you can be victorious. If you can deceive them into thinking they
don’t have all the equipment they need or that you have more than you have; if
you can deceive them into thinking there is no way they can win; if you can
deceive them into thinking you are about to give up or that you are going to
the left and then you go right; whatever you can do to deceive your enemy will
benefit you, especially when you are overpowered.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, cue Satan. That is exactly where he
is. He is vastly overpowered and will resort to doing whatever he
can do to deceive us into thinking things that will give him an
edge. He knows that while he is more powerful than we are that we
are protected by and provided for by the Almighty God Himself. He
knows he is doomed. He has heard enough preaching over the years to
know how all of this is going to play out for him but he won’t go down without
a fight. He wants very much to do his worst in your life as a
Christian. He can’t stand you and would kill you in a second if God
removed His hand of grace from you. We have several ways to protect
ourselves from Satan, though, as we will continue to look at the armor of God
in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Ephesians 6:10-18</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">. Turn there now and read along.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><i><span style="color: #0070c0; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">10Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty
power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of
evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which
you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all
the LORD's people.</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="color: #0070c0; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i><span style="font-family: georgia;">We will be focusing on the first part of </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">verse 17</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> this
morning. We have looked previously at how to put on the belt, the
breastplate, the shoes and the shield. Today we are told to “take”
the helmet of salvation and I want us to look at 3 things as we study this
passage. I want to first look at </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">what the helmet of salvation is</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">
and then </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">how to put it on</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> and then </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">what it protects us from.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the typical Roman soldier that Paul was envisioning here, the
helmet was made of a leather inner liner with an outer shell made of brass or
other metal and for the officers it often had a plume or row of feathers on top
for show. Now, I guess if I was an officer I would have to follow
orders and wear a row of feathers on top of my helmet but for me that just
seems kind of silly. I’m too proud to wear something like that on my
head. When I wear a helmet, I want to look tough and
manly. I don’t want silly feathers on my motorcycle helmet, I can
assure you. So, that’s why when I wanted to dress up my helmet I
went for the natural look. What do you think? Yep, nothing
says, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">“Don’t mess with me”</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> like a real skunk
skin. It actually did save my life one time. I fell
asleep on a long motorcycle trip and when I woke up in the hospital the front
of the helmet was mashed together and there was rocks and gravel all in the
front of the pelt. There are also some scratches on the
side. Good helmet and pretty much one of a kind as far as I
know. And the skunk smell is almost gone so that’s good.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">But for us today in our battle against Satan, what does it mean to
put on the helmet of salvation. I think we can get a little better
view of what Paul was talking about by reading another of his references to the
helmet of salvation in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">I Thessalonians 5:8</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> where he
says, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on
faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a
helmet.” </i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> You see here he says it is the hope of salvation but he
is not talking about hoping that we are saved. It is what is alluded
to in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Romans 13:11</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, when he says, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">"now is our
salvation nearer than when we first believed."</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It is, says </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">1
Peter 1:5</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">"a salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Note that this salvation is a hope. Paul says in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Romans
8:24-25</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">"if we see what we hope for, then it is not really
hope. For who of us hopes for something we see?"</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> In other words,
hope looks to something we do not see or have rather than for something we
already see and have. This is not the same kind of hope as hoping that it
doesn’t rain or hoping something good will come on TV. This is a
confident hope.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, the salvation of our helmet is something yet future, something as yet not
possessed or not fully entered into. It is referring to a salvation that is to
be ours when Christ comes again. <b>Hebrews 9:28</b>, <i>"Christ…shall
appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who
eagerly await Him."</i> In short, we can say that the salvation that
we hope to receive when Jesus comes again is, as it is stated in <b>Titus
1:2</b>, <i>"the hope of eternal life, which God, Who cannot lie,
promised long ages ago."<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, we have seen what the helmet of salvation is. We
have seen that we will be victorious through Jesus. We have seen
that we have a lot to look forward to. We have seen that salvation
is ours to come. Now let’s look at how to put it on. When
I put on that skunk helmet I always fasten the chin strap tight so the helmet
doesn’t fall off. You can test it by pulling on it and see that it
won’t come loose. It is the same with the helmet of
salvation. We are told about it in the Bible and you all told me
last week that you believe the Bible and it has been tested throughout all of
history and has proven itself to be true and faithful.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now the option is to rely on what you think or feel which may well
be corrupted by the great deceiver, Satan. How many times have you
felt something that turned out to be false? Sometimes you may have a
gut feeling that helps you but oftentimes our feelings get us into
trouble. Have the prophesies of your feelings come true since the
beginning of time? The Bible’s prophecies have. Have your
feelings proved themselves reliable in every way every time? The
Bible has.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Satan loves for us to act based on our feelings. We’ve seen that
the weapons that he aims at us are intended to attack our minds and our
emotions and to try to get us to be discouraged and to doubt. And since our
feelings are certainly impacted by the circumstances of life, they change all
the time as our circumstances change. But God’s Word never changes. So, if we
base our hope on His Word, our hope will be consistent and we won’t be tossed
around by our feelings. In fact, one of the reasons God has given us His
written Word is so that we can know without a doubt that our salvation is
secure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><b style="font-family: georgia;">1 John 5:13</b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> says, <i>“I write these things to
you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you
have eternal life.”</i> John was writing to followers of Jesus so
that they could know without any doubt whatsoever that they have eternal
life. That’s how you put the helmet on, by knowing, through that shield
of faith, that you, as a believer have eternal life in heaven with Jesus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you’re like me, it might help to have some examples of people
who have shown us in the past how to put on the helmet of salvation; how we
actually do it and what it looks like. If we are to take the helmet
of salvation as Paul says with the expectant hope of our future salvation, I
want to see how to do it. Those are real pretty words but until we
can apply them to our lives in action then that is all they are.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">First stop is </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Psalm 28</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">. Most of you know
that David is one of my favorite biblical characters. I love David
because while he was king and a man after God’s own heart, he was also very
human and had terrible heartbreaks in his life and we can all learn from his example
how to survive difficult times. He was going through one of those
difficult times when he wrote Psalm 28. Read 1-2 and 7-8.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #002060; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a
deaf ear to me.<br />
For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit.<br />
2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands<br />
toward your Most Holy Place. </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In these first two verses he calls out to God
and says, <i>“If you don’t answer and solve this problem, I will
die.” </i> But then in verses 7-8 (<b>before</b> God answers his
prayer) he says, <i><span style="color: #002060;">7. The Lord is my strength and
my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and
with my song I praise him. 8 The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress
of salvation for his anointed one.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">David had every reason to be depressed and
discouraged. And he doesn’t try to cover over his hurt with fake
smiles and plastic platitudes but at the same time he knows that God and God
alone is his salvation. He doesn’t know when it will come. He
knows it may get darker yet, but ultimately he knows, because he has a
relationship with the Lord, that he will be saved and that brings him joy and
strength.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have another example of how to put on the helmet of salvation
and I think this one is pretty good as well. It should be pretty
good since it is shown to us by the words and actions of Jesus as recalled
in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">Hebrews 12:2</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">How
is that possible?! How could Jesus, being God but at the same time
being all man, endure the outrageous, off the charts physical pain and the
emotional distress of taking on all of our sins and endure it with
joy? Because He knew what salvation was like! He knew
what heaven was like. He knew the rewards and the benefits of being
obedient even when your feelings say otherwise. He could look
forward to His own salvation but He also knew that He was </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">our</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> salvation
and that through Him we could spend eternity in Heaven. That should bring joy
and praise like it did for David instead of discouragement and doubt that Satan
wants to deceive us with and that brings me to my last point. What
the helmet of salvation protects us from is that doubt and discouragement that
Satan uses in our lives every day to keep us from having joy and peace; that
keeps us from living an abundant life as it says in </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">John 10:10</b><span style="font-family: georgia;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The thing that makes doubt and discouragement such powerful
weapons for Satan is two-fold: it keeps us out of the fight, sitting
in our foxholes feeling sorry for ourselves instead of waging war but it is
also similar to a virus in that whatever attitude we have is contagious. When
we feel down and discouraged because we have taken off the helmet of salvation
and have relied on the view we have of our circumstances and how we feel about
that then the other people around us tend to be dragged down into that as well.
The good news is that when people see us putting on our helmets and looking
past our circumstances and feelings and looking forward to the salvation that
is to come then they start buckling up their helmets as well and pretty soon we
start to look like an army to be reckoned with. People in the
community will see us and see that we are going through difficult times but we
don’t cave in. We don’t start self-medicating. We don’t
start complaining and worrying. Who wants to be around
that? There is enough of that in this world. People don’t
want to see it in the church.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some of you may hear this sermon and think I am preaching a
feel-good gospel where if we just believe and have goals then everything will
be ok in this world. You would be mistaken. I wish I
could preach something like that but I have to tell you that in all
probability, as bad as it is in your life right now, things are probably going
to get worse. I promise you this world is not going to get any
better. As long as we live on this nasty, ugly, self-serving, every
man for himself planet then things are going to get worse and
worse. There is not much to look forward to as far as the morality
and standards of this world go.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="font-family: georgia;">But let me
encourage you with one last thought from I Thessalonians 4:13-18:<i> 13
Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death,
so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring
with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s
word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of
the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord
himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we
will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with
these words.</i></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is our salvation! There is our
helmet! Put it on and don’t be deceived! We know what is
truth and we have that buckled around our waist. We know that we
have imputed righteousness that comes from God and imparted righteousness that
comes flows out of us and it is protecting our heart like a
breastplate. We have peace that comes from knowing the
Gospel. When doubts and fears come, we just take up our shield of
faith and keep moving and now we have the helmet of salvation – that hope of
Heaven - to protect our minds from being deceived about this life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">We will still go through difficult times but as Christians we have
all this armor and more that is not available to a
non-Christian. The good news is that everybody can have this armor
and God wants us to have it. But first, you have to make Jesus Lord
of your life, not just a part of your life. You have to commit your
life to Him, believing that He is in control and He loves us and wants to
forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. Repent of that sin today. Put all that
down and start taking up His armor. Don’t be deceived any longer. Ask
God to be Lord of your life right now as the music plays.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Invitation / Prayer<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Christian, meditate much on heaven; it will help you to press on
and to forget the difficulty of the journey.” –C.H. Spurgeon - Paul said
in <b>Philippians 4:8</b>, <i>“Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about
such things.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I say think about Heaven this week. Think about what
you are going to do, who you are going to see, and how, though we don’t deserve
it, we are co-heirs with Jesus to all the good things Heaven has to offer!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-86110126757452568572021-07-27T14:07:00.001-07:002021-07-27T14:07:07.428-07:00Shield of Faith – Eph. 6:10-18<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have some questions for you this morning and I would
like for you to answer yes or no, please. Would you agree that God is
all-powerful? All-knowing? All-loving? Would you agree that Jesus is alive? Is
He part of the Trinity? And the Trinity is God, 3 in 1, Father, Spirit, Son?
Would you agree that the Bible is completely true? It is the inspired word of
God? Its words are powerful and will not come back void?</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">If all of that is true, then can you prove it
scientifically or mathematically? Would it be fair to say, then, that you
believe all of these things on faith? Would it be fair to say then
that you believe these things because that is what the Bible teaches and you
believe the Bible on faith?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">When Roman soldiers were training to go into combat (actually,
all soldiers do this but our passage refers to Roman soldiers) they would
prepare for battle by practicing what might happen if they were
attacked. The leader would line them up and say something
like, “If your opponent thrusts his sword at you straight on you should
step aside and then counter with your sword. If he swings his sword
over his head at you then bring up your shield to defend
yourself.” And they would practice that in slow motion in a safe
place all to prepare themselves for the real thing when the enemy would really
be trying to kill them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is basically what we are doing this
morning. We are told in the Bible that Satan is prowling around
looking to see who he can kill and so all of us are in the faith training
course. Now we just have to be ready for when he attacks for
real. Just like the enemy of the Roman soldier would not go in slow
motion, announcing what he is about to do and allowing the other to be ready,
so, too, does Satan not attack in slow motion announcing his intentions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">He doesn’t come to you and say, “Um, excuse me but I
just wanted you to believe that God is not all-powerful.” What he
does do, though, is to place things in our lives that make us doubt. When you
get a bad report from your doctor, Satan is right there to make you question
God’s love. When you check your bank account and everything has hit
at once, Satan is there to say, “Well, you obviously aren’t going to be
tithing this week.” When your favorite sin comes tempting, Satan
will say, “Go ahead. It’s not that big of a deal and besides,
nobody will know.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Turn to our passage this morning in Ephesians
6:10-18 and we will talk more about how to be ready when Satan
attacks. Like all good combat warriors, Satan attacks with speed,
surprise and violence of action so we have to be ready for him at all times.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your
stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that
when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of
truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up
the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of
the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all
occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert
and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We will be concentrating on verse 16 this
week. This is our 4th week to be studying the armor of God and we
have seen in previous weeks how we are to put on the belt of truth, the
breastplate of righteousness and the importance of having our feet shod with
peace. This week we will be looking at the shield of faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’m sure Paul is writing this at least with the memory of
being chained to a Roman soldier. He may even be looking at one as
he writes it, we don’t know. But Paul has had enough face-to-face
time with soldiers to know well what they wore and how they
dressed. In this verse he talks about the shield. The shield
to which he alludes here is not the small dress shield used in parades but the
big shield used in real battle. It was almost as big as a door but
had a handle on the inside the soldier could grab it easily.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It wasn’t enough for the soldier to have on the body
armor of the day. For intense battles he needed the protection of
the shield. So, also, should the Christian not only be wearing truth
and righteousness with peace but for the intense Satanic battles, we need to
hold up the shield of faith. But what does that
mean? What does it look like for us today? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is not necessarily the saving faith that is often
talked about but the Greek word is “pistis” and it means the kind of faith that
is a deeply held belief or conviction that something is true. Hebrews
11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain
of what we do not see.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I read the story of the little boy who fell over the side
of the cliff and was sitting on a small outcrop of rock. The firemen
came to get him and dropped a rope over the edge and told him to grab the loop
and they would pull him up. He refused until finally his father
called down to him and told him he would pull him up by the
rope. The little boy immediately grabbed the rope and was pulled to
safety. The little boy couldn’t see his dad but had faith in him and
him alone. And like that little boy had faith only in his dad, we are to have
faith in God alone. It’s not just about having faith but in whom your faith is
placed is most important.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So far, as we have looked at this armor, I have tried
to positively motivate us into putting on each
piece. Today I want to look at 3 things that happen if we don’t
pick up the shield of faith. There may be more but for today
there are 3 things that suffer from Satan’s flaming arrows that could have been
extinguished had we picked up the shield of faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first thing Satan’s arrows attack is your peace
and joy. Next, they attack your witness and lastly, they
attack your relationship.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A few years ago I decided I was going to do a personal Bible
study and figure out the secret to getting and keeping joy and
peace. I dug deep, doing word studies and looking at the original
Greek or Hebrew words in a concordance and was surprised by what I
found. I found that peace and joy have nothing to do with
circumstances or stuff but are only found through…wait for it…that dreaded “O”
word…obedience.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You see it in the Old Testament in the life and writings
of David and you see it in the New Testament in the life and writings of Paul
as well as others. Think of Daniel in the lion’s
den, Esther before the king, Peter in
prison, Jesus Himself as the boat he was in was about to
sink. What do they all have in common? Peace and joy
through obedience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The next time you see a dog sitting in a front yard with
no fence, I want you to think about this. That is the perfect
picture of peace through obedience. If that dog was to run off he
would have to stay in the back fence but because he is obedient to stay in the
yard he can go anywhere at any time. So many think obedience is not
getting to do all the fun things we want but with God it is
freedom! It means that God wants what is best and because we are
obedient we can have the joy and peace of a dog sitting in the sun even when
difficult times come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that drives Satan crazy to see you with joy and peace
and so he does everything he can to ruin that. So, when difficult
times come, Satan draws back his bow and sends the flaming arrow of doubt, fear
and worry right into your heart and kills your joy and peace. And
the extra benefit to Satan is that rarely does your joy and peace die without
taking out someone else’s. And Satan giggles his ever-loving head
off.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It says right here that our battle is not against flesh
and blood but Satan wants you to think it is. He wants you to worry
all night about your kids and grandkids and then be mad because your spouse
doesn’t! He wants you to feel guilty about what you did to that
person 20 years ago. He wants you to doubt that your spouse is
faithful. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Satan may not be able to kill you because God won’t let
him but the next best thing to a dead child of God to Satan is a child who is
preoccupied and distracted with his own circumstances because Satan knows that
child has no witness and that is the next thing Satan’s arrows
attack. They attack your witness. So, instead of being
obedient and picking up our shield of faith that says, “I don’t know why I
am having to go through this. I don’t deserve it. I don’t
want it and it hurts…BUT…I trust God to protect and provide and to not put on
me more than He and I can handle.” Instead of that we suffer with no
peace or joy and no witness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I want you to think now about how Satan’s schemes attack
our witness. Satan would have you to think that because your spouse
is not as loving as they used to be that it is ok to have an
affair. He wants you to at least consider the idea that missing
church every now and then is not any big deal and that God understands that you
have had a long, hard week. He wants you to think that because
everybody else at church is gossiping that it must be ok and besides, who is
going to get hurt?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I want you to consider your own little pet sin or
sins. Think for just a second about where you struggle and about
what is going to happen when the news gets out that you are a gossip or a liar
or a thief or a pervert or whatever it is that you do. What is going
to happen when word gets out that you do those things? Nobody will
ever know, huh? Do you realize that is exactly what every single
person in the news right now was thinking? Nobody ever thinks they
will get caught. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Whew, when my wife finds out I’m cheating she’s gonna be
mad.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I know I’ll get caught robbing this bank but I hope they
put me in a nice cell.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">“When my daddy hears me cussing he’s gonna tan my hide!”</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You might remember a few years ago some U.S. Secret
Service agents were in Colombia preparing for the president’s visit there and
were busted with prostitutes after a night of partying. The news
said, “Secret Service personnel had been drinking heavily and cavorting with
prostitutes ahead of the president’s visit to Columbia.” I guarantee you they
thought there is no way anybody is ever going to find out. I’m 2000
miles away from anybody who even cares and so I will do whatever I
want. Can you imagine being that man who comes home and has to face
his young daughter who says, “Daddy, I saw you on the
news. What’s a prostitute and why were you with her?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Or maybe you remember the attorney for Stormy Daniels,
Michael Avenatti. Here’s a news story from just this past week. A </span><a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/michael-avenatti-faces-sentencing-in-nike-extortion-scheme/3144316/" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">federal judge sentenced</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> lawyer </span><a href="http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Licensee/Detail/206929" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">Michael
Avenatti </a><span style="font-family: georgia;">to 2½ years behind bars for an extortion plot against Nike
that Avenatti himself said should make his children "ashamed" of
their dad. Speaking through sobs, Avenatti said that he was truly sorry for the
pain he has caused and that he had betrayed his values, his profession and his
family.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now I don’t know the spiritual condition of any of those
men but I know that is right where Satan wants all of us. No peace,
no joy, no witness and no relationship with God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Bible teaches us that once you ask Jesus into your
heart you are always a child of God. Jesus says in John
10 that nobody can snatch you out of His hand (and that is another thing
Satan wants you to worry about) so we can never lose our salvation if we are
truly saved but we can lose our close relationship with Him and we do when we
sin. Sin brings a barrier between us and God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You see it in the very first sin when Adam and Eve
listened to Satan and ate the fruit. What
happened? Instead of walking in the cool garden with God, they ran
and hid and were ultimately banished from the garden. I have an idea
that as they walked out of the garden that day they could hear the echo of
laughter coming from that snake Satan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You also see it the Bible when King Saul makes bad
choices, when the Israelites disobey, when David goes through Bathsheeba-gate
or when Peter denies Jesus before He is crucified. What do they have
in common? No joy, no peace, no witness and no relationship with
God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">How about in your own life? When Satan attacks
you and says there is no way God is going to do what He said He is going to do
and you believe him and then you do whatever it is that you do, then what
happens? Your prayers bounce off the ceiling, your wisdom heads
south, your security is threatened and you wind up tied up in knots in the
backyard whining like a puppy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The good news is that when that happens I John
1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And our
relationship is restored. Our joy and peace ease back in and our
witness…well, sometimes it takes a while for our witness to be
restored. With some people it may never come back. Just a
little added bonus for the evil one; the deceiver, the father of lies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">For me, I don’t want to have to explain myself to
y’all. I don’t want to have to look you in the face and tell you my
excuse for not picking up my shield of faith. I don’t want to hear
Satan laughing at me. I want to hear God laughing with me,
saying, “Well done my good and faithful servant. I know it was
difficult. I know Satan was sneaky but you did so well! Come
in here to my rest, my peace, my joy, my relationship.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Go back to Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is being
sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” What do
we hope for and are certain of even though we can’t see it or prove
it? As Beth Moore said, we have faith that God is who He says He
is. God can do what He says He can do. I am who God says
I am. I can do all things through Christ and God’s word is alive and
active in me!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s your shield of faith and it will protect you from
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. But only if you are a true
believer. That’s who Paul was writing to. This armor will
not fit on somebody who doesn’t have a relationship with God through His Son
Jesus. Just coming to church isn’t enough. Coming from a
Christian family isn’t enough.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You have to repent - turn away from - your sins, ask God
to forgive those sins and truly believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and
the Life and that nobody gets to the Father but through Him. Then
when you do that your life will reflect that belief in your changed life,
including your ability to pick up and use effectively the shield of
faith. Do that today.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-65114499151170065102021-07-13T06:51:00.004-07:002021-07-13T06:51:31.044-07:00Gospel of Peace – Eph. 3:10-18<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you ever have “one of
those days”? Everybody has bad things happen to them every now and then, right.
And sometimes your bad day turns into a bad week or even a bad month. And for
some people, it seems like it is always something. Why is that? Is God
displeased with us? Does He hate us and want bad things to happen to us?</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">I don’t even have to
bring up all the things happening in the news. It’s bad enough for some of us
here today in our own lives. I look out and see people affected by difficulty
all over the room. Job problems, physical problems, money problems, marriage
problems (those two words go hand in hand, don’t they?). Problems with the
kids, problems with the car, the weather…It’s enough to make you just want to
give up sometimes, isn’t it?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, it would be if we
weren’t being so saturated by the peace of God that passes all understanding.
That’s what <b>Philippians 4:7</b> says, that our hearts and minds
are protected by God’s peace through Jesus Christ. It doesn’t say that bad
things won’t come our way and I’m not going to stand up here and tell you that
being a Christian makes life easy but I will tell you that I don’t understand
how people get through this life without the peace that comes from having a
relationship with Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Did you know that having
God’s peace is actually part of what we are called to put on when Satan attacks
us? It is part of the armor of God that Paul talks about in <b>Ephesians
6:10-18</b>. Now, surely nobody here ever gets attacked by Satan,
right? You do? How? Is every bad thing that
happens in this life an attack from Satan? No. Sometimes
God allows bad things or even causes bad things to happen so we can’t blame it
all on the devil. Then sometimes bad things happen to us because we
do bone-headed stuff that has consequences, right? And sometimes we are tempted
by Satan to do something that we know is wrong.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Make no mistake, we are
in a battle. We are at war with Satan and all his minions and they
want nothing more than to kill you dead but if God won’t allow them to kill
you, they will settle for making your life miserable, either through
temptations to sin or by causing bad things to happen to you. So, we
are looking at what our options are when that happens. What
protection do we have? What armor? What
weapons? Well, Paul tells us in beautiful detail in the book of
Ephesians chapter 6.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">Verse 15</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> is where we will
focus but to keep everything in context, let’s read the full passage. <b><span style="background: white;">Ephesians 6:10-18</span></b><span style="background: white;"> says, “<i>Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power. <sup>11 </sup>Put on the full armor of God, so that you can
take your stand against the devil’s schemes. <sup>12 </sup>For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. <sup>13 </sup>Therefore put on the full armor
of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. <sup>14 </sup>Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, <sup>15 </sup>and with your
feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. <sup>16 </sup>In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. <sup>17 </sup>Take
the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God. <sup>18 </sup>And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with
all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep
on praying for all the Lord’s people.”</i></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">You may have heard
sermons preached on this beautiful passage before and, if so, I have to warn
you that many times it may be a good and inspiring sermon but it often gets
interpreted incorrectly. To have your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace is not Paul exhorting us to take the gospel out. This
is one time where he tells us to put the gospel on…and then stand there. Stand
there and don’t give in.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">There are many, many
other places that tell us as Christians to go out and tell others the good news
or the Gospel but this is not one of them and it is important to know exactly
what Paul was talking about because if we fail to put on one part of the armor,
we can be assured that is where Satan will attack us.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">On Feb. 28, 1997</span></b><span style="color: #222222;">, 2 men robbed the <b>Bank
of America</b> in North Hollywood, Ca. They went in carrying several guns
each with over 3000 rounds of ammo and wearing full suits of home-made body
armor that covered them from their heads down to their knees. They immediately
started shooting with armor-piercing ammo that went right through the police
cars when the cops got there.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">When the police shot
back the body armor repelled every bullet. It is estimated that the police
fired almost 700 rounds at the 2 men but it wasn’t until one of the SWAT team
members, who had ducked behind a police car shot under the car hitting one of
the men in the shins and feet that finally the man was brought down. They had
protection everywhere else and may have gotten away with it but they had left
one piece of armor off and it proved to be their downfall.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">So, <i>it is just
as important or more for us to know what armor is available to us</i> and
to make sure that we put it on. Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord and
stand firm against the schemes of the Devil and to put on the belt of truth and
the breastplate of righteousness as we have talked about in previous weeks. He
then says to have our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from having the
gospel of peace.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Some of your
translations probably say to be “shod with the readiness.” It means to lace up
tightly. As I prepared for this sermon I read several commentaries about what
this verse means. Almost every commentary would explain that a Roman soldier’s
shoes would be made of leather and metal with spikes on the bottom for traction
or sometimes they might imbed rocks in the sole for the same
reason. They would also include brass greaves that would protect
from the knees down to the top of the foot. The commentary would then go on to
say that we should shod ourselves with the gospel of peace so we don’t slip.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">I would read that and
think, <i>“Yea, we should do that. But what does that mean?”</i> I
read sermons from other preachers and they would talk long and pretty about
fitting ourselves with the gospel of peace but few tried to actually explain
it. Some would say that our feet should always be ready to take the gospel to
all parts of the world and while that is true and good to say, it is not what
this passage is talking about.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">As we explore what it
really means to have our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace, I want us to see 3 basic things:</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">· The Gospel – the good
news about Jesus Christ and how He lived, died and was resurrected and lives
today so we can have a relationship with Him – that Gospel brings</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">· Vertical
peace<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">· Horizontal
peace<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">· Internal
peace</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">The Greek word
translated “readiness” or “preparation” refers to the basis of something or the
foundation, the firm footing of something. We are to be strong in the Lord,
standing against Satan’s schemes, on the firm footing of knowing the Good News.
Let me ask you some questions as examples.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">How many of you have
ever had God tell you to do something or not to do something and you wanted to
do the right thing but you just couldn’t. How many of you have ever had
somebody do something mean or wrong to you and you harbored a grudge against
that person for years? How many of you have ever been scared about what was
going to happen to you tomorrow or next week?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We have probably all
been in all of those situations and the answer to all three is having our feet
shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace. You see, if God has told you
not to do something and you keep on doing it then you need the gospel that
brings vertical peace, up and down, between you and God. <b>Romans 5:10</b> says
that before we were Christians we were actually enemies with God. He loved you
and sent Jesus to die for you but until we accept Jesus into our lives to be
Lord and Savior, we are His enemies<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">But the good news (the
gospel) is that once we accept Jesus we are considered friends with God. We are
joint heirs with Jesus to all good things including a life of purpose and
fulfillment and then eternal life with God in Heaven. It also means that we
accept God as our spiritual Father who is sovereign, in control of everything
and while we should have a fear of Him and His power, it should also bring us
great peace because we know God has proven Himself faithful over and over
again; and not just faithful but very loving, compassionate and generous.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">Philippians 4:6-7</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> says, <i>“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Do you understand that?
When God tells us to do something or stop doing something and we refuse it is
because somewhere in our minds we are not sure if we can trust Him. We say we
believe Him and trust Him but our disobedience is proof otherwise. When
difficult times come and we start to worry and we take off those brass greaves
that protect our shins and Satan hits us with a baseball bat of doubt and down
we go. We slip. We fall. We sin.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Put on the good news,
the Gospel, that God loves you and has provided a way to Him through His Son
Jesus. It won’t always be easy. He never promises to give us everything we
want. But He does promise to work for the good of those who love him and that
brings <b>vertical peace</b> or peace between us and God.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Another way it brings
peace is <b>horizontally</b>, between us and others. One of the reasons the
Roman army was so successful was because they knew how to march and fight in
formation, as a whole. The men in the front had their shields to the front. The
men in the back had their shields to their backs. That way the whole platoon
was protected from the spears and arrows of the enemy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">Colossians 3:15</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> says, <i>“Let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were
called to peace.”</i> The good news of Christ should affect how we deal
with others. When we know that everything that happens has to cross the desk of
the Creator, Sustainer, Deliverer and our Friend, then we should be at peace
with other people even when they mistreat us.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">There is always going to
be the potential for friction anytime two people show up at the same spot for
anything even if it is the church. <b>Adrian Rogers</b> was a
powerful Baptist preacher from a time not long ago. He was in a meeting one
time when a young man stood up and said, <i>“There is only one way to see
this problem and that is this way…”</i> When he got through explaining his
way was the only way, Adrian Rogers said, <b><i>“It’s a mighty thin
pancake that only has one side!”</i></b></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">There is usually at
least 2 ways to see a problem and that is going to lead to friction but it
doesn’t have to mean that we slip and fall and bring shame to the Kingdom. It
is an opportunity for us to show the peace that we have with God to the other
person, knowing, again, that God is in control and is going to work to make all
of us more like Him and to our good. That ought to bring such peace that when
Brother Thundermuffin stands up in a meeting and he is full of hot air and bad
attitude and wrong ideas that instead of arguing over our preference, we let
him have his way knowing that God is in control. We don’t compromise on truth
but when it comes to preferences we show peace and let Brother Thundermuffin go
home thinking, <i>“What’s different about that person?”</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">I'll end this section by
simply saying that every time there is disunity in the church, you can trace it
back to sin somewhere. Remember <b>Colossians 3:15</b>. <i>“As
members of one body, we are called to peace.”</i> And why wouldn't
we have peace with others when we have such peace with God? Without peace
with God, peace with others is almost impossible.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The last way the gospel
provides peace is <b>internally</b>. Let me tell you about my latest
idea. I’m thinking about renting out the back porch behind the Fellowship Hall
just for people to come and sit. I think it’ll be a money-maker. People do all
kinds of crazy stuff to try to relax in this world and all they have to do is
come here and sit out on that back porch for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">You can look out at the
lake. You can watch the boats and the sunset and see the hummingbirds come to
the feeder. You might even get lucky and see the fox that hangs out back there.
I’m telling ya. It’s hard to be stressed out sitting out on that back porch!
It’s very peaceful. (I’m not really going to rent the porch, by the way.)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Do you know what Paul
means by “peace” in this passage? The word means to have rest and
contentment. It is easy to have rest and contentment sitting on that
porch with perfect weather and a Dr. Pepper in the arm rest of the chair. Anybody
and everybody could find rest and contentment there.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">But what about when it’s
not peaceful? What about when you have a crisis? Do you
have to lose your rest and contentment when the doctor says you have a physical
crisis or the bank says you have a financial crisis or your spouse says you
have a marital crisis? When Satan attacks you with a crisis, did you
know that you can still have rest and contentment? Did you know that
if you have the belt of truth buckled up and the breastplate of righteousness
pulled over and your feet are planted firmly in the good news of Jesus then you
can still stand?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">I have two beautiful
passages of scripture to illustrate this. The first one is <b>Psalm
46:1-3 and 10</b>. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">1 <i>God is our
refuge and strength,<br />
an ever-present help in trouble.<br />
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way<br />
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,<br />
3 though its waters roar and foam<br />
and the mountains quake with their surging. 10 He says, “Be still, and know
that I am God;</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Though my body give way
and my job fall into the sea. Though my spouse roars and
foams! Be still and know that I am God. That means to
quit striving. Let your hands hang down. Quit running
around trying to fix everything with your own power. In fact, isn't
that what Paul is telling us to do in our main passage? Be strong in
the Lord, and STAND! Accept God's peace and stand strong when Satan
attacks.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">The last passage I want
to look at is in <b>Habakkuk 3:17-19</b>. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">17 Though the fig tree
does not bud<br />
and there are no grapes on the vines,<br />
though the olive crop fails<br />
and the fields produce no food,<br />
though there are no sheep in the pen<br />
and no cattle in the stalls,<br />
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,<br />
I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;<br />
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,<br />
he enables me to tread on the heights.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">For this last passage, I
want you to go home and personalize it. I want you to go home and
substitute what threatens your peace in the place of what threatened Habakkuk’s
peace.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">Though the credit card
gets declined and the bank account falls to zero, though the contract gets
cancelled and the grocery store runs out of toilet paper. Though
there is no car in the garage and no clothes in the closet, yet will I rejoice
in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior. Can you
say that this morning? If not, then your feet are not fitted with
the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. And that may be
because you don't know God well enough; you aren't close enough to
Him. Or it could mean that you don't know Him at all.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">In <b>John 14</b>,
we see Jesus comforting His friends who are going through a really rough
time. These words are a comfort to us as Christians today but they
are also an invitation to those who have never accepted Him into their lives to
be Lord and Savior.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">John 14:1</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> says, "<i>Do
not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in
me." </i>Trusting in the Lord is what gets you to Heaven but it
is also what you have to do <b>every day</b> as you put on that
armor <b>every day</b>. This life is rarely
easy. Don’t try to go another day on your own. You sure
don’t want to try to fight off Satan’s attacks on your own. I don’t
know how anybody makes it through without a relationship with Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Repent of your
sins. Ask God for forgiveness of those sins and then trust
Him. When you do that you will have <u>vertical, horizontal</u> and <u>internal</u>
peace. What’s that worth to you? Ask God to be Lord of your life and
commit yourself to serving Him and being obedient to what He says. Do that right
now as the music plays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-27668801597532779132021-07-05T10:01:00.000-07:002021-07-05T10:01:06.482-07:00“Breastplate of Righteousness” – Eph. 6:10-18<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, did you hear that Bill Cosby was released from prison this
past week? Like most of you, I grew up watching and listening to Bill Cosby and
I always thought he was pretty funny but I haven’t really kept up with all of
his legal proceedings. I understand he was charged with some sort of sex crime
and was found guilty and served a couple of years in prison for it. But this
past week, his attorneys found a legal loophole – a technicality – that got him
out of jail early. So, does that mean he is innocent now? No. That’s not what
that means. I don’t know if he is innocent or guilty but just because he was
released doesn’t mean he is innocent. There is a difference between not being
found guilty and being found innocent. Not being found guilty just means they
couldn’t prove it in a court of law. But
I am not here to say that he is guilty or innocent of the crime he was accused
of but I am here to say that he is guilty of something. Do you know how I know?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Romans 3:23</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> tells me that. Romans 3:23 says, <i>“For ALL
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”</i> Now, I’m not picking on
Cosby. I don’t know anything about him. I’m just using him as an example. I
don’t know and really don’t care what he has done or not done. But I do know he
is a sinner because scripture tells us that we are all sinners. And that’s bad
news. That’s bad news because <b>Romans 6:23</b> says that what we deserve for
our sin is eternal death in Hell. That’s really bad news.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not only that, but did you know that until you are a born-again
saved Christian that you are actually an enemy of God? <b>Colossians 1:21</b>
says, <i>“Once you were alienated from God and <b>were enemies</b> in your
minds because of your evil behavior”</i> and <b>Romans 5:10</b> says, <i>“For
since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while <b>we
were still his enemies</b>, we will certainly be saved through the life of his
Son.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That’s a scary place to be. I hate to think I was ever an enemy of
the All-powerful, All-knowing God. <b>Nahum 1:2</b> says, </span><i>“the LORD
takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.”</i> And
for you that think God was mean in the Old Testament but mellowed out in His
old age in the New Testament, <b>John 3:36</b> says, <i>“Whoever believes in
the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but
the wrath of God remains on him.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What a horrible and scary place to be – an enemy of
Almighty God! Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy and forgiveness that
through your Son, Jesus, we can be <b><i>right with You</i></b>! That’s the
Good News! “Right with God.” Do you ever think about it? Another word we use
sometimes is “righteous.” I hope you think about it every day as you put on
your <u>breastplate of righteousness</u>. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This morning we are going to be
talking about what the Bible says about righteousness; what it is, what it
means, how to get it and the difference in righteousness and self-righteousness
but I also want to discover if there is any room for our own righteousness in
our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I say “righteousness” many of you think about
self-righteousness; the kind of righteousness that <b>Isaiah 64:6</b> says
is like filthy rags and deserves to be thought of poorly. Why, then,
would Paul tell us to put on righteousness in our passage this morning? Turn
to <b>Ephesians 6:10-18</b> and let’s take a look. Paul tells us to
put on the breastplate of righteousness in <b>verse 14</b> and that
is what I want to concentrate on today. Last week we saw the importance of
putting on the belt of truth and how, without believing and taking hold of
absolute truth, we might as well not have any defense against the
enemy. We put on the belt of truth first and everything else hangs
on that belt. This week we will put on the breastplate of
righteousness and attach it to the belt just like the Roman soldiers of Paul’s
day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ephesians 6:10-18</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> says, <i><span style="color: #833c0b; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“10 Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full
armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the
day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have
done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth
buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the
shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all
occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert
and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I tried to find a good way to illustrate what a Roman breastplate
would look like but I couldn’t find a decent prop so I’ll just try to describe
it. It may be a little different than the ones Hollywood would show
us in the movies. Imagine that. A modern-day example of
this would be the bullet-proof vest that military and law enforcement wear
every day. But in the days when Paul wrote Ephesians the Roman guard that was
probably guarding him as he wrote this was probably wearing something made out
of leather and metal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was made up of small metal plates that were tied together in a
similar fashion to the way roof tiles are placed on a roof. The armor was then
placed over the shoulders to protect both the front and back of the soldier. I
know you’ve heard that God’s armor doesn’t protect your back so don’t run away
but that’s probably not the kind of armor Paul was looking at for inspiration
here. The bottom of the armor was tied to the belt. On a Roman soldier’s armor,
the breastplate was custom made to fit that soldier. It was specifically
designed for him to protect him from attacks. This breastplate protected the
soldier’s heart and major organs from a potentially devastating wound by
protecting their area of weakness. Paul refers to this part of the armor as the
breastplate of righteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some of you may be thinking about now that all of this <i>“putting
on the armor”</i> stuff is a whole lot of work. All you want to do
is go to work and come home, minding your own business and here I am telling
you that you have to put on belts, breastplates, shoes, helmets,
etc. You’re thinking, <i>“Do I really have to do all of that?” </i>The
answer, actually, is no. You don’t have to do all of
that. You don’t have to do any of that. But the Bible says that the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion trying to kill you dead. It
says that he is the Accuser and that he stands before God constantly pointing
out your every flaw to God. In Job, Zechariah and Revelation it
shows Satan standing before God saying something like, <i>“Have you seen
that Pastor Todd? How can you call him your child? He
never does this and he’s always doing that and just the other day I heard him
say such and such.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And when he is not accusing you before God he is trying to steal
your joy, your peace and your witness, not to mention your very
life. 24/7, 365 he is constantly trying to do you in, one way or the
other. Do you really want to spend one minute without all your armor
on? As we will see, this breastplate of righteousness will protect your
very heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As we talk about righteousness I want us to see that there is more
than one kind of righteousness. There is self- righteousness, which
as we have seen is as good for protecting you against the accusations of Satan
as a filthy rag. But there is also <b>imputed righteousness</b> and <b>imparted
righteousness</b>. Seeing the difference in these is critical but
only if you want to stay alive spiritually and even physically.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’m going to ask you a couple questions but don’t raise your hand. Just
think about it. Do you know anyone who you would describe as
self-righteous? Probably. There might even be some in
this church. Now, would you consider yourself to be
self-righteous? Probably not. It’s a rare person that can
consider his own life with such discernment that he can see his own self-
righteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It has been said that self-righteousness is the only disease that
makes everyone sick except the person who has it. None of us wants
to see our own self-righteousness. I looked up the word in the
dictionary and it basically means to feel that you or your situation is better
than the average person. It was interesting that in the dictionary
the word <i>“sententiousness”</i> is used as a
synonym. I’m thinking if you use the word <i>“sententiousness”</i> it
may put you in the category of self-righteous. That’s just a
freebie.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What makes a person self-righteous? Is it what he does
or how much he does? Actually, it has everything to do with
motive. What is your motive for doing what you do? Motive
is the difference between a filthy rag and a breastplate. In <b>Acts
chapter 5</b> we see the story of <u>Ananias and Sapphira</u>. They
had seen others bring gifts of money to the church and they wanted that
recognition so they sold a piece of property and turned the money over to the
apostles but kept some back for themselves which would have been fine but they
led the church to think they were giving all the money. In <b>Acts chapter
5 verse 3</b>, Peter says, <i>“Ananias, how is it that Satan has so
filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for
yourself some of the money you received for the land?”</i> You know
what happens after that. Satan gets his wish as their witness and
their very lives are lost immediately thereafter. Did you catch that
part where Peter says that Satan has filled your
heart? Self-righteousness is no breastplate that protects the
heart. It is a bull’s-eye. Be aware of your
motive. It could make all the difference.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you remember I said regarding Paul’s illustration of a
breastplate, that a breastplate would be usually made of 2
things: leather and metal. So too is our breastplate of righteousness
made up of 2 things. The original Greek word that Paul used here is
“dikaiosune” (dik-ah-yos-oo-nay) and it basically means to be right with God or
to be declared not guilty. It’s more than just not being able to prove it in a
court of law. The problem is, we are guilty but God has changed the verdict to
not guilty because the price for a guilty verdict has been paid and paid by His
Son, Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But that kind of righteousness includes the <b>imputed
righteousness</b> that God gives us through our belief in His Son Jesus
and it includes the <b>imparted righteousness</b> that is done
through us by Christ living in us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I start talking about imputed and imparted righteousness, it
may sound like I’m trying to be a little self-righteous myself since I don’t normally
use those words. At the very least it sounds sententious,
right? But hear me out because this is actually vital to our
understanding of this passage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s look at <b>imputed righteousness</b> first. When
a person puts his faith in Jesus Christ, we are given a status of being
righteous. This righteousness is God’s gift to us based on what Christ did for
us on the cross. If you look through a red piece of glass you will
see things all red. If you look through a blue piece of glass
everything will be blue. When God looks at us, He sees us, as
Christians, through Christ-colored lenses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, when Satan says to God, <i>“Look at what she has
done. She can’t be your child!”</i>, you know what
happens? <b>I John 2:1</b> says we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. So, when Satan attacks our
character to the Great Judge, Jesus is our Lawyer and He says to the
Father, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“That debt has been paid in full by
Me”</span></i>. That is imputed righteousness. We don’t
deserve it. We didn’t earn it. All we can do is accept it
when we accept Jesus into our lives to save us and forgive us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have 3 verses to go along with our imputed
righteousness. <i>"For as by one man’s (Adam) disobedience many
were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made
righteous."</i> (Romans 5:19) <i>"For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him."</i> (2 Corinthians 5:21) <i>"Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them
that believe: for there is no difference.”</i> (Romans 3:22)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Imputed righteousness</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> is one part of the breastplate
of righteousness. The other part is <u>imparted righteousness</u>. If
we are imputed with righteousness, then as a result Christ’ righteousness should
flow out of us in righteous living! <b>Matthew 6:33</b> says, <i>“But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We all have good intentions, right? We all want good
things for ourselves. We want good things for other
people. We want to do good things. But you remember what
makes something self-righteous? Motive. What <b>Matthew
6:33</b> is saying is that we need to go to God and say, <i>“I can’t
do this. I want to do good but I’m afraid I’m going to make it about
me. I want your righteousness.”</i> When we seek first
His righteousness all those good things will be given to you. Maybe
it is because God gives you what you want and maybe it happens when He changes
what you want.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Either way, when we allow God to work through us, He does it right
and He gets the glory and we get a blessing, maybe now, maybe
later. The temptation one may have is to say that since I have
imputed righteousness and no matter what Satan says Jesus has me covered that I
will just not do anything and it doesn’t matter if I sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is very similar to when Paul says in <b>Philippians 2:13</b> that
we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We don’t
do anything to deserve our salvation but once we are saved we let God work in
our lives to prove our salvation. It’s the same with His
righteousness. We don’t deserve His imputed righteousness but
because we are righteous in His eyes we allow Him to prove that through our
imparted righteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a powerful Baptist preacher in
the late 1800’s. Blackmailers once sent him a letter saying that if
he did not place a certain amount of money at a certain place at a certain time
then they would publish some things in the newspaper that would defame and
embarrass him, ruining his ministry. Spurgeon left a note at the
certain place that said, <i>“You and your like are requested to publish
all you know about me across the heavens.”</i> He knew his character
was blameless before men and so they could not harm him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our heart is representative of our character, our drive, all our
wants and needs. When somebody says, <i>“He put his heart into
it”</i> or <i>“He has a lot of heart”</i>; <i>“she wanted it with all
her heart”</i> it says a lot about that person. It tells you
who they are and what their motives are. That’s why Paul tells us to
put on the breastplate of righteousness because it protects all of that. <b>Matthew
5:6</b> says, <i>“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness.”</i> Have you ever been really hungry and
thirsty? Some of you right about now are thinking how good it will
be to eat pizza after church today because you didn’t eat much for breakfast. But
most of us have never really been hungry or thirsty. When you hear
about stories of people who are really hungry – maybe they are trapped in a
small boat at sea or trapped on a mountain with no food – they tell stories
about how hungry they were and how all they could think about was
food. They shared recipes and talked about their favorite foods and
what their mamas cooked best. There was rarely any other topic of
conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s how the Bible says we are to be about
righteousness. We have imputed righteousness that comes as a gift
from God and imparted righteousness that flows out of us as a
result. So, everything we do should reflect those. Is this TV show
I’m about to watch going to reflect God’s imputed righteousness in me or
reflect the imparted righteousness coming out of me? Is this
relationship I’m in reflecting my righteousness or hindering it? Does
what I’m putting in my mouth or what is coming out of my
mouth reflect righteousness…or something much worse? Everything
we do should go through that filter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your favorite website, that joke you are about to tell, what you
are wearing and what you are saying should all reflect your hunger and thirst
for more and more righteousness, either imputed or imparted. We
should want righteousness with all our heart. Our imputed and
imparted righteousness protects who we are and even what we want to
be. Don’t put on just part of the armor. For your sake
and for the sake of furthering the Kingdom, put on all of God’s armor and
then…stand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is going to be a time, at the end of your life when it is
going to be too late. The decisions we make in this life are the
decisions that we are going to have to live with for eternity and the Bible is
clear that there really is a Heaven and there really is a Hell. I believe
there is going to be a lot of people who are mistaken about their eternities
and about other people’s eternities as well. Let’s make sure right
now that you know where you will go. We are not guaranteed another
breath.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Romans 3:23</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> says we are all sinners and <b>Romans 6:23</b>
says what we deserve for that sin is eternal death in Hell. That’s
the bad news. The Good News is that <b>John 3:16</b> says that God
loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the
price that we deserve to pay and all we have to do is believe. That
belief is more than just a head knowledge, though. It will show up
in our lives as change. Our lives WILL be changed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When we ask God for forgiveness of our sins, we then repent – turn
away from – those sins. It doesn’t mean that our lives are perfect
or that everything is going to be easy from now on. Not at
all. It just means that we can have peace and even joy through those
difficult times because we know that God is in control and that He loves us and
is no longer our enemy but our friend! Ask Him to be Lord of your life
today. Do it right now as the music plays.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-63740384098686989322021-07-05T09:59:00.001-07:002021-07-05T09:59:19.715-07:00“The Full Armor” – Part 1 – Ephesians 6<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In 1993, the US military was involved in the Battle of
Mogadishu. The movie "Blackhawk Down" was based on this
conflict. It was civil war in Somalia and the US sent Special Forces
in to capture the leader of the opposition. The entire operation was
estimated to take no longer than 30 minutes. Most of the 160 men
involved did not bring all their gear. They thought since it was
only going to last a short while during the day they wouldn't need their night
vision goggles nor would they need extra food or water or even all their
ammo. I mean, what could go wrong? Well, right off the bat two of
the Blackhawk helicopters were shot down and several others
damaged. In trying to save the soldiers in the downed helicopters,
several brave men lost their lives. Several had to wait overnight to
be rescued while trying to hold off the enemy. In what turned out to
be a battle lasting 2 full days, 18 American soldiers were dead and 73
wounded. While it may have been a poorly planned offensive, how many
lives could have been saved if those soldiers had brought all their gear to the
battle? And how much more do we need to bring all our spiritual
weapons and armor to the battle we are in?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We face a spiritual enemy that wants us to be not only
spiritually but physically dead. Did you hear what I
said? Our spiritual enemy wants us to be spiritually and even
physically dead. Now, when I say that, some of you may be thinking
I'm being a bit dramatic because surely spiritual enemies only fight spiritual
battles, right? How do you think Job would answer that? In Job
chapters one and two, Satan actually approaches God and basically asks for
permission to afflict Job with all sorts of physical problems. He
kills his children. That's pretty physical. He afflicted
him with sores from head to toe. That's pretty
physical. And he kills all of his livestock. Those are
all very physical problems. Yes, it affected him spiritually but it
was a physical attack.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What is the very first reaction of Job? Does he
curse God? Does he make excuses? Does he claim to know
the problem or the answer? Does he blame somebody
else? Does he allow his emotions to dictate his
thoughts? No. The very first thing Job does is what Paul
later tells us to do and that is Job buckled the belt of truth around his
waist. In <b>Job 1:21</b> the first thing Job says is, <i>"The
Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away."</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Job here is falling back on truth. He could have
justified any other response but he made the decision to, as some versions say,
gird his loins with truth. What Job is saying is that God is
sovereign. He allows or even causes all things. All
things have to cross the desk of God and get his approval. Job
doesn't lie and say it is ok or that he understands why it happened but the
first thing he does is realize, believe and hold on to truth. Turn to <b>Ephesians
6:10-18</b>. I want to focus on just one part of <b>verse 14</b> this
morning but it is important that we read the whole passage to remind ourselves
of the context in which it was written. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #7030a0;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">10Finally, be strong in the
LORD and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you
can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that
when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth
buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds
of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying
for all the LORD's people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Read 14a again</b>. After reading this, I want us to see
just two things: What is truth? And why does it matter? I
first want to think about why Paul used the Roman soldier's uniform as this
analogy. I mean, it fits perfectly but what brought this to his
mind? I have an idea that being chained between two Roman guards
night and day would give you a pretty good opportunity to see firsthand what
all was involved with getting suited for battle. Paul says later in
the chapter that he is an ambassador in chains.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Can you imagine getting assigned to guard Paul as a Roman
soldier? <i>"Oh, no! Not that guy
again! All he wants to talk about is Jesus." </i> Well,
obviously, Paul noticed how these soldiers were dressed as he was being guarded
and makes use of them in this illustration. Our idea of a belt doesn't do this
word justice. The Roman soldier's belt was actually a thick and wide
leather piece that not only was used to tuck in his tunic so he could move
around easily, it was also used much like a modern policeman's belt to hold
some of his weapons. It also provided support for his lower back and
abdomen. The breastplate was then fastened to the belt as
well. The belt was not just an adornment, but an essential piece of
the armor that held everything else together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s actually not surprising at all that the first piece of
armor that we are to put on in preparation for our battle with Satan is the
belt of truth. Satan is a liar and his main weapon is his deceitful schemes.
The truth is the primary weapon that we use to stand firm against his lies and
deceit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We have talked about this before but what is
truth? The original Greek word for this truth is <i>"aletheuo.”</i> It
is slightly different from the word Jesus used when He said in <b>John
14:6</b>, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">"I am the way, the truth,
and the life..."</span></i> This "truth" (aletheuo)
means to know and speak reality. Paul uses this exact same word
in chapter 4 of Ephesians when he tells us to speak the truth in
love. Barna Research Group took a survey and that survey showed in 2002
that only 1/3 of Christian adults believed in absolute truth and only 9% of
Christian teen-agers. So, what am I talking about when I say absolute
truth?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I remember years ago talking to a lady about how to be
saved. I told her that Jesus was the only way and that when we
accept Him into our lives to be Lord he will forgive our sins and we can have a
relationship with Him and spend eternity in Heaven. I remember she
said she was glad that I had that and she was sure that was true for me but she
preferred to get to Heaven another way and that was her truth. No, no,
no. I told her the absolute truth. I told
her aletheuo. Absolute truth is truth that is true for you and
for me and for everybody yesterday, today and tomorrow. Some
examples of absolute truth include<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">• God is the all-knowing and all-powerful creator of the
universe who still rules it today; • Jesus Christ never sinned<br />
• Satan is real • Salvation is received through faith in Christ, not by good
deeds • Every follower of Christ has a responsibility to share their faith with
non-believers • The Bible is accurate in all that it teaches<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are many others. When someone comes to you and
says they are living in a lifestyle that is contrary to what God approves of
what do they always say? <i>"I do this and that BUT it's ok
because of ..." </i>or<i> "I don't do this or that BUT it's
ok because...". </i>I cheat on my wife because she doesn't love me. I
have to work on Sundays or I would come to church. I had to lie to
her or she would be mad. I had to steal that because I can't afford
one and he can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm sure God in Heaven is saying, <i>"Oh yea, I
wrote those 10 Commandments but if you have a note from your mother I'll give
you a pass. It's not that big of a deal."</i> In the
book of Exodus, when Moses came down the mountain with the 10 Commandments it
says that the people actually backed away and told Moses to talk to them from a
distance because they didn't want God to talk to them or they were afraid they
would die. Today we know what the truth is we just choose to put our fingers in
our ears and say, <i>"nanny, nanny, nanny"</i> as we live
however we want to. We know what the truth is but it's not always
easy and sometimes it makes us uncomfortable. If I hear any more
about comfort I am going to be sick. Everybody wants to be
comfortable. We all have to make sure that nothing we say or do
makes anyone uncomfortable. Talking about Jesus in school makes people
uncomfortable. Standing up for the sanctity of life or against gay
marriage makes some people uncomfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You know why it makes people
uncomfortable? Because it is truth. It
is aletheuo. And when people are living contrary to truth God
allows them to be uncomfortable. Jesus Himself said in <b>Matthew
10:34</b>, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">"Do not suppose that I have
come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a
sword."</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>Jesus
didn't come to make people comfortable. His coming brought conflict
- conflict between Himself and Satan, as we have seen in this passage; conflict
between His followers and Satan's followers, between light and darkness and
between lies and truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We know what the truth is and sometimes it is
uncomfortable. Now let's look at <b>why it matters. </b>Have
you ever noticed how often what is said in Bible Study Thursday night directly
relates to what is later said in the sermon? And how what is said in
the sermon directly relates to something you read in your quiet time on
Wednesday and then relates to what you are going through Friday
morning? Do you know how we do that? Well, the Leadership
Team meets every week with Ben and me and we decide what is going to be taught
and what conversations are going to happen and how the music will relate to all
those things and make it match up to what is happening in your life this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And most of you are thinking right now, <i>"He is
preaching on truth and telling a lie!"</i> No, we don't do
that. The Holy Spirit does that when our church preaches and teaches
and sings about truth. When it all matches up then God blesses that
and uses all of that together to bless and encourage and prove what is
heard. Our very unity depends on truth. If somebody comes
in and starts teaching something that is not truth then there will be a
division; something else Paul knew all too well. We want and welcome everybody
in this church. We’re all weird and we are all messed up in our own
ways. Nobody is perfect around here. No offense, Sara. We
hope everybody in the world would come be a part of this church. But
if you want to be a member of this church and have the right to vote on
important matters and the opportunity to teach, then we have to know that you
are a like-minded believer in Jesus because if you don’t teach or preach or
sing what is truth then our unity could be fractured and we can’t have that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, let me tell you another reason why truth
matters. Let's say you are studying your Bible in your quiet time
tomorrow morning and you stumble across a passage that doesn't make sense to
you. So you study it and pray about it and get out a commentary or
two and you realize that this verse is not true. You read in <b>James
5:16</b>, for example, that fervent prayer is powerful and
effective. But in every other place that talks about prayer it says
that it is only good for making you feel good or maybe it is just a ritual that
we are supposed to do. What then?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'll tell you what happens to me. If I find a
passage, a verse or a word that is not true in the Bible, I become an
Atheist. If there is one word that is not truth, aletheuo, then
how can you believe any of it? But in my studies, I have found
everything written from cover to cover to be absolute truth. I have
learned firsthand that fervent prayer is powerful and effective. I
can give you examples. God continues to reveal to me the depth of
truth in His Word and without truth everything falls apart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Remember, Paul said this was the belt of
truth. And like a Roman soldier's belt, everything hangs on
it. Without truth then we have lost the sword of the Spirit, the
breastplate of righteousness goes twisting around, the helmet of salvation is
useless if the rest of us is uncovered and we might as well join the other side
before we get a flaming arrow in the heart. But when we put on the belt of
truth before we do anything else we know we will be able to stand because we
know that when God says there are benefits to obedience and consequences of
disobedience, we know it's true. When God says thou shalt not, we
don't make any excuses. When we see the blessings of truth in our
church we accept nothing that isn't.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Knowing truth doesn't mean you will be free from trouble but
like Job, when trouble comes we will be able to say, <i>"God, I don't
understand. This isn't fair. It doesn't make sense but I
know that you are sovereign. You are in control and You love
me. And so I trust You and I will stand in the battle. I
will stand when the enemy attacks. I will be strong in You and in
Your mighty power." </i>But that kind of response is impossible without a
relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus. If you feel
the Spirit of God drawing you closer to Him today, then today is the day of
salvation! Without Him there is no truth. There is no
eternal life in Heaven. Without Him there is only physical and
spiritual death in Hell. Ask Him for forgiveness of your sins and
then turn away from those sins and make Him Lord of your life. Do
that right now as the music plays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-74861412868793290932021-06-23T07:04:00.004-07:002021-06-23T07:04:57.423-07:00“Manna from Heaven” – Exodus 16:1-8<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dennis
Prager is a conservative radio talk show host and every Tuesday he has what he
calls the “Ultimate Issues Hour” where he talks about the things that are
really and truly important to us and the things that affect us most; not
usually politics. I always like that and I want to do something similar this
morning by asking you a question that is one of the most-asked and most
important questions ever asked but also one that continues to baffle people.
That question is, why do bad things happen to good people?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is a
question that definitely has some right answers but we will never know all the
answers completely until we get to Heaven. So, help me out this morning. What
are some of the reasons that bad things happen? Why is there so much suffering
in this world? If God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving then why is
there so much pain in this world?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The </span><a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Job.html"><span style="line-height: 107%;">book of Job</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"> deals with the issue of why God allows bad things to
happen to good people. Job was a righteous man (</span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Job%201.1" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Job 1:1</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">), yet he suffered in ways that are
almost beyond belief. God allowed Satan to do everything he wanted to Job
except kill him, and Satan did his worst. What was Job’s reaction? <i>“Though
he slay me, yet will I hope in him”</i> (</span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Job%2013.15" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Job 13:15</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">). <i>“The LORD gave and the LORD has
taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” </i>(</span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Job%201.21" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Job 1:21</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">). Job did not understand why God had
allowed the things He did, but he knew God was good and therefore continued to
trust in Him. Ultimately, that should be our reaction as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Why do bad
things happen to good people? As hard as it is to acknowledge, we must remember
that there are no “good” people, in the absolute sense of the word. All of us
are tainted by and infected with sin (</span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eccles%207.20" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Ecclesiastes 7:20</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">; </span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%203.23" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Romans 3:23</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">; </span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20John%201.8" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">1 John 1:8</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">). As Jesus said, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“No one is good—except God alone”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Luke%2018.19" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Luke 18:19</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">). All of us feel the effects of sin
in one way or another. Sometimes it’s our own personal sin; other times, it’s
the sins of others. We live in a fallen world, and we experience the effects of
the fall. One of those effects is injustice and seemingly senseless suffering. (</span><a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/bad-things-good-people.html"><span style="line-height: 107%;">GotQuestions.org</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are
actually any number of reasons why bad things happen to us but I want to show
you one more in the book of Exodus this morning. If you will turn in your
Bibles to <b>Exodus chapter 16</b>, we will see that one of the reasons there
is suffering is <b>because it is a test from God</b>. That’s the bad news. The
good news is that if we pass the test, there will be great blessings of
protection and provision.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The
Israelites found this out right after the big, huge, crazy impressive miracle
God did when He parted the Red Sea and allowed them to leave Egypt. You
remember that, right? It was kind of a big deal. Charlton Heston told Yul
Brenner to let my people go! Wait, hang on…well, sort of. Anyway, it was a big
deal. They left Egypt after 430 years with lots of people, lots of supplies and
high hopes. They worshiped God as the One, True God and gave Him all the glory
and it changed their lives…for about a month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s pick
up the story a month after they left Egypt in <b>Exodus 16:1-8</b>. And before
you get on your little high horse and start bad-mouthing their lack of faith
and looking down on them for how they reacted, just remember that this was
written down so that thousands of years later, we would see ourselves and
hopefully make the changes God wants us to make. Let’s read <b>Exodus 16:1-8</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #0070c0; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the
Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the
second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2In the desert the whole
community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them,
"If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots
of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this
desert to starve this entire assembly to death." 4Then the LORD said to
Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go
out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and
see whether they will follow my instructions. 5On the sixth day they are to
prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on
the other days." 6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In
the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt,
7and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard
your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against
us?" 8Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he
gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning,
because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not
grumbling against us, but against the LORD."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’ll remind
you that our purpose in going through Exodus has been to learn more about who
God is and how He works and we will definitely see something good here in a
minute but I have to give props to ol’ Moses real quick. He didn’t want this
job. He didn’t ask for it. God chose him and, at this point, it’s a pretty
thankless job. Oh, sure, a month ago everybody was patting him on the back and saying,
<i>“Way to go, Mo!”</i> but that was four whole weeks ago. The people are
hungry now. Their supplies are running low and there is nothing in this desert
to eat and they are blaming Moses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But if you
look closely at this passage you will see that until God spoke to Moses, Moses
didn’t respond to the people. He didn’t try to defend himself or set the story
straight or complain back. His first response was no response. That is so hard.
Our first instinct is often to lash out and set people straight. They are wrong
and here is why! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are
doing what God called you to do, you can be sure that somebody is going to
complain. Somebody is going to think it needs to be done differently and
somebody is going to get their feelings hurt and they are usually going to get
hurt loudly, which is a shame. But unless you hear God clearly telling you what
to say or how to respond, it is always best to just be quiet. It’s a lesson I’m
trying to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But that’s
part of the test. Do you see it? Look at <b>verse four</b> again. <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">4Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down
bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough
for that day. <b>In this way I will test them</b> and see whether they will
follow my instructions.” </span></i>God said He allowed this as a test. Don’t
you hate tests? The problem with tests is that you can pass them…or fail them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I always
hated tests. The only test I ever got an A+ on was my blood test. I guess you
could say God made sure I would pass that test. But the real problem with God’s
tests is that Satan always butts in and wants to make it into a temptation.
Have you ever noticed that? It’s important that we know the difference between
a test and a temptation and who is bringing what. But it’s interesting that the
original Greek word for “test” is the same as “tempt.” That word is “peirazo,”
and it can mean test or tempt depending on the usage and context.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For our
study today, just know that God will never tempt you and Satan will always want
to tempt you. For God, the outcome of a passed test means blessings and for
Satan, the outcome of a failed temptation is sin! And both consider their
outcomes a win.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <b>Hebrews
11:17</b> we read that <i>“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up
Isaac.”</i> Abraham passed the test, and God knew beforehand that he would.
This test wasn’t to determine whether or not Abraham would pass or fail. It was
to prove what Abraham was made of. Satan tempts us to prove that we are not who
God says we are, and God tests us to prove that we are exactly who He says we
are. The main difference between a “test” and a “temptation” is the one who is
doing it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Go back to <b>verse
two</b> and look what Satan puts in the heads of the Israelites. <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">"If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt!
There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have
brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is such
a lie! Look at it closely. First, they use the name LORD like they are all
pious and wonderful but they are griping the whole time and, as Moses points
out, they are griping against God Himself. God chose Moses. God told them where
to go and when to go. Moses is just being obedient. But that’s not even the
worst of it. They reminisce about all the good times and all the good food they
had back in Egypt like they just left their favorite camping spot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They were
slaves in Egypt! I guarantee they rarely had enough to eat but Satan always
wants to make us remember the good times of where we used to be. Does he do
that to you? If God has taken you out of something or somewhere; if God has
taken something away from you or taken you away from something; if God has
delivered you from a habit or a place or a person or a thing, Satan wants you
to remember it like it was the best of times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Years ago,
God delivered me from a lifestyle that was not pleasing to Him. I am glad y’all
don’t know and will hopefully never know all the gory details. Like Billy says
it was blah, blah, blah – not necessary to repeat. And sometimes I remember
those old times and Satan will come and whisper in my ear, <i>“Hey, let’s go do
that stuff we used to do! That was fun, right?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I
remember that, yes, I did have some fun back in those days but I also remember
that it was during those times that I would lay in bed at night so miserable
that I would wish I was dead! I don’t want to go back to any of that old
lifestyle that God delivered me from. But Satan wants nothing more than for me
to remember the laughs and the fun but not the pain and the hurt and the
heartache.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">If God has
delivered you from alcohol, drugs, smoking, cussing, immorality, being
Methodist, </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">😊</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> whatever it is then don’t allow the
father of lies to convince you to go back! God has delivered you from that and
for some people it was an overnight change and for some it was a long process
but either way, don’t let Satan convince you to go back. That’s not you
anymore. <b>2 Corinthians 5:17</b> says, <i>“Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is
here!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s one
way to fail the test that God allows you to go through. Another way to fail is
to not recognize the glory of God and you do that by grumbling and murmuring
like the Israelites were doing. Look closely at verses 6-7. <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In
the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt,
7and in the morning <b>you will see the glory of the LORD</b>, because he has
heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against
us?"<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are a
couple of things in tension here. First, if you choose to see the glory of God,
you won’t be complaining about your circumstances. Secondly, Moses rightfully
says here, <i>“Why are you complaining about me. I don’t have any glory. I’m
just a guy just like you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, what
does it mean to choose to see the glory of God? I looked that word up to see
exactly what “glory” means and the Hebrew word is “kabod” and it literally
means a heavy weight of goodness; a whole bunch of power and majesty and honor
and reputation. And the only way you can miss it is if you want to miss it. You
have to try to not see God’s glory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s just
what happens when we start complaining about the circumstances we are in. We overlook
all the heavy goodness and power of Almighty Jehova God. We close our eyes to
all that God has done and is doing and we concentrate on what there is bad in
our lives. When you focus on your problems, your problems eclipse God’s glory
but when you focus on God’s glory, your problems are eclipsed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s why
God decides to just show them a glimpse of His glory by giving them manna and
quail. Now, again, some people want to minimize God’s miracles here. They say
that the flight path of the quail would naturally bring them to this area in
the spring and after flying over the Red Sea they are exhausted and easy to
catch. Really? Every day for forty straight years? C’mon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oh, and the
manna was the residue from certain trees that grow over there and would just
naturally fall to the ground. Is that right? Well, I looked up the Sinai
Peninsula and from the pictures I saw, you can count the number of trees in the
whole place on one hand so don’t give me that. I read a commentary that said it
would take about 12 tons of manna to fall every day to feed that many people. It
was a miracle of provision and protection by God. And that’s what happens when
you pass the test. God protects and provides.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God gets the
glory and His people are blessed. God tests us, not because He wants us to
fail, but just the opposite, He wants us to pass so He can bless us. That is
what all-creative, all-powerful and all-loving God does. He makes up excuses to
bless His kids.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Most of you
know Michael and Liz got some good news this week. And we give God all the
glory for it. He answered our prayers and proved once again that He is able to
do more than we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). I believe Michael and
Liz passed God’s test and I believe this church passed God’s test in this and were
rewarded by God’s protection and provision.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So,
obviously, all you have to do is be obedient to God and God will answer all
your prayers just like you ask Him to, right? I mean, isn’t that the lesson we
are to learn here? The only problem is that we all know that’s not true. How
many times have you prayed for something and done what God told you to do and
you had no unforgiven sin in your life and things just went from bad to worse?
We have all been there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ask the
Apostle Paul. Even he didn’t always get his prayers answered like he wanted. In
<b>2 Corinthians 12</b>, Paul says he prayed three times for God to heal him.
Three times! The Apostle Paul, Mr. Obedience. Mr. Faith. And nothing. Well, not
exactly nothing because he said that God answered his prayer by telling him, <i><span style="color: #00b0f0;">“My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect
in weakness.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My grace! My
power! My presence! My glory! Is enough! My heavy glory that is obvious if you
will look, God says, I have made more obvious. This life is not about being
more comfortable. It’s not about having our prayers answered as we want. It’s
not about having no needs. It is about – this whole life for us believers – is
about knowing God better. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Moses said
later in Exodus, <i>“God, I want to see your glory.”</i> And God showed him. That’s
a prayer we ought to all pray when we have needs. “God, here is my need. I know
you to be heavy with glory. I see it in all of creation. I see it in the Old
Testament, the New Testament and I see it in my life and all around me and as
the One who has the glory, I want you to be revealed and made known and made
famous in this struggle.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bless me or
don’t bless me. Heal me or don’t heal me. I want you to get the glory in my
life whether I am happy or sad, in poverty or in a mansion, sick or healthy.
This life is not about me. I want it to be about you. You are the One who
provides and protects and you always have been. We see it in our passage today
and we see it in our own lives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;">One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner,
experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to
the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength,
failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease
and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South
America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of
hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book
showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, <i>"I
am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God."</i> (sermonillustrations.com)</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are
here today and you don’t have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus and
you don’t understand that kind of thinking, don’t be surprised. Unbelievers
can’t understand that. <b>1 Corinthians 2:14</b> says, <i><span style="color: #00b050;">“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things
that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot
understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When you
accept Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior then God’s Spirit comes to live
inside your life guiding you and helping you and allowing you to understand
that kind of thing. If you would like that then don’t even wait until the music
starts playing. Come down here right now and I want to pray with you and
explain what scripture says about how to be saved; how to have peace and joy in
this life even in the hard times but also how to have eternal life with Jesus
in Heaven as co-heirs with Jesus to all the good things Heaven has to offer.
It’s a free gift but it’s not cheap. Jesus paid the price with His life so you
don’t have to. All you have to do is accept it. Do it right now as the music
plays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-25058769417824862182021-06-15T06:46:00.001-07:002021-06-15T06:46:16.348-07:00“Crossing the Red Sea” – Exodus 14<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Have you ever been watching a movie that seems real enough and
all the sudden they do something impossible? My favorite is the classic scene
where the guy breaks the car window, opens the door, pulls down a couple of
wires under the dash and in two seconds, hot wires the car by sparking two
wires together. Drives me crazy. Do you know how impossible that is?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Number one, that window doesn’t break like that. I know. I
locked my keys in my car once so I wrapped my hand in my t-shirt and punched
the window as hard as I could. Do you know what happened? The window didn’t
even crack but my hand did. I couldn’t use my arm for three days. Also, I have
worked on cars and trucks enough to know that there are hundreds of wires under
the dash and they are all different colors and all do different things and you
can’t just pull them down like that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">I hate it when Hollywood thinks I’m stupid. Like when the cowboy
shoots 25 times without reloading his six-shooter or the bus jumps over the gap
in the highway. Don’t get me started on the laugh track they use on these
so-called comedies. Those jokes aren’t near that funny. You know what I mean,
right?</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, it’s always amazing to me that the people that put out these
ridiculous movies and the people that watch them and have no trouble with them
then want to explain away the real miracles of God. Our text this morning is
from <b>Exodus 14</b> where we read about the Israelites crossing the
Red Sea on dry land. You know the story. The Israelites finally left Egypt but
Pharaoh changed his mind and went after them and found them trapped next to the
massive Red Sea so he attacked and God caused the sea to divide and the
Israelites walked over but when the Egyptians followed, God closed the gap in
the water and they all drowned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">It’s a story most of us have heard since we were little kids and
we just believe it. The Bible says it. It’s true. That’s enough. I was watching
a documentary a while back and several scientists have finally “figured out”
how it happened. See, if they went at just the right spot across the Red Sea at
just the right time of year and the right time of day, and if there was an
earthquake and the wind was really blowing at just the right speed and if they
hurried, then there is a chance this really happened.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">That is what they believe. But here is another option. Now, keep
in mind I am not a scientist nor do I play one on TV but here is my theory. God
performed a miracle. You know what? If they did go at just the right time and
place and there was an earthquake and the wind blew, that is still a miracle.
But I believe it happened just like the Bible says. God led the people to this
spot, allowed them to be part of it and caused several incredible things to happen
so that all the people had to do was be obedient and God would get the glory.
That is called a miracle any way you slice it.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Why do you think that is? Why do people want to minimize the
miracles of God? I’ve told you before that even some of my Christian
commentaries do it sometimes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">You may remember from the book of Genesis that there had been a
famine in Israel, which was part of God’s whole plan, and Joseph, an Israelite
had become second in command of Egypt where there was plenty of food. His family
finally came over to Egypt to live and pretty soon the whole country of Israel
had pretty much done the same and the Egyptians made them slaves for 430 years.
But, again, God heard their groaning and called Moses to bring them out of
slavery. There are about twenty other major miracles in all that story (all
part of God’s plan) but moving right along, we see the Israelites finally
getting to leave Egypt. They are gone just a little while and Pharaoh has a
change of heart when he hears they are wandering lost in the desert. Our main
passage is in </span><b style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Exodus 14</b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;"> but I want to start with a couple of
verses at the end of 13.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We will read <b>Exodus 13:17-18 and 20-22</b> and then
all of <b>chapter 14</b>. It sounds long but it’s a great story and fun to
read.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road
through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they
face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” <b><sup>18 </sup></b>So
God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites
went up out of Egypt ready for battle. <b><sup>20 </sup></b>After
leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. <b><sup>21 </sup></b>By
day the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> went ahead
of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar
of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. <b><sup>22 </sup></b>Neither
the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in
front of the people. <b>14 </b>Then the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> said to Moses, <b><sup>2 </sup></b>“Tell
the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the
sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. <b><sup>3 </sup></b>Pharaoh
will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed
in by the desert.’ <b><sup>4 </sup></b>And I will harden Pharaoh’s
heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through
Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.” So the Israelites did this. <b><sup>5 </sup></b>When
the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials
changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the
Israelites go and have lost their services!” <b><sup>6 </sup></b>So
he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. <b><sup>7 </sup></b>He
took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of
Egypt, with officers over all of them. <b><sup>8 </sup></b>The <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> hardened the heart of Pharaoh
king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out
boldly. <b><sup>9 </sup></b>The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and
chariots, horsemen<sup> </sup>and troops—pursued the Israelites and
overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal
Zephon. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites
looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were
terrified and cried out to the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>. <b><sup>11 </sup></b>They
said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought
us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of
Egypt? <b><sup>12 </sup></b>Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us
alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve
the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” <b><sup>13 </sup></b>Moses
answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the
deliverance the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> will
bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. <b><sup>14 </sup>The <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> will fight for you; you need
only to be still.” <sup>15 </sup></b>Then the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> said to Moses, “Why are you
crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. <b><sup>16 </sup></b>Raise
your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that
the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. <b><sup>17 </sup></b>I
will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And
I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and
his horsemen. <b><sup>18 </sup></b>The Egyptians will know that I am
the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> when I gain glory
through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” <b><sup>19 </sup></b>Then
the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew
and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood
behind them, <b><sup>20 </sup></b>coming between the armies of Egypt
and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and
light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. <b><sup>21 </sup></b>Then
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> drove the sea back with a
strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, <b><sup>22 </sup></b>and
the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on
their right and on their left. <b><sup>23 </sup></b>The Egyptians
pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them
into the sea. <b><sup>24 </sup></b>During the last watch of the night
the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> looked down
from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into
confusion. <b><sup>25 </sup></b>He jammed<sup> </sup>the wheels
of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said,
“Let’s get away from the Israelites! The <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is
fighting for them against Egypt.” <b><sup>26 </sup></b>Then the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> said to Moses, “Stretch out
your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and
their chariots and horsemen.” <b><sup>27 </sup></b>Moses stretched
out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The
Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> swept
them into the sea. <b><sup>28 </sup></b>The water flowed back and
covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed
the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. <b><sup>29 </sup></b>But
the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on
their right and on their left. <b><sup>30 </sup></b>That day
the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> saved Israel from
the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the
shore. <b><sup>31 </sup></b>And when the Israelites saw the mighty
hand of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> displayed
against the Egyptians, the people feared the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When I was a little kid, I had an illustrated story book of the
Bible and I remember it had an illustration of this story that showed the
people walking through the Red Sea with a wall of water on both sides and on
one side the people were looking up at a whale swimming right beside them like
they were looking at a huge aquarium. We don’t know that anything like that
happened but I like that way of thinking. If God can do a small miracle, then
He can do a big miracle!</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">I think everybody here would say they believe that. But I think
the problem most of us have is believing that God can do the small miracles in
our lives, at least we don’t live like it. Oh, sure you believe God can part
the sea or make a donkey talk or even speak the universe into existence but
when the doctor gives bad news, it’s time to worry. When that temptation comes
at you from what used to be an addiction, that’s too much for God. When the
bills start piling up, you know what the Bible says, but you still quit tithing
and start working on Sunday so </span><b style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;"><i>you</i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;"> can fix the problem.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When an alcoholic became a believer, he was asked how he could
possibly believe all the nonsense in the Bible about miracles. <i>"You
don't believe that Jesus changed the water into wine do you?" <b>"I
sure do, because in our house Jesus changed the whiskey into furniture."</b></i>
R. Stedman, Authentic Christianity, p. 36.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I look around here this morning and I see a lot of miracles. I
see the prisoner who was set free and now goes back to the prison to share Jesus.
I see the spiritually blind, the physically sick and the emotionally abused who
are healed. I see the drunk who hasn’t had a drop in 30-something years. I see
the immoral and the ugly, the wasteful and mean man who now stands up here
to preach. But the question is, can God handle the attack you are going through
right now? When Satan attacks, is God really going to fight for you?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Oh, I know what you’re thinking. </span><i style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">“If I saw God do a huge
miracle like parting the Red Sea, then I would believe.” </i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">No, you
wouldn’t. Do you know why I say that? In the very next chapter, right after the
big celebration and the long, wonderful prayer of thanksgiving, it says the
people started groaning when they didn’t have enough water. The last person to
cross over is just barely on the other side good and it’s already, </span><i style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">“Oh,
no! What are we going to do now? I mean, what has God done for us lately?”</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are several things I want us to see in this wonderful
passage that will help us when Satan attacks. First, we need to look at it from
an overview. Was it God’s will that Joseph went to Egypt back in Genesis? Yes,
it was. Was it God’s will that the people would follow Joseph and even be
enslaved? Yes, it was. Was it God’s will that Moses deliver them? Absolutely.
But look closer. In <b>chapter 13, verse 17</b>, God led them out of Egypt
and into the desert right up to the Red Sea. God did that on purpose.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He didn’t take them the quickest way but led them in a way that
would go around the crazy–mean Philistines and make it look like they were lost
so that Pharaoh would chase them. God set all of this up. Why? For His glory.
Why does God do anything? For His glory. Why does God allow or even cause what
we think are bad things to happen to us? For His glory.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read <b>verses 2, 3 and 4</b> again. </span><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Tell the Israelites to
turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to
encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. <b><sup>3 </sup></b>Pharaoh
will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed
in by the desert.’ <b><sup>4 </sup></b>And I will harden Pharaoh’s
heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through
Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I bet they were groaning then, too. <i>“That Moses! He is
getting us lost. Where’s the GPS?”</i> But God was telling Moses, in fact,
He was showing Moses which way to go. It wasn’t Moses’s fault. God was in
control of where they went the whole time just like He is today with your
problem. So, that leads us to this question, how do we know where God is
leading us? Look at <b>chapter 13, verses 21-22. </b></span><b><i><sup><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">21 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By day the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> went ahead of them in a pillar
of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give
them light, so that they could travel by day or night. <b><sup>22 </sup></b>Neither
the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in
front of the people.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Don’t you wish you had something like that? Don’t you wish you
had something to guide you and to help you make wise choices? You do! In <b>Isaiah
30:21</b> it says, <i>“</i></span><i><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whether you turn to the right or
to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, <u>"This is
the way; walk in it."</u></span></i><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 14pt;"> Do you know what that
voice is? For us as believers, that voice is the Holy Spirit.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In <b>John 16:7</b>, Jesus said, <i>“</i></span><i><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But very truly I tell
you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate
will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”</span></i><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> He calls Him the
Advocate here or the Comforter. The Holy Spirit is our Guide and He wants us to
know which way to go. He wants what is best for us and wherever He guides, it
will be for our best and for God to get the glory through it.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 14pt;">So, when Satan attacks you, either by temptation or causing
something bad in your life, we see in this passage </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">what God’s part is in
it. He allows it. He may even cause it. In <b>John chapter 9</b>, Jesus
and His disciples come to a man born blind and His disciples ask Jesus, </span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?” 3</span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/2424.htm" title="2424: Iesous (N-NMS) -- Jesus; the Greek form of Joshua; Jesus, son of Eliezer; Jesus, surnamed Justus."><i><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">Jesus</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/611.htm" title="611: Apekrithe (V-AIP-3S) -- To answer, reply, take up the conversation."><i><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">answered,</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/3777.htm" title="3777: Oute (Conj) -- And not, neither, nor."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">“Neither</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/3778.htm" title="3778: houtos (DPro-NMS) -- This; he, she, it."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">this man</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/3777.htm" title="3777: oute (Conj) -- And not, neither, nor."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">nor</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/846.htm" title="846: autou (PPro-GM3S) -- He, she, it, they, them, same."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">his</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/1118.htm" title="1118: goneis (N-NMP) -- A begetter, father; plural: parents."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">parents</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/264.htm" title="264: hemarten (V-AIA-3S) -- Originally: to miss the mark, hence (a) to make a mistake, (b) to sin, commit a sin (against God); sometimes the idea of sinning against a fellow-creature is present."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">sinned,</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/235.htm" title="235: all’ (Conj) -- But, except, however, rather, on the contrary."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">but</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/2443.htm" title="2443: hina (Conj) -- In order that, so that."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">this happened so that</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/3588.htm" title="3588: ta (Art-NNP) -- The, the definite article."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">the</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/2041.htm" title="2041: erga (N-NNP) -- Work, task, employment; a deed, action; that which is wrought or made, a work."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">works</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/2316.htm" title="2316: Theou (N-GMS) -- (a) God, (b) a god, generally."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">of God</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/5319.htm" title="5319: phanerothe (V-ASP-3S) -- To make clear (visible, manifest), make known."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">would be displayed</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/1722.htm" title="1722: en (Prep) -- In, on, among."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">in</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><a href="http://biblehub.com/greek/846.htm" title="846: auto (PPro-DM3S) -- He, she, it, they, them, same."><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">him.</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Sometimes God allows or
causes what we consider to be bad things to come into our lives but God is
still in control. He is sovereign but He also loves us and wants us to do the
right thing, to be obedient even in the midst of the trial.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is fascinating to me to read <b>verse 13 of chapter 14</b> that
says, “</span><b><i><sup><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moses answered the people, “Do not
be afraid. Stand firm </span></i><span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(does that sound familiar? Stand firm? Stand. Put on the armor of
God and stand? Ephesians 6)<i> and you will see the deliverance the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> will bring you today. The
Egyptians you see today you will never see again. <b><sup>14 </sup>The <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> will fight for you; you need
only to be still.”</b></i></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God will fight for you. Just be still. But then in just the very
next verse, God tells Moses to tell the people to move on. Do you see that
in <b>verse 15</b>? Well, which is it? Be still or move on? The answer is
“yes.” <b>Psalm 46:10</b> uses the same words. “<i>Be still and know
He is God.”</i> I love that verse and I know we have talked about it
before. It literally means to let your hands hang down. Quit trying to solve
the problem and to fix everything. Relax. God’s got this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">When you do that, you just keep moving on. Keep living life. The
battle’s not over. Don’t give up and freak out and fall over. It’s gonna be ok.
God’s in control and He loves you. His job is to fight the battle in a way that
is best for you and brings Him glory. You just be obedient, keep going, be
still in your heart and mind. Make Him look good in every season of your life,
good or bad and watch Him work. Then watch the miracles.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">I believe the greatest miracle God ever performed was making us
justified and righteous and holy and His friends and He did that through the shed
blood of Jesus on the cross. On that cross He died for your sins to pay the
price we could never pay and all we have to do is believe. If you have never
done that today, then let Him work that miracle in you right now. Ask Him for
forgiveness of your sins and then repent or turn away from those sins. Let God
change your life for your good and His glory today. Do it right now as the
music plays.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-81184871131450289732021-06-07T19:30:00.002-07:002021-06-07T19:30:49.873-07:00The Passover – Exodus 12:1-13 & 21-23<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Kenneth
Clark lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his
autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to
be an overwhelming religious experience. </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">"My whole being,"</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
Clark wrote, </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">"was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense
than anything I had known before." </i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">But it created a problem. If he
allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his
family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove
to be an illusion. So, he concluded, </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">"I was too deeply embedded in the
world to change course." </i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(Our Daily Bread, February 15, 1994)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Those are
tragic words. He thought he was too deeply embedded in the world to change
course. It would have taken a miracle for Clark to see that he was, in fact, <b>not</b>
too deeply embedded in the world. But a miracle was not the problem. The
problem was that he couldn’t see or admit that a miracle had already happened
that provided him a way out of the world. All he had to do was accept it. That
was the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The miracle
was that God had provided a way, not just out of this world but also into
Heaven by His Son Jesus who died on a cross to provide that way. That’s the
miracle and it is still the way. Jesus said, <i>“I am the way and nobody gets
to Heaven without Me.”</i> (John 14:6) Maybe today you are sitting hear
listening to this or reading this and you think you need a miracle. Well, I
have Good News! God knew you would need a miracle and so He provided it a
couple thousand years ago and that miracle is just waiting for you to accept
it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do it right
now. I’m not kidding. Right now! Don’t wait until the end of the service. This
is the most important decision you will ever make and nothing is more
important. You think you need a miracle to get you out of what you have gotten
yourself into. Well, one miracle coming up! Here it is and His name is Jesus.
His name is not religion. His name is not sacrifice. His name is not good
works. Those things without Jesus get you to Hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">God is the
miracle-worker, the way-maker, the chain-breaker and the pain-taker. John the
Baptist saw Jesus and said, <i>“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!”</i> (John 1:29) He is the only One you need and I can prove it by
showing you in scripture even way back in the Old Testament that even way back
then and all the way to today, <b>it is all about the Lamb.<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Turn to <b>Exodus
chapter 12</b> and let’s read about the nation of Israel needing a miracle. If
anybody needed a miracle it was them. You think your life is bad. They had been
in slavery for hundreds of years and were ruled by a Pharoah who had the
hardest of hearts. They had already seen nine miracles but Pharoah wasn’t
budging. He wasn’t giving in. He was not going to let the Israelites out of
Egypt no matter what. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So God
performed a huge miracle! It was incredible! It was amazing! It was deadly and
it was unforgettable and it worked. And do you know what He used to perform
this incredible miracle? A young lamb. You would think He would use a lion or a
snake or at least a big mean white dog like Bo! But God used a small,
defenseless, year-old lamb and this story, like the rest of the entire Bible…is
all about the Lamb.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preaching
through this part of Exodus is somewhat difficult because there are so many
things going on in these chapters. There is the 10<sup>th</sup> plague that we
talked about last week. But there is also the Passover, the instructions for
celebrating the Passover for the years to come. There is the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, the consecration of the first-born and there is – don’t
forget – the crossing over the Red Sea miracle (which is kind of a big deal
too). So, there is a lot going on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But this
morning, let’s focus on the Passover. It has enough importance and symbolism to
last us for a while. So, let’s turn to <b>Exodus 12</b> and let’s read <b>verses
1-13</b> and then we will skip over and read <b>21-23</b>.<i><span style="color: #833c0b; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is
to be for you the first month, the first month of your
year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of
this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each
household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they
must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the
number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in
accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose
must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the
sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of
the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter
them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and
put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the
lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat
roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made
without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast
it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not
leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn
it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into
your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in
haste; it is the Lord’s Passover. 12 “On that same night I will
pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both
people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I
am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses
where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No
destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.</span></i> Go to verse
21:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #833c0b; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then Moses summoned
all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals
for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a
bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the
blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go
out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When
the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he
will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass
over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your
houses and strike you down.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you
could, how many of you would like to have a fresh, new start? When I was in my
twenties, I decided I was going to move to Australia and start my life anew. I
had made so many mistakes that I thought I just needed to start over. That
seemed like the answer. Unfortunately for me, Australia didn’t agree. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That didn’t
happen for me but it did happen for the Israelites. In <b>verse 2</b>, God
tells them they are to start a new month and a new year. Their lives are about
to become all new and God wants them to remember every aspect of what He is
about to do, starting with making a new year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then <b>verse
3</b> sounds like something that would be popular today. Have you noticed that
all the cool people online have baby goats and sheep now? They dress the little
goats up in pajamas and they run around and jump around and you can’t help but
say, <i>“Aww! Look at the little baby goats in pajamas! They’re so cute!”</i>
Right? Then there are the fainting goats. Have you seen those? That’s
hilarious!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Well,
unfortunately for the goats and the sheep, our story today doesn’t end that
way. Did you see what they were supposed to do with the little one year old
lambs? They bring them inside, into their homes and they make them a part of
their family. Don’t you know the kids would want to name their lamb? For four
days, the lamb would be part of the family and taken great care of. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">These lambs
were physically perfect. They could have no defect. Nothing more, nothing less
than perfection; not a scab, scar, wound or discoloration. And for four days,
these little perfect lambs would be given everything they wanted and needed and
more. But then on the fifth day they were to sacrifice that little lamb and
drain his blood into a basin or bowl of some kind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I know. I
know. That’s horrible. That had to traumatize some of those poor kids to see
their dad do that to a perfect little lamb that had basically become a pet.
Then they would take that blood from that little lamb and with a handful of
hyssop (which is basically just wild-growing weeds available everywhere over
there) they would put the blood over the top and sides of the outside of the
door of their house. That was the sign for God to see and He would pass over
that house and not kill the first-born.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Anybody else
have any questions about this procedure or is it just me? I’m thinking instead
of killing an animal, why not just use paint? I think some candy apple red
Krylon from a rattle can would look real nice, don’t you? Or even better, why
not some precious jewels or some gold and silver? Here’s an idea. Why not just
put the live little critter out there? Tie him up to the door post over night
and go back for him in the morning and take him with you out of Egypt. That’s
the ticket right there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There’s only
one problem. As we learned last week, scripture says that the wages of sin is
death (Romans 6:23) and I want you to see this week that <b>Hebrews 9:22</b>
says, <i>“without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”</i> Why?
Because in the blood is the life and the wages of sin is death and so there
must be an atonement for sin; a reparation for sin and that is the taking of
innocent life. (Adrian Rogers, LET’S CELEBRATE PASSOVER)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For family
devotions, Martin Luther once read the account of Abraham offering Isaac on the
altar in Genesis 22. His wife, Katie, said, <i>"I do not believe it. God
would not have treated his son like that!" "But, Katie," </i>Luther
replied, <i>"He did."</i> (W. Wiersbe, The Wycliffe
Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 191.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You would
have to be blind to not see the correlation between the Passover lamb and
Jesus. There are so many similarities and that is no accident, of course. God
the Father wanted us to know something of the sacrifice that He made and that Jesus
made when He died on the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We sing a
lot around here about the blood of Jesus. There is a fountain filled with blood<br />
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins<br />
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What can
wash away my sin?<br />
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;<br />
What can make me whole again?<br />
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Just as I am
- without one plea,<br />
But that Thy blood was shed for me,<br />
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,<br />
-O Lamb of God, I come!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s just
gross, right? A “fountain filled with blood”? That’s a lot of blood! Maybe we
should sing songs about a happy Jesus. Maybe we should sing more about His life
and His miracles and how good He was instead of His bloody death. But, again,
there is a problem. We aren’t saved by the life of Jesus. We aren’t saved by
His goodness or His miracles. We are saved by His death. Remember? <i>“Without
the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have an
idea that those Israelites that truly understood what was going on were
sickened and saddened by the death of their little lamb but were so grateful to
be passed over that they drained that little lamb of every last drop of blood
and then used every drop to drench that door frame! Get another bunch of hyssop
if you need and slather that red salvation from top to bottom. Don’t miss an
inch. Paint the whole door frame exactly as God said but do it liberally. Drain
the bucket with coat after coat of bloody paint.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Just like John
Hancock didn’t want the King of England to have to put on his glasses to read
his signature. They didn’t want God to miss seeing the blood. They didn’t just
put a little bit. They didn’t just dab a little here and there. For those that
understood, they had sloppy red bloody paint all over the front of the house.
They were thankful for the blood and it showed, not just to God but to their
neighbors and to the Egyptians and to the world!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If blood is
what it takes to make me right with God, yes it’s a tragedy, my sin is a
tragedy, but if that’s what it takes then I want to sing about it. I want to tell
the world about the blood that gave me forgiveness and righteousness. I want
the world to know that it is the blood of Jesus that allows me to have peace
and joy in this world but, even better, to have everlasting life with the Lamb
Himself! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is all
about the Lamb. The Passover is all about the Lamb. The whole Bible, Old and
New Testaments, are all about the Lamb and my life should be all about the
Lamb. Does the world know what you believe about the blood of the Lamb? If they
don’t know then it’s not all about the Lamb for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Go back to <b>verses
8-10</b>. They were to eat all the lamb, not to leave anything. Why? Because
when we receive Jesus, we don’t receive Him partially, do we? We don’t take Him
as Savior now and maybe later we go back for a little bit of Lord. This isn’t a
buffet where we can pick and choose. <i>“Ooh, that peace looks good today but
I’m not really in the mood for obedience. I’m trying to cut down on my
obedience. That’s too hard to eat, if you know what I mean. I’m really just
here for the dessert of Heaven but I guess I’ll try just a dab of holiness. Can
you give me just a little slice of holiness but hold the self-control, please?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Honey, it doesn’t
work that way. You are all in or you are all out. There is no in between. God
said in <b>Revelation 3</b>, <span style="color: #7030a0;">“</span></span><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/1492.htm" title="1492: Oida (V-RIA-1S) -- To know, remember, appreciate. "><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I know</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/4771.htm" title="4771: sou (PPro-G2S) -- You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">your</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/2041.htm" title="2041: erga (N-ANP) -- From a primary ergo; toil; by implication, an act."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">deeds;</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/1510.htm" title="1510: ei (V-PIA-2S) -- I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">you are</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/3777.htm" title="3777: oute (Conj) -- And not, neither, nor. From ou and te; not too, i.e. Neither or nor; by analogy, not even."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">neither</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/5593.htm" title="5593: psychros (Adj-NMS) -- Cool, cold; fig: cold-hearted. From psuchos; chilly."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">cold</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/3777.htm" title="3777: oute (Conj) -- And not, neither, nor. From ou and te; not too, i.e. Neither or nor; by analogy, not even."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">nor</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/2200.htm" title="2200: zestos (Adj-NMS) -- Boiling hot; met: fervent. From zeo; boiled, i.e. calid."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">hot.</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/3785.htm" title="3785: ophelon (I) -- First person singular of a past tense of opheilo; I ought, i.e. oh that!"><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How I wish</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/1510.htm" title="1510: ēs (V-IIA-2S) -- I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">you were</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/5593.htm" title="5593: psychros (Adj-NMS) -- Cool, cold; fig: cold-hearted. From psuchos; chilly."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">one</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/2228.htm" title="2228: ē (Conj) -- Or, than. A primary particle of distinction between two connected terms; disjunctive, or; comparative, than."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">or</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></i><a href="https://biblehub.com/greek/2200.htm" title="2200: zestos (Adj-NMS) -- Boiling hot; met: fervent. From zeo; boiled, i.e. calid."><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the other!</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> 16So because you
are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jesus said
in <b>Matthew 12</b>, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“Whoever is not with me is
against me.”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>You don’t get to
have just a little bit of Jesus. And the thing is, when you truly feast on Him,
you want more and more. That’s why Paul said in Philippians so many times that
he wanted to know Christ. He wanted more Jesus. He wanted all of Jesus even to
death. I think that’s at least partly what David meant when He said in <b>Psalm
34</b> to taste and see that the Lord is good! Yes, it is a tragedy that Jesus
had to die. It’s a tragedy because we chose to sin but it is a wonderful gift
that the Lamb was killed so we don’t have to die. It is all about the Lamb.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let me close
with a quick look at <b>verse 11</b>. This is how they were to eat the lamb. Do
you see it? <i><span style="color: #833c0b; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Eat it with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet
and your staff in your hand.” </span></i>This took faith on the part of the
Israelites. At this point, Pharoah was still hard-hearted and didn’t plan on
the Jews going anywhere except back to work. But God said to be ready.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of you
today need an exodus of your own. You need to be delivered from a habit, a
person, a thing, an idol or a way of thinking. I don’t know what it is but God
is ready for you to be delivered from it and so He is making a way where there
is no way. It won’t be easy. There will be some specific steps for you to take
and you have to be full of Him. Scripture calls that to be filled with the Holy
Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There is
nothing weird about that or “charismatic” about that. I’m not talking about
anything that scripture doesn’t talk about. When you accept Jesus as your Lord
and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. He will always be
there but sometimes you can grieve Him with your sins and bad decisions. But
when you are filled up with Him and drained of all your fleshly wants and
desires, God will do a mighty thing in your life and He is ready to do that. All
you have to do is be ready for Him to show you the first step.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Maybe that
first step is repentance for you. Maybe you aren’t living like a believer
should. If you are a true believer then you know it when you are out of His
will. That’s the most miserable place in the world. Give all that up and give
in to Him. Ask Him for forgiveness right now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you have
never done that then today is the day of salvation. The price has been paid.
The Lamb has been slain and all you have to do is accept it. It is a free gift
of God but it’s not cheap. Your salvation was bought and paid for with the
precious blood of Jesus so you wouldn’t have to pay that price. I don’t
understand that kind of love but I accept it. Do you? Call on the name of the
Lord today and you can be saved. Do it right now as the music plays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lord’s
Supper<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #833c0b; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-60101715873696812272021-06-02T16:23:00.002-07:002021-06-02T16:23:25.079-07:00“In the Midst of Tragedy, There is God” - Exodus 12<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the spring of 1863, 2 years before the Civil War ended,
mothers went out to lay flowers on the graves of their Confederate dead. There
were Union soldiers buried there also. These mothers realized that the mothers
of the North could not come to the graves of their sons, and so in love that
rose above the hatred of the war they put flowers on the graves of the Union
soldiers as well. This practice spread all over the South and then into the
North, and that's how Memorial Day began. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While Memorial Day is not in the Bible, obviously, the
concept is. We are told in several places to remember things, especially the
things that God has done. There is a time for forgetting some things, usually
what we have done, as well. <b>Isaiah 43:18</b> says to forget the former
things and that’s one of my favorite verses in all the Bible because it goes on
to say that God is about to do a new thing. And we will want to remember that
thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s good to remember what God has done in the past because
it builds our faith that God will protect and provide for us in the future. We
have faith that He will because we remember how He has done it in the past. We
don’t have to understand Him. He doesn’t always explain how He did it or how He
is going to do it. But He is faithful and so we can have faith in Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We can have faith in Him even when life is painful. In fact,
if you can’t have faith in God in the hard times but you say you have faith in
the good times, I say that’s no faith at all. Faith is born in adversity and
proven in the fire. The three Hebrew boys said, <i>“We know God can and we know
He will but even if He doesn’t, still we will praise Him.” </i>And do you know
what happened? They were thrown right into the fire!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God didn’t save them from the fire. God didn’t hear their
promise and take their word for it. He allowed them to get thrown into the
hottest fire imaginable. And while God didn’t save them from the fire, read in <b>Daniel
chapter three</b>, starting in <b>verse 22:</b> <i><span style="color: #7030a0;">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, Your Majesty.” 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.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Haha! King Neb, you moron! That’s not a son of the gods.
That is THE Son of THE God and His name is Jesus, who was, who is and is to
come! In the midst of Shadrach’s worst tragedy, there was God. There was God,
not just looking. Not just watching from Heaven wondering how things were going
to turn out. There was God in the midst of it and in control of it just like He
is in your life and how He was in the life of Moses and the Israelites in their
captivity in Egypt some thousands of years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's good to remember so let’s turn to <b>Exodus chapter 12</b>
and there we will see the last plague that God sends on Pharoah and Egypt.
Evidently God is 0-for-9 so far, right? Nine other plagues were sent but
Pharoah’s heart is hard and nothing is working. Evidently, God is up in Heaven
scratching His head thinking, <i>“I just knew the frogs would work! I mean, I
sent them everywhere!”</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">No, no. That’s not what happened at all. It’s not that God
had plan A, B and C and all those other plans and plagues didn’t work so God
has to break out the big guns. No, that’s not it. This was God’s one and only
plan all along. He knew Pharoah’s heart and He also knew the gods that Egypt
served and God is jealous anytime somebody gives to somebody else what
rightfully belongs to Him. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all creation and
He wants the credit for it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, when the Egyptians are bowing down to some frog head
idol made out of wood, God said, <i>“I see your frog and will raise you a
billion more! I AM the one, true God. Allow me to prove it.”</i> God just went
down the line of Egypt’s biggest, little g gods and said, <i>“Ok. You think the
Nile River is a god? I’ll turn it to blood. You think gnats and flies are holy?
I’ll infest you with them. Rah is your sun god? I’ll turn the day black as
coal.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But there is one more plague. One more plague that will
cause even Pharoah himself to believe and not only allow them to leave Egypt
but Pharoah will demand that they leave and take everything valuable with them.
As we continue our sermon series on seeing who God is, let’s read <b>Exodus</b>,
starting in <b>chapter 11</b>. We will read a little bit there and a little bit
from <b>chapter 12</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Chapter 11, verses 1-8</b> says, <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">“Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring
one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you
go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out
completely. 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask
their neighbors for articles of silver and
gold.” 3 (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably
disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in
Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.) 4 So Moses said, “This is
what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout
Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the
firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the
female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle
as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse
than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the
Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that
the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and
Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down
before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After
that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love that ending. Moses is hot with anger. Oh, yeah,
Moses. You’re ten foot tall and bullet proof when you have God on your side,
right? That’s great! What happened to, <i>“I can’t speak well. I stutter. Get
somebody else, God”</i>? Yeah, he’s not stuttering now, is he?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s continue reading <b>chapter 12</b>, starting in <b>verse
29</b>. <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">At midnight the LORD struck down all the
firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to
the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all
the livestock as well. 30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians
got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not
a house without someone dead. 31During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and
Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship
the LORD as you have requested. 32Take your flocks and herds, as you have said,
and go. And also bless me." 33The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and
leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all
die!" 34So the people took their dough before the yeast was added and
carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35The
Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of
silver and gold and for clothing. 36The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably
disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they
plundered the Egyptians.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, let’s be honest here. How many of you read this and
think, <i>“Wow. That seems pretty harsh.”</i>? I admit it. When I read this
about how God killed innocent babies and animals, it’s hard to think about. Some
of those first-born may have been adults but some of them may have just been
babies. That’s hard to understand. Why would God do that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In preparing this message, I was making notes about this
passage and trying to just write what God was telling me to write down and when
I wrote that question, I had to stop for a while. <i>“Why would God do that?”</i>
That’s a good question, I thought. Uh oh. Now I have to find the answer. It’s
not an answer that can be found by Googling but God lead me to <b>Romans 6:23</b>.
There it simply says that <u>the wages of sin is death</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We probably don’t think about the seriousness of sin like we
should. What God is saying through Paul in Romans 6:23 is that what we deserve
for our sins is death; death in Hell forever, separated from God and all our
friends and anybody else…for all eternity. It is what we deserve and what God
requires.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This last plague was not just another round of bad things
that God dreamed up. It was a continuation of His attack on the false gods of
Egypt and, like I said, God is jealous. The Egyptians actually believed that
whoever was Pharoah was a god. He was the son of gods and his son was the son
of a god. Jehovah said, <i>“I AM WHO I AM and I AM the God and nobody will doubt
that after this day.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It doesn’t seem fair to us because we don’t appreciate the
seriousness of sin like we should. We have never witnessed God taking a life in
such dramatic fashion as He did here, not in our lives. And so, while we know
that sin is bad and we know we shouldn’t do it, we also make excuses for it. We
think there are some sins that, you know, just aren’t all that bad. We don’t go
around killing and raping and robbing banks so we aren’t that bad. Yea, sure,
we cuss a little. We drink too much. We eat too much. We have bitterness inside
of us that comes out in anger sometimes but everybody does that, right? We all
sin every day, don’t we?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">STOP IT! When you think like that (and we all do it) you are
making yourself and your desire and your sin a little g god and Big G God is
not going to put up with it. I will say it again that <b>the very worst thing
that can happen to us as Christians is sin.</b> Cancer is awful but it’s not as
bad as sin. Catching the virus can be horrible but it’s not as bad as sin in
our lives. Losing a family member is traumatic but it’s not as bad as sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oh, I hear ya! Todd, how can you say that? Sin is not nearly
as bad as when I lost my Aunt Bessie. Well, I’m not downplaying the loss of
Aunt Bessie, not at all. That can be a horrible pain. But God said, <i>“The
wages of sin is death.”</i> He didn’t say the wages of loss is death. He didn’t
say the wages of cancer is death. He didn’t say the wages of covid is death.
But sin ALWAYS requires death. Those other things may kill you and they may
not. But sin always requires death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not only does sin require death but sin puts a barrier
between us and God. <b>Isaiah 59:2</b> says, <i>“But your iniquities have
separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from
you, so that he will not hear.”</i> Having God’s face hidden from you
ought to scare you to death. Not being in His good graces and under His absolute
protection better scare you to repentance and if it doesn’t then something is
wrong with your relationship with Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After his sin with Bathsheba, King David wrote in <b>Psalm
51</b>, <i><span style="color: #00b050;">“Have mercy on me, O God,<br />
according to your unfailing love;<br />
according to your great compassion<br />
blot out my transgressions.<br />
2 Wash away all my iniquity<br />
and cleanse me from my sin.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He goes on…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #00b050;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You do not delight in
sacrifice, or I would bring it;<br />
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.<br />
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;<br />
a broken and contrite heart<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Does your sin break your heart? It should. It breaks the
heart of God. In 1986, evangelist Vance Havner said, <i>“People used to blush
when they were ashamed. Now they are ashamed if they blush. Modesty has
disappeared and a brazen generation with no fear of God before its eyes mocks
at sin. We are so fond of being called tolerant and broad-minded that we wink
at sin when we ought to weep.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But here we are – a nation unashamed, a state filled with
pride in a county plagued with the poor, the addicted and the incarcerated, in
a church that takes sin lightly and individuals who don’t understand God and
sometimes pray for revival. Here we are, sinners that deserve Hell for
eternity. What are we going to do?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oh my! Aren’t you glad it’s not up to you? Aren’t you glad
you don’t have to pay the price or try to be good enough or sell enough
magazines or do anything else to get forgiveness, freedom and redemption?
Aren’t you glad your eternity is not based on who you are or what you do or
anything else about you?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aren’t you glad that God is not just watching from afar,
wondering what is going to happen next? Aren’t you glad that God, in the midst
of all our tragedy and sin, is here? And He is here in a real way. He is here
just like He was for Shadrach and the boys all those years ago. He is here with
His Holy Spirit in this place and in our hearts and, as believers, we have His
wisdom and His guidance to get us through the day, even when the day is tragic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He is here in the person of Jesus who was born of a virgin,
lived a sinless, perfect life and chose to die in our place. The wages of sin
is death. That is God’s law. That is His plan and His idea. <b>God is just</b>
and cannot overlook sin, no matter how small, no matter how rare. Your sin and
my sin is an abomination to God. He hates sin. And when we choose to sin, we
are in a scary place; a place where God is watching as we choose to put another
nail into the hands of His precious Son Jesus on the cross every time we sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is deserving of death and Hell and we choose that every
time we sin. But in the midst of that tragedy, God is there to provide the
perfect sacrifice. David said, <span style="color: #00b050;">“<i>You do not
delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it…” </i></span>And that’s right.
God doesn’t need your sacrifice. The perfect sacrifice has already been made. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When we think of tragedy, we rightfully think of death,
disease, poverty, or loss of any kind but when we come to know God better, we
start to see things more through His eyes. We will never understand Him fully
but knowing Him better makes us understand Him more and when we do, we see that
the ultimate cause of all that tragedy is the ultimate tragedy itself, and that
is sin. Sin is the worst tragedy that we can endure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>John Wesley</b> said, <i><span style="color: #002060;">“Give
me one hundred preachers who <b>fear nothing but sin</b>, and desire nothing
but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone
will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.”</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The only thing in this world that we have to fear is sin. It
is the ultimate tragedy. But even in that tragedy, God is there. Thank you, LORD!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some of you need to ask for forgiveness of your sins today.
You need to repent and give up that lifestyle. I know it’s hard. It’s shameful.
It’s tiring sometimes to have to go back to God and ask for forgiveness of
something you have done a billion times before. Maybe you need to pray a prayer
like this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Father, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I know I have hurt
you and it pains me so please forgive me and restore my relationship with you.
Please help me not to ever do that again. Please take that desire away from me,
whatever it takes. I want nothing more than to be restored and forgiven and
back in your special care.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maybe today you have never prayed a prayer like that and
have never received real forgiveness from God. That is a tragic life being
lived right there. Maybe you aren’t sure of your relationship with Him. Today
is the day to make sure. I’m not asking if you are a member here or if you were
ever baptized or how often you sin or how bad you are or how good you are
compared to somebody else. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’m asking you if you have ever asked Jesus to be your Lord
and Savior, admitting that you are a sinner and unable to earn forgiveness,
much less Heaven. Surrender your life, your dreams, your will and your ways to
Him today. Ask for forgiveness and He will give it. There is no other way to
heaven but through Jesus. Ask Him today as the music plays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #7030a0;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-35868398982446299962021-05-16T04:16:00.005-07:002021-05-16T04:16:38.534-07:00“God vs. gods” – Exodus 5-10<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">Have you
ever said anything that you regretted saying? Has something ever come out of
your mouth that came back to bite you?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Theoretically,
television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility--a development
which we should waste little time dreaming about.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> -Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor of
the cathode ray tube.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I think
there is a world market for about five computers.”-</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of
the Board of IBM.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“We don't
think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their
way out.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> - Recording
company expert, 1962.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A bishop of
a century ago pronounced from his pulpit and in the periodical he edited that
heavier-than-air flight was both impossible and contrary to the will of God.
Oh, the irony that Bishop Wright had two sons, Orville and Wilbur! Wright was
wrong. Sure of himself, but wrong. - Robert P. Dungan, Jr., Winning
the New Civil War, p. 38.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In <b>Exodus
chapter 5</b>, we see Pharoah, the king of Egypt say these words: <i>"Who
is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD
and I will not let Israel go."</i> This was in response to Moses and Aaron
going to Pharoah and telling him that the Lord said to let his people go. They
are words that will definitely come back to haunt him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you think
God was shocked at Pharoah’s words? Do you think God clutched His pearls,
fanned Himself and said, <i>“Well, I never!”</i> Haha! No, I think God smiled
and said, <i>“Well, now let me introduce myself!”</i> And for the next nine
chapters or so, God showed Pharoah and all of Egypt, not to mention the Hebrews
– and us -who He really was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It wasn’t
that Pharoah didn’t believe in god (little g). In fact, he believed in a whole
bunch of gods. That was the problem. When Moses mentioned the one true God,
Jehovah, Yahweh, the IAM WHO I AM and said His name was the LORD, Pharoah
probably scratched his head and said, <i>“Now, which one is he? I don’t recall
the name.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Egypt had
gods for everything, every day, every celebration, every phase of the moon, the
stars, everything outside, most things inside and every different thing that
was real or imagined. This is exactly what Paul found when he went to Athens. You
remember in <b>Acts 17</b> where Paul found a monument to “an unknown god” and said
he was now declaring that God to them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Egypt had
lots of gods. Almost as many as we do in our world today. And when we worship
those other gods, we can expect Jehovah God to attack those gods and show us
who He really is just like He did with Pharoah. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The passage
I want to tackle this morning stretches all the way from <b>Exodus 5</b>
through <b>Exodus 10</b>. So, I thought we could take turn reading a few verses
a piece until we get through. I hope you’re not in a hurry. You’re now in a
hurry? Okay, maybe we don’t read the whole thing but just parts of it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You remember
where we are in Exodus. Moses has heard from God and God has revealed to Moses
who He is. God’s name and title and character are all wrapped up in I AM WHO I
AM. He is Jehovah, Yahweh, the LORD and He is sovereign, all powerful and all-knowing.
He is able to cause or allow even bad things to accomplish His will and He does
not ask for our permission or apologize for hurting our tender feelings. And
yet, He does all this in great passionate love for us all the time like only He
can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, He just
needs to show Pharoah who He is and He does that by confronting each of Egypt’s
biggest little g gods and exposing them for the false idols they are and to
show how powerless they are and how powerful He is. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We started
already by reading a verse from <b>chapter 5</b> where Pharoah tells Moses he
doesn’t know God. In <b>chapter 6</b>, as we read last week, God promises
Israel to bring them out of Egyptian slavery. He promises to free them and
redeem them and make them His own people and if you have never read this story
before, here’s a spoiler. God does it. He pulls it off and the Israelites are
in their own land even today as a free people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And while we
continue to pray for the peace of Israel today as rockets have been raining
down on them for many days now, just know this. The Palestinian people, led by
the terrorist group Hamas, may launch every bomb they have but Israel will
always be specially protected by Jehovah God even today as His special people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nothing has
changed since God gave these words to Abraham from <b>Genesis 12</b>. <i><span style="color: #00b050;">“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless
you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless
those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on
earth will be blessed through you.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I just wish
somebody would tell those traitorous democrat squad members in Congress that
nothing has changed, least of all Jehovah God and the day that the United
States quits being a friend to Israel is a big step down a slippery slope that
leads to destruction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But Pharoah
didn’t know Jehovah God. He didn’t know His name or His character or anything
about Him and so God gave him a life lesson. This would be an impressive show
of God’s power if you didn’t know anything else but when you understand about
Egypt’s gods, it is much more meaningful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Before we
get into the plagues, I want to touch on something that some people can easily
get hung up on and it’s found in chapter 7. God again tells Moses and his
brother Aaron to go to Pharoah and tell him that God has said to let His people
go. But in verse 3 God says, “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and
though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not
listen to you.” Some people read that and think, <i>“Well, if God hardened
his heart, then Pharoah didn’t have a choice. That’s just mean.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But in my
studies, I have found that word that is used there for “harden” actually
means…harden…but in a different way. The Hebrew word is “chazaq” (khaw-zak’)
and it means to strain or twist or strengthen and it is used like you would pull
a rope tight or push down on a wet sponge. If you push down on a wet sponge,
what happens? What is inside comes out, right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">God hardened
Pharoah’s heart by pushing down on it, making what was in it come out. God made
things happen that would force Pharoah to show his true colors. Pharoah could
have decided at any point to let the people go, but he resisted because his
heart was already hardened. God just forced him to do what he really wanted to
do. (J. Vernon McGee, Exodus pg. 64)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, I’m
going to hit these plagues quickly for the sake of time but I want you to see
that every plague that God causes is a direct assault on one of Egypt’s
so-called gods. The first plague is turning the Nile River into blood and He
did that because the Nile itself was a god to them. It brought life to a dry land
and so they sacrificed to it and worshiped it and trusted this river to protect
and provide for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Real
quickly, I have to say I find it fascinating that even in my trusted
commentaries, some of the writers want to try to explain away the miracle. In
Exodus 7:14-19, it says, <i><span style="color: #00b050;">“Then
the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he
refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he
goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile and take in
your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to
him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my
people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now
you have not listened. 17 This is what the Lord says: By this
you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I
will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into
blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will
stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of my
commentaries said that probably what happened was that God caused the muddy
Nile River to get stirred up and the red clay on bottom made it look like
blood. Really? C’mon. God said it was blood. I’m going with blood. Don’t try to
diminish the miracle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyway, the
next plague, in <b>chapter 8</b>, was to cause frogs to invade the land. And
when it says frogs, it doesn’t mean a bunch of frogs. It means a solid sheet of
frogs. Frogs everywhere, every square inch. Frogs in the street. Frogs in the
house. Frogs in the kitchen. Frogs in the tub, the oven, the bed, the palace here
a frog, there a frog, everywhere a frog frog! And Heka, the frog-headed goddess
who they worshiped, was powerless to do anything. You know why? Because she was
powerless to do ANYTHING because she was a man-made idol with a frog head. But
they worshiped her and so God decided to challenge her and their worship of
her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pharoah was
unfazed by all this so far so God continued, still in <b>chapter 8</b>, with a
plague of maybe lice, gnats or mosquitoes, depending on your translation. You
can imagine that any of them would have enjoyed a land filled with dead frogs
but the earth god Geb would be highly insulted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Then came
the flies which were sacred to some of the gods and at this point, Pharoah is
starting to weaken and trying to make some concessions to Moses but Moses isn’t
having it. Look at chapter 9 where Moses is told by God to tell Pharoah, <i>“This
is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they
may worship me.”</i> And do you know what Moses said to Pharoah? <i><span style="color: #00b050;">“This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says:
“Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”</span></i>’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And every
time, Pharoah says no. He starts to give in a little here and there and
actually asks Moses and Aaron to pray for him but his heart is hard and he will
not let the people go. So, God continues to show Himself by killing their
livestock that they worshiped, giving them boils that caused their false
prophets and priests to be in such pain, they went out of business. He caused
it to hail massive hailstones that wiped out their crops that was directed
against the goddess Isis, the goddess of fertility.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In <b>chapter
10</b> the locusts show up and wipe out what is left of any crop that might
still be growing. A plague of locusts is used several times in scripture as a
picture of judgment. A plague of locusts is one of the worst things that people
can endure. They eat everything and get into everything. They are nasty and
horrible and what the book of Revelation mentions will come upon the earth
again someday after the rapture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lastly, God
attacks their sun god Ra by causing complete and utter darkness. It is the kind
of absolute darkness that you can feel like I’m told it’s like being in
Carlsbad Caverns when they turn the lights off. Can you imagine how helpless
they were to do anything, find anything, even each other?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There is one
more plague that we will probably touch on next week but today I just want to
say how glad I am and how proud I am that we don’t worship any idols any more.
Isn’t that the stupidest thing ever, to bow down in front of a man-made article
of wood or stone and expect it to bring peace or joy or wisdom?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How sad and
empty such pursuits must be! How disappointing it must be when you spend so
much time and effort and money devoting yourself to something that, in the end,
is powerless to help you. Aren’t you glad we are not so foolish as to do
something like…uh oh, excuse me. My phone is giving me an alert about my bank
account. Hang on. Let me just fix this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Okay, so I
was saying that aren’t you proud that we don’t do that anymore? </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">😊</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Pastor Tim Keller said this about idol worship ~ <i>“anything more
important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination
more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” </i>That
is what you worship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Oh great!
Thanks a lot, Tim! Now, I can’t make fun of the Egyptians for having idols when
I could very well be standing here with as many idols as they ever had! We do
that with so many things, we get pulled into idol worship without realizing it,
and before we know it, we’re worshiping something which is not good, that which
is not God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, let me
ask you, what determines your happiness? Your mood? What gives life meaning? What
worries you? Our answers can show the symptoms of idol worship. Here’s the
deeper question, if you had something taken away from you this morning, other
than God, would you lose your sense of meaning? Would your life no longer be
worth living? Family, money, health, job, your home . . . if it were gone,
would your life still have meaning?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We have all
sorts of idols. Pride, ego, entertainment, our bodies, money, work, addictions,
lust, children, families, hobbies and more. What about being in control? Does
that bring you pleasure more than God? (</span><a href="https://www.sermoncentral.com/contributors/michael-deutsch-profile-45921" title="View the profile of Michael Deutsch"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Michael Deutsch</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> on Aug 12, 2014) Is it something you eat or drink or
smoke? If you lost those things, would you still be content, as Paul said in
Philippians? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Remember in <b>Philippians
4</b>, Paul said, <i><span style="color: #00b0f0;">“I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in
need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being
content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who
gives me strength.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you have
to add anything to that last sentence, then that thing may be an idol for you.
If you say I can do all things through Christ and coffee, then that’s a
problem. I can do all things through Christ and my job, my wife, my money, my
position…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You need to
figure out what it is in your life right now or God will help you figure it out
and it probably won’t go well. God is a jealous God. He tells us later on in <b>Exodus
20</b>, <i>“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow
down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...” </i>Notice
that God is jealous when someone gives to another something that rightly
belongs to Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When your
peace, joy, contentment or fulfillment come from something else, God will step
in and take those sources away from you just like He did with the Egyptians. Don’t
believe me? Just watch. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the April
25, 1994 news section of Christianity Today, it was reported that some Elvis
Presley fans were actually revering Elvis as a god. People in New York,
Colorado and Indiana were actually getting together and chanting, singing,
holding hands and praying to Elvis. No kidding. In fact, at the Church of the
Risen Elvis in Denver they had a look-alike doll of Elvis at their altar and burned
candles there. (750 Engaging Illustrations, page 261)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, is that
the dumbest thing you have ever heard of? Or is the dumbest thing you have ever
heard of replacing Jehovah God with anything this life has to offer. Let’s
replace the Creator with something created. Let’s focus more on our family or
our job or our health than Almighty God, IAM WHO I AM. Yeah, that’s dumb. And
until you are sure that there are no idols coming before God in your life,
don’t rag on the Elvis worshippers. Well, maybe a little bit but don’t overdo
it, okay? </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">😊</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How do you
know if something is coming between you and God? Start with <b>Psalm 139:23</b>
where David said, “<i>Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my
anxious thoughts.”</i> If you have a relationship with God through His Son
Jesus then just ask Him. And then just listen. Don’t try to justify anything.
Just listen. Be quiet. Be still. Let Him tell you what is coming between you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you don’t
do it that way then it won’t be long before He will harden your own heart and
force you to face the truth and He will take that stuff away from you. Don’t
let it come to that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you don’t
have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus then start today by asking
Him to forgive you of all your many sins. Then repent of those sins and turn
away from that lifestyle. Surrender to Him and allow Him to come into your life
and change you. Quit trying to be good enough or earn your way to Heaven. There
is no peace and joy in this life doing that and there is no path to Heaven
except through Jesus. Make that decision right now as the music plays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-47603498811545591852021-05-11T09:33:00.004-07:002021-05-11T09:33:49.060-07:00“I am the LORD” – Exodus 5:22-6:9<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, I want
you to picture this scene with me. It’s a hot summer day and all the kids are
playing in the city pool. Everybody is having fun. There’s a BBQ grill smoking
over by the picnic table. There’s some music playing. Kids are laughing and
about halfway toward the deep end there is a tall, strong father encouraging
his little boy to jump into the pool into his arms. The father is able to stand
but it’s up to his chest and so the little boy knows he can’t reach bottom.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He has his
little floaties on his arms but he can’t swim and so he’s scared. He sees all
the other kids jumping in the pool and his dad is encouraging him to just jump
and he will catch him. So, tell me what you think is going through little
junior’s mind right now. Does he trust his dad? Sure. Does he think his dad
loves him? Sure. Does he think his dad is strong enough to catch him? Of
course. Does he think his dad could possibly miss? Maybe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is a
lot to be afraid of if you are little junior on the edge of the pool. But we
adults think that is silly, don’t we? We know there is not a chance in the
world that dad is going to miss that kid. He’s two feet away. It’s not like
he’s jumping off a building. We can’t understand why that little boy won’t just
jump. He’s missing out, isn’t he? He could be having so much fun if he would
just trust his dad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, what’s
going to happen when that kid finally decides to jump? His dad is, of course,
going to catch him but he is probably going to let that kid get a little bit
wet, right? He knows it will be more fun for the kid if he goes in the water,
so he catches him and dips him down and let’s the water go over him, all while
still holding on to him easily.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But you’ve
seen this before. The kid wasn’t expecting that. He wasn’t expecting the water to
go a little bit up his nose. He wasn’t expecting his face to get wet and it
scared him and now he is throwing a fit. Obviously, his dad can never be
trusted again. He tells his mama later that 42 gallons of water went up his
nose and now his eyes are bloodshot from being held under the chlorine-infested
water. It was a catastrophe and he nearly died and he can never trust his lying
father ever again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What does
dad think? He rolls his eyes and says, <i>“Hmm…that’s pretty silly.”</i> He
knows the boy is too immature to understand and that’s okay. Dad doesn’t have
to defend himself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Turn to <b>Exodus
chapter 5</b> this morning and I want us to look at a similar situation with
Moses and God. They are not in a swimming pool. The stakes are much higher than
an afternoon in the water. The Israelites have been suffering in Egyptian
slavery for hundreds of years and God, in His perfect timing, has told Moses to
go to Pharoah and tell them to let His people go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It takes
Moses a minute but he finally does what God has told him to do. He went to
Pharoah and said, <i>“Let my people go!”</i> And do you remember what Pharoah
said? He said, <i>“Well, let me think about that…no. And not just no but I
think you are a bunch of lazy people who are trying to get out of work so now
you need to make all the bricks you were making but now you have to get your
own straw to make them with as well. How do you like that?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, now we
pick up the story in <b>chapter 5:22-6:9</b> as Moses goes back to God and
gives him a piece of his mind. It’s a fascinating conversation. Let’s read it
in <b>Exodus 5:22-6:9</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #00b050; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why,
Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent
me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has
brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at
all.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #00b050; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see
what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them
go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” 2 God
also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to
Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my
name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to
them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them
the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. 5 Moreover,
I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are
enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 “Therefore, say to the
Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke
of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will
redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of
judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your
God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will
bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to
Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I
am the Lord.’” 9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did
not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was in the
grocery store the other day and I heard a little kid a few aisles over talking
loud and complaining about this and that and his mother was trying to get him
to be quiet and all the sudden I heard, <b><i>“Mama, shut up!”</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My first
reaction was to duck! I don’t know what she did because I didn’t hear anymore
from either one. I assume they left the store so she could beat the…I mean, teach
junior some manners but I remember thinking if I had said that to my saintly
little mother she would still be spanking me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And so, when
I read what Moses said to God in this passage, I wanted to duck. I just knew
God was gonna go postal on him. But God didn’t chastise him at all. Now, you
have to admit that Moses had a point. He did what God told him to do but the
outcome was different than expected, right? But you still have to be careful
telling God He has done <i>“evil”</i> as the King James says.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My NIV says,
<i>“You have brought trouble…”</i> and what the original word means is to ruin
or make unusable, to hurt or afflict. Does that sound like God? Does God ever
hurt or afflict? Now, I grew up being taught in Sunday School that God
sometimes <b>allows</b> bad things to happen to us but He doesn’t <b>cause</b>
it. Do you agree with that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, right
here Moses said God brought evil. Job says it a couple of times in his book.
And don’t forget in <b>Isaiah 45:7</b> where God Himself says, <i>“so that from
the rising of the sun<br />
to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am
the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form the light and create
darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster;<br />
I, the Lord, do all these things.”</i> So…there’s that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And if you
want a New Testament illustration of God doing what we would call evil, all you
have to do is look at the crucifixion of Jesus. That was God’s plan all along
but it’s also a perfect illustration of how what we would call evil, God, in
His sovereignty, uses for good, which is a lesson good old Joseph learned at
the end of Genesis. Was it a good thing that Jesus died on the cross? Was it
fair? Did He deserve it? Was it right? Those really aren’t even good questions
even though they are tempting to ask. It’s also not the point God is trying to
teach Moses – or us – in this passage. Notice that God doesn’t even respond to
Moses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s keep
reading again in <b>Exodus 6</b>. Go to <b>verse 2</b>. Did you happen to
notice how many times God said, <i>“I am the LORD!”</i>? That is the same basic
name that He told Moses in our passage last week when God said to tell them I
AM WHO I AM has sent you. I AM WHO I AM and I am the LORD are also translated
Yahweh or Jehovah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God tells
Moses here something interesting. Instead of smacking him down for blasphemy,
instead God reveals Himself to Moses even more. In <b>verse 3</b> He says, “<i><span style="color: #00b050;">I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God
Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself
fully known to them.” </span></i>That name “God Almighty” is translated from
El-Shaddai which means “the God who supplies.” That is different than Yahweh or
Jehovah. The Great I AM means I am and I was and I will be forever more. It is
perhaps the loftiest and yet most intimate name by which God is known and He is
revealing it here to Moses – and us!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He is saying
that even Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the big three of the Old Testament - did
not know God like this. They may have used that name a few times but they had
no real experience with God being the One who was always in control, the One
whose will was always going to be done and the One who could use even troubles
to get that will done.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Let me give
you a perfect illustration. I say it’s perfect. The illustration itself may not
be perfect but Sara is perfect. Sara is my beautiful and perfect, sweet sugar
angel Blue Heeler and tomorrow is her birthday. She will be fifteen years old!
Yes, I know she doesn’t look a day over five but she’s fifteen and you can send
presents here to the church if you like. </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">😊</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, you
know her as Sara and you know that she is sweet and perfect in every way but do
you know what the name “Sara” means? It means “princess.” It does. So, now that
you know what her name means, you better start treating her like a princess.
Because she is. Her full name is Princess Sara SugarPants so you commoners
should probably start using that name. I’m just saying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For most of
us today, our parents gave us our names because they like the way it sounds. Or
maybe we are named after a relative or something but usually our names’
meanings don’t really mean much to us. It’s not that way with God. As God
Almighty, El Shaddai, we know He will always provide and that’s comforting to
know. But as I AM WHO I AM, God is in control and He can and will use evil or
good, sin or righteousness, suffering or happiness however He chooses to get
His will done and you don’t have to like it or agree with Him. He will not get
His feelings hurt by your opinion. He is sovereign and all He expects of you is
that you treat Him with the respect, adoration and worship that He deserves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You don’t
have to understand Him. I find great comfort in the fact that I don’t always
understand God. I say all the time that if I could understand Him, He wouldn’t
be much of a God would He? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You might
not agree with His methods but I want you to look again at <b>verses 6-8</b>.
He says, <i>“I am the LORD and I will bring you out. I will free you. I will
redeem you. I will take you as my people and give you what I promised to give
you.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is
exactly what God, Jehovah, I AM wants to do for you today as well. You don’t
have to understand Him and He doesn’t have to apologize for what He does or how
He does it. He is like the father at the pool who is trying to show his child
how to live a full and abundant life. (John 10:10) It is not going to go how
you planned it but it is going to go how God planned it. And that is way
better!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I don’t
want you to think that God is behind every bad thing that happens. Not at all.
Sometimes bad things happen to us as the consequences of our own bad choices or
the choices of another. Rarely does sin affect just the sinner. It often spills
over into the lives of the ones we love the most. That is a consequence of sin.
God has lovingly given us free will and we are free to choose what we are going
to do but we are not free to choose the consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another
reason bad things happen is because we live in a fallen world. There was no
cancer in the Garden of Eden but ever since that first sin, our world has
experienced horrible consequences of that sin that continue today in the form
of disease, pain, natural disasters and sorrow that we weren’t intended to have.
I remember my mother telling me about when she was a little kid, she asked her
mother why God allowed there to be stickers in the grass. Her mother wisely
told her it was because we live in a fallen world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lastly, sometimes
it is Satan himself who is attacking us and causing us problems. <b>1 Peter 5:8</b>
says, <i><span style="color: #7030a0;">“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” </span></i>He hates you and wants
you dead and if the Great I AM will not allow him to kill you, he will attack
you every other way he can.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Job said, <i>“Man
born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”</i> (Job 14:1) Trouble comes
from all over and sometimes it even seems to come from God Himself and when
that happens, you just have to trust Him. He has proven Himself to be loving
and good and wise all through this story of Moses and the Israelites. He proved
Himself in the New Testament when even Jesus said, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“Lord,
take this cup from me. But not my will but yours be done.”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And He has
proven Himself in my life too many times to mention and in your life too if you
will acknowledge it. He wants good things for you in this life like a good
father would but His main goal is not for your protection or even your
provision in this life because this life is short compared to eternity. His
main goal for your life is for you to look, sound and walk like Jesus. And when
you do that, your treasures in Heaven will literally be out of this world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Are you
going to believe? Are you going to trust God with whatever is going on in your
life today or are you going to be like the Israelites in <b>verse 9</b> who
were so discouraged they wouldn’t listen? It’s a choice you have to make. Trust
God who has a perfect record for thousands of years or try to do it yourself
with your sketchy record. How is that working out for ya so far?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jump in and
trust Him today. It won’t always be easy. In fact, it will rarely be easy but
whose life is easy? Jump in, trusting Him to do whatever He wants to with your
life. To not trust Him is not just silly. It’s tragic. We aren’t guaranteed
another breath. Choose today who you will serve, God or sin. Those are the only
options and there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to
death. (Proverbs 14:12)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jesus said, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“I AM the way, the truth and the life. Nobody gets to the
Father but through Me.”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>(John
14:6) All you have to do is believe. Trust Him to forgive your sins and to
cleanse you of all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Make that commitment today and
allow the I AM WHO I AM to come into your life and change you from the inside
out. Do it right now as the music plays.</span><span style="color: #00b050; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-49782809456320380932021-05-11T09:32:00.003-07:002021-05-11T09:32:31.173-07:00"I AM WHO I AM" - Exodus 3:1-15<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">If I were to
ask this morning, <i>“How many of you are going through some sort of
difficulty?”</i>, I wonder if anybody would NOT raise their hand. Is there
anybody here, anybody in the world who would say, <i>“Everything about me is
just right. I have enough money. I have good health. I have the perfect job and
my spouse and my kids just adore me.”</i>? I doubt it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some people
are going through some minor difficulties and some people are going through a
horrible crisis right now. And if you aren’t going through some sort of
difficulty, then buckle up because it’s coming. It’s just life. <b>Job</b>
said, <i>“Man, born of woman, is of few days and full of trouble.”</i> (Job
14:1)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When trouble
comes, it’s a natural reaction to ask God, “Why?” Some of you that are a little
more mature Christians know that asking that rarely helps when you are in the
middle of it. I don’t think God minds if you ask but I have found that He
rarely answers like we want Him to and when we want Him to. But you can ask.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We want to
know if God is punishing us for something or if He is just allowing this in our
lives to teach us something. Maybe Satan is hammering on us or maybe we are
going through difficulties as consequences of our own actions. Don’t ya hate
that? Whatever it is, we want more details so we can get through it quicker, so
we ask why.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This morning
I don’t want to discourage you from asking why. I just want you to try wording
it a little bit differently from now on. Maybe if we instead asked God, <i>“For
what reason…”</i> I think that’s a little different than asking why. Instead of
wanting to know what you did to deserve such horrible treatment, asking <i>“For
what reason am I going through this?”</i> opens us up to what God’s will is for
us in this difficulty. What am I supposed to learn? How am I supposed to
change? What opportunities does this bring to make me more like Jesus? Those
are better questions than just why.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you will
turn to Exodus chapter three, we will continue our look at who God is by seeing
who He was to Moses as Moses and his people were going through a great
difficulty. There we see Moses being spoken to directly by God but through a
burning bush. Most of you know the story but it is one of the best places in
all of scripture to find out better who God is because Moses flat out asks Him
who He is. And His response is fascinating but the whole story, while written
nearly 4,000 years ago, is helpful, even vital to us today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last time we
saw how God was with Moses and his family after he was born and allowed Moses,
a Hebrew, to be raised up in the house of Pharoah with all the benefits of
being basically the grandson of the most powerful man in all of Egypt. But when
Moses was 40 years old, he killed a man who was beating up another man and had
to run away to the far side of the country and live out in the sticks as a
shepherd for his father-in-law. He went from the palace to living in a tent. He
went from having slaves do his work to working with sheep. It was a boring,
mundane and humbling job and God had him there for a reason.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But while the
life of Moses might have been boring, his fellow Jews who were still in Egypt
were going through a horrible crisis. They had been slaves for hundreds of
years and their treatment was getting worse all the time. I’m sure they were
asking God why and asking how much longer and begging for divine help. They
were literally crying out for help from God…and God heard them and had a plan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s read <b>Exodus
3:1-15</b> this morning and I want you to see the method God had for getting
His will done and revealing Himself even while using a flawed and scared man like
Moses. But it’s also the same overall method God has for using you and
revealing Himself to you as well, even though He probably won’t use a burning
bush with you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Exodus
3:1-15</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> says, <i><span style="color: #7030a0;">Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his
father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side
of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of
God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in
flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was
on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and
see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When
the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him
from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the
place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am
the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of
Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at
God. 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the
misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of
their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their
suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of
the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious
land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now
the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians
are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to
Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said
to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out
of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the
sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the
people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 13 Moses
said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your
fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then
what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This
is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites,
‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me from generation to generation.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’m always
amazed at people in the Bible who have any kind of encounter with God, whether
it’s some manifestation of God Himself or an angel or a vision or whatever, and
they just carry on a conversation with Him like He’s some guy they work with
every day. Moses asks some good questions and brings up some important ideas
and I’m afraid I would wet my pants and faint or something. I’d be more like
Peter when he saw the transfiguration of Jesus. <i>“Hey, y’all wanna put up
some tents? That’d be cool.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But God
wanted to speak to Moses so He took him way off into the wilderness. This is
some backwoods country, banjo playing redneck land right here and there was not
much to look at and not much to do except watch the sheep eating what little
grass was around, so God had the full attention of Moses. Have you ever been
there?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I doubt any
of us have been to exactly that spot on the map but I think most of us have
been in a position where God has our full attention. Maybe you got sick or
broke your leg or got put in jail. Maybe you just had a nice quiet vacation.
Usually, it is pretty hard to hear God or for Him to get our attention when we
are working 40 hours, come home to the wife and kids, we have hobbies and
chores and Gunsmoke is on and the radio is playing and we have to check Facebook
and blah, blah, blah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s not
that we are ignoring God. We just have stuff to do; a lot of stuff and we want
to hear from God but we…you know…life. That’s when God says, <i>“Okay busy boy.
It’s time for you to take a break and listen to me for a while. I have
something for you to do.”</i> I think God showed great mercy to Moses. In fact,
I’m jealous. When God wants my attention, He usually bonks me in the head,
sometimes literally. But Moses got to see a burning bush that didn’t burn up.
How cool is that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I don’t
know how God made the bush burn but not burn up and I don’t know how God spoke
to Him or in what form God took but in studying this, I believe that Moses had
what is called a Christophany. That means that it was the pre-incarnate (before
He became a man) Jesus that was actually doing the speaking. I say that because
that is usually what we see when the term “Angel of the Lord” or “Angel of God”
is used in scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But however
it happened, Moses was in the presence of the Creator of the universe, God
Almighty, King of kings and Lord of lords and, as such, God tells Moses to show
Him reverence. Do you see that in <b>verse 5</b>? God said, <i>“Stop Moses!
Don’t come any closer and take off your sandals because where you are standing
is holy ground.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, first,
what does the word “holy” mean? It means to be set apart for God. It is
different, not common. So, why would God call that ground holy? What had happened
there to make it holy? God was there. That’s what made it holy. God is holy and
where God is, that place is holy. It’s not about the place. It’s about God and
when God gets your attention it’s time to show Him reverence. That’s what God
was telling Moses and why he had to take his shoes off. It was an act of
reverence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, what is
reverence? How would you define it? The dictionary basically says it means
respect but when we are talking about showing reverence for God, it means more
than just respect. It means worship, to bow down, to adore and honor. It
actually has an element of fear in it as well. That is exactly what was going
on here and exactly what God expects of us when we encounter Him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When God causes
you to slow down and listen to Him, the first thing He expects is for you to
revere Him, show Him the honor and awe and adoration He deserves. I truly
believe that so many of us have to continue going through trials because we try
to skip this part of God’s method. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Job</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> understood this. It was his first
reaction when he went through the worst day of his life. After losing
everything he owned and losing all ten of his kids, it says in <b>Job 1:20</b>
that Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell to the ground in
worship. Notice that it doesn’t say Job understood why. It doesn’t say that Job
was not hurt. Job didn’t say it was okay or that it was easy or anything else.
In the midst of more pain than hopefully any of us will ever have to go through,
the first thing Job did was worship. He surrendered every part of himself to
God and His plan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Job didn’t
have a church to go to and he didn’t have to. Worship can be done outside of
these four walls. I’ll agree completely with those that say you can worship on
the golf course or in the deer blind or on a boat. You can. But in the depth of
your great suffering and with God trying to get your attention, do you really
think that is where you need to be to show Him the reverence that is due Him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Are your
golfing buddies going to mourn with you and pray with you and support you like
your church family? One of the things I love about this church is that you
don’t have to pretend to be in a good mood when you are here. You don’t have to
put on a happy, pretty face. Don’t insult us by trying that. Your family knows
when you are hurting and we don’t expect you to always be chipper as a
squirrel. Life is hard and we are here for you if you need us and if you don’t need
our advice, we will be like Job’s friends when they first saw him. You remember
the story. They just sat on the ground with him and mourned with him without
saying a word for a week. Good luck getting your golfing buddies to do that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But going
back to our story in Exodus, look what happens next with Moses. God explains to
him that He has heard the cries of the Israelites and is going to send Moses to
Pharoah to set them free. Some people give Moses a hard time for all of his
questions to God but I think they are fine questions. Moses wasn’t saying he
wouldn’t go. He was just asking for some clarity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You also
have to realize that this early in world history, God had not revealed Himself
to people like He has to us. Moses didn’t have any scripture to go by, in fact,
he would write all this down later so that we could have it to help us
understand God’s character and His ways and His heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This was
also a land and culture of many so-called, little – g gods and Moses wanted to
make sure he knew who he was talking to. So, Moses first asks God in <b>verse 11</b>,
<i>“Who am I to go to Pharoah?”</i> What he was asking was, <i>“What authority
do I have?”</i> and God told Moses He would be with Him. Well, then Moses has
to ask, not in doubt or a lack of faith but just because he didn’t know, <i>“Who
are you?”</i> What authority do you have?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love the
way God answers Moses. It is God’s name. It is His character. It explains His history
and His eternality. It is beyond complete comprehension and yet there are
libraries full of books to explain it. It explains His power and sovereignty
and makes His grace and mercy and forgiveness all the more incredible. It is a
name and a phrase picked up and used by Jesus to explain who He was. They didn’t
understand how Jesus used it and we can’t understand it completely either but
it is enough! It is more than enough! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God revealed
Himself to Moses in <b>verse 14</b> by saying, <b>“I AM WHO I AM.”</b> It might
be translated Jehovah or Yahweh or simply “The LORD” but it has more meaning
than you see at first glance. God is saying I am who I am, what I am and what I
have been and will be. I am enough. I am more than you could ever ask or
imagine. I am what you need me to be and I am unchangeable. You can not change
me, scare me, threaten me or intimidate me. He says in <b>Revelation 1:8</b>, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and
who is to come, the Almighty."<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I, Todd,
am here to tell you based on my own experience that He is here today telling
you that no matter what you are going through, no matter how hard or painful,
boring or terrible, God’s presence is enough! God’s presence is enough! If you
don’t agree with that, it’s okay for you to be wrong. Let God be true and every
man a liar (Romans 3:4) because His presence is enough IS His name. It is His
character and nature and He wants to reveal Himself to you like He revealed
Himself to Moses and how He revealed Himself to Job as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s this
point in the message that you are expecting me to give you an illustration.
It’s what a good preacher would do but you’re stuck with me and I struggled
finding one example so I will give you several. He was with Abraham in <b>Genesis
21</b>. He was with Isaac in <b>Genesis 26</b>. He was with Jacob in <b>Genesis
28</b>. He was with Joseph in the pit, the palace and the prison. He was with David
in <b>Psalm 23</b> where he says, <i>“I will fear no evil for you are with me.”</i>
He was with Mary in <b>Luke 1</b> where the angel told her, <i>“You are highly
favored. The LORD is with you.”</i> And what did Isaiah say that child would be
called in <b>Isaiah 7:14</b>? Immanuel, which means, <i>“God with us.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I could go
on but there are too many. But I happen to know because I have heard the
testimonies that God was with Billy in prison. God was with Cody in jail. God
was with David as a biker, with Janet in her wheelchair, with Bruce before he
was a believer but married a believing woman, with Morris in the hospital and
with me when my mother died and we can all testify today with the saints of old
that God’s presence is enough for whatever you are going through.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maybe today
God is trying to get your attention. In fact, no “maybe” about it. He IS trying
to get your attention. He wants to speak to you in a still, small voice like He
did with Elijah (1 Kings 19:12) but if that doesn’t work and you still won’t
listen then He may just take you out to the wilderness to get your attention. He
may use a burning bush or it may be something else, even something horrible
that He allows so that you just stop and listen to Him. But He will not be
ignored for long.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When that
happens, it is immediately time to stop what you are doing. Stop with your
plans and your ideas and what you think is best and just surrender all of you
to all of Him in worship. When you do that, you too can find out that God’s
presence is enough for anything and everything that you are going through.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Call on Him
today, right now. Stop with your plans and your other thoughts and dreams. Stop
with what you want or think you need or even have to have. Go to God with open
hands. Tell Him right now that you have nothing and are nothing without Him.
Tell Him you surrender and you want what He wants. If that’s not true yet just
be honest and tell Him you <b>want to want</b> what He wants. Lord, I believe.
Help my unbelief as the father said to Jesus in <b>Mark 9</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As the great
I AM, God could force you to love Him and obey Him but He wants to have a
relationship with you. In fact, that’s why He created you. If you don’t have
that relationship today then you need to make that decision. None of us are
guaranteed another breath and it is what we decide in this life that affects not
only our peace and joy in this life but also our next life for all eternity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Is God
speaking to you today? I would love to pray with you about whatever it is if
you need it. I would love to pray with you right now about your relationship
with God or your lack of. If you don’t have that relationship then just ask God
to forgive you of all your many sins. Repent or turn away from that old
lifestyle and give all those old desires to God right now in prayer. Allow Him
to come into your life and change you from the inside out. That’s the mark of a
true believer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hear
people claim to be Christians and followers of Jesus but their lives have not
been changed. That’s a huge red flag. Don’t allow Satan to deceive you. When God
is truly Lord of your life, He changes your heart and your mind and your
behavior. If that’s not obvious, then something is wrong. Let’s pray about it
right now as the music plays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-82012623515209041732021-04-23T15:09:00.004-07:002021-04-23T15:09:52.020-07:00“Drawn From the Water” – Exodus 2:1-10<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">At the annual family-reunion picnic, a young bride led her
husband over to an old woman busily crocheting in a rocker. <i>"Granny,"</i>
she said, touching the old woman's hand affectionately, <i>"this is my new
husband."</i> The woman eyed him critically for a long moment, then asked
abruptly, <i>"Do you desire children?"</i> Startled by her bluntness,
the young man blushed and stammered, "<i>"Well-uh-yes, I do very
much."</i> <i>“Well,"</i> she said, looking scornfully at the large
tribe gathered around the six picnic tables, <i>"try to control it!"</i>
(Colleen Pifer)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Who can ever forget Winston Churchill's immortal words: <i>"We
shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall
fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills."</i>
It sounds exactly like our family vacation. (Robert Orben)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Family! They are a lot of trouble sometimes, aren’t they? Nobody
gets on your nerves like family. Nobody can hurt you worse than your family.
Nobody can take advantage of you like family. And those are the good families.
Bad families are miserable as some of you well know. And being the father or
mother in a family is especially hard. Don’t you just wish the people in your
family would do what you tell them to do? Why don’t they understand that you
know what is best?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was at the grocery store the other day and saw this little
toddler girl having a full-on melt down right there on the floor. Her dad was
standing there looking exhausted and looking around like he was looking for
somebody. I said, <i>“Are you looking for your wife?”</i> He said, <i>“Nah,
she’s at home. <b>I was just hoping to find somebody more adultier than me</b>.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Family – kids, parents, in-laws, grandparents, uncles and
aunts – they are going to be a problem. But they are also our most important
and valuable resources in our lives. It’s the same with <u>church</u> families.
We as a church spend a lot of time together and that can be wonderful and
fulfilling and sometimes y’all get on my last nerve. And I know I get on yours!
I know I do! Bless your hearts. It’s hard to have a family. It’s hard to be in
a family but I say all the time that I don’t know how some people get through
what they are going through without a church family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Having a family is hard but it’s harder without a family and
that is part of the reason that Satan has always tried so hard to do away with
the family. He knows the family is God’s idea and it is the building block for
all of society and it is the original place for discipleship and Satan hates it
and will do anything in his limited power to destroy it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I believe that effort to destroy the family is ramping up in
these last days before Jesus comes back but it is a satanic effort that has
been going on since the first family walked this earth. Satan has tried to kill
the family since Cain killed Abel and he wants to kill your family as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, God has a plan for your family and God is sovereign as
we saw last week but as we continue to learn who God is through our study of
the book of Exodus, we also see that we have to play a part. We have to do what
is best for our families and that means always always always being obedient to
what God tells us to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We learned in our study of Philippians that knowing God
better and being obedient to Him is what brings joy. When our families know God
and are obedient to Him, our families bring us joy. Living out the plan God has
for our lives and for the lives of our family brings great joy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Turn to the book of <b>Exodus</b> and go on to <b>chapter
two</b>. In our effort to know God better, we are looking through Exodus to
find His qualities and attributes and we just want to know Him better. We saw
last week how the children of Israel got to Egypt. God brought them there in
his power and sovereignty and He will get them out of there through His power
and sovereignty but he is going to raise up a leader to get them out. That
leader is Moses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But there is a problem. The new pharaoh doesn’t know his
history and couldn’t care less how great Joseph was back in the old days. All
he knows is there is getting to be way too many Hebrews in his country and he’s
afraid they are going to take over and he’s going to lose power. So, he decides
to enslave the Hebrews that were there and he decides he better start killing
off what Hebrew boys are born to stem this population explosion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, he pulls a Joe Biden and makes an executive order that
all Hebrew newborn baby boys are to be thrown into the Nile River. And while
pharaoh may be the sovereign leader of Egypt, he is about to find out that God
is sovereign over everything. Let’s pick it up in <b>Exodus 2:1-10</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #833c0b; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2and
she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine
child, she hid him for three months. 3But 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.
4His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5Then
Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were
walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her
female slave to get it. 6She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she
felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.
7Then 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. So the girl went and got the baby's mother. 9Pharaoh'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. 10When the child grew older, she took
him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying,
"I drew him out of the water."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I remember reading this as a little kid and thinking, <i>“Now,
what a minute! Mom puts him in the water. Then the princess finds him and then
gives him back to mom AND pays her! That’s crazy! Way to go God!” </i>Even as a
kid, I could see that God was working all this out like only He could.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Can you imagine the fear that the Hebrew families lived in
trying to keep their baby boys quiet? You know how difficult that is? How
terrifying to know that if someone heard your little boy cry, they could rip
him from your arms and go throw him into the Nile River! One pastor said about <b>v.
22</b>: <i>“Here there is a full-scale assault on the covenant people of God.”</i>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But it wasn’t just a <i>“full-scale assault on the covenant
people of God.”</i> It was and still is a full-scale assault against the
family. It started in the Garden of Eden, continued here with Pharaoh, and is
raging even fiercer today. Pharaoh wasn’t just trying to weaken the Israelites
as a military threat. He hoped that this horrible decree would weaken their
faith in God and their commitment to Him. And Satan wants to do the same thing
to us – attack our families and weaken our faith in and commitment to God. (Jon
Daniels)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you remember watching Scooby Doo back in the day and the Scooby
Doo gang would catch the bad guy? They would then say all the stuff that would
have happened if they had not caught him and the bad guy would say, <i>“Yea,
and I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for these pesky
kids!” </i>You remember that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I feel like Satan said something similar when Moses was
found safe. <i>“I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn’t been for that
pesky family of Moses!”</i> I want you to think about what his mother did for
Moses. In placing him in that basket, she worked out a God-given and
God-honoring plan for her child. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t fair. It required a
lot of work and a lot of faith. Sound familiar moms?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">She saw what was happening in her world and with God-given
wisdom made a plan and worked the plan. She built a little basket because I
doubt the Egyptian Walmart sold them. She knew where the princess would go to
bathe and when. She placed the little ark right where it would easily be found.
And then she had her little daughter just go hang around all nonchalant like
and wait to see what happened. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That took great faith to be able to do all of that. It takes
faith to just do what God tells you to do and believe that God’s plan will be
fulfilled and will be to our benefit and to His glory. That mama had faith. In <b>Hebrews
11:25</b> it says, <i><span style="color: #4472c4; mso-themecolor: accent1;">“<b><u>By
faith</u></b> Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born,
because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the
king’s edict.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, maybe you just have an ordinary child. You know, one
you don’t really care all that much about. You can take him or leave him. He’s
just ordinary. No big deal. You don’t have to be too concerned about that kid. 😊
But if your child is “no ordinary child” like Moses; if your child is no
ordinary child made in God’s image; no ordinary child loved by God and who was
died for by Jesus and loved by you then maybe you need to take some biblical
lessons from Moses’ mom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Everything about this situation drives Satan crazy. Notice
first that Moses had one mother and one father. That in itself is sexist,
racist, bigoted and anti all the lgbtq letters they can come up with and the
world, inspired by Satan, wants to get rid of that kind of thinking that God
designed, created and said, <i>“That is very good.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Notice that the father and the mother <u>were married</u>. Also
outdated and harmful if you ask the world today. Let me ask you a question.
When you buy a car, do you take it for a test drive? Of course you do. It just
makes sense, right? You want to know if you and this car are going to be
compatible. How does it run? Does everything on it work? How does it handle? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, if it makes sense with a car, it ought to make sense
with a woman, right? No! There is a big difference between driving a car and
living with a woman. And there are all kinds of jokes you can make right here
but I won’t. Ok, just two. At least cars come with an owner’s manual. And at
least you can control a car. But they are not meant to be taken for a test
drive!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>1 Corinthians 7:2</b> says, <i>“But because of the
temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each
woman her own husband.”</i> Sex before marriage or outside of marriage is
sexual immorality and there are dozens of places in scripture that make it
clear that is sinful and that relationship will not be blessed by God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But perhaps the most impressive thing Moses’ mother did was
to have the faith that God would protect and provide. She did the best she
could with the basket and I’m sure that was a lot of work, placed him in the
best spot, kissed him goodbye and waited on God. Mamas, that’s all you can do
sometimes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Ephesians 6:4</b> says, to bring up your child in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord. That is not going to happen at their public
school. The public school is not your child’s friend anymore and will
indoctrinate them into everything worldly as soon as possible so be aware of
what is going on there and get them into Christian school if at all possible. And
I know that’s not easy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But bringing your child up in the discipline and instruction
of the Lord is your job, nobody else. You have to train them and bring them up in
the way they should go as it says in <b>Proverbs 22:6</b> and they will not
depart from it. And all of that is hard and it’s not fair but it is what you
are called to do as a parent and sometimes even as a grandparent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But at some point, you have to let them go. Hopefully it’s
not at three months old like Moses’ mom had to do but even if it is, you have
to know God. You have to know that He is sovereign. He doesn’t ask your
permission before He does anything. He is sovereign but He is also good! Look
at what comes of Moses and his life. God had a plan for him all along and God could
have allowed Moses to be raised in any way, in any generation, in any country
but God chose then and there for a reason and we will see that reason in the
coming weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But lastly, look at how God uses the family of Moses. Like I
said, God could have had Moses raised by any family anywhere but God could also
have had Moses raised by wolves or raised by nobody at all. God could have used
baby Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt if He wanted to. But God chose
to use the family of Moses. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Why them? Psalm 127 says children are a gift from the Lord.
I know. I know. They don’t always feel like a gift but they are and God gave you
those gifts for the same reason He gave Moses to his mother. God loves you and
wants to bless you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Make no mistake, God doesn’t need your help to get His will
accomplished. But He allows us to be part of His plan so that He can bless us.
Think about all the great miracles God did in the Bible. Some of them He did
completely by Himself with man playing no part. He spoke the universe into
existence for instance. But so many times God used men and women to accomplish
His will. Even stories like parting the Red Sea, He allowed Moses to play a
part. All he had to do was lift up his hands but God used him and blessed him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God could have had Jesus just show up to earth as a full-grown
man like He did with the angels sometimes but He used Mary and Joseph and their
family to bring about His greatest work. God doesn’t need your help to
accomplish His will but He allows us to be in certain circumstances through His
sovereign power to be able to use us so He can bless us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So many times those circumstances are difficult and painful
circumstances too. So many times God allows us to go through difficult times so
He can use us to help somebody else and we get blessed for doing it. Sometimes
it’s even in this life that we are blessed but we will always be blessed for
eternity. And all we have to do is always always always be obedient to what God
tells us to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s hard work raising kids. The world wants to kill them or
at least pervert them. The internet is just waiting for them. Schools and
colleges are waiting like hungry wolves to destroy them. The TV will ruin them
if you let it. I know letting them watch videos is easier than trying to teach
them something but they are learning every second of every day and you have to
be the one to teach them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Deuteronomy 6:7</b> says, <i>“Repeat [God’s commands]
again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when
you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your child is no ordinary child. But it’s going to take a
lot of work from you and while all-powerful and sovereign God could make that
child to be whatever He wants that kid to be, He has put you in this position
as a parent or a grandparent for such a time as this, as Mordecai would say. (Esther
4:14) And He is using you so He can bless you because He loves you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don’t know how people get through this life with no church
family. We aren’t perfect. We love each other and want to help each other but
sometimes we – I – make mistakes and even make things worse. But we’re family,
God’s family and so we ask for and give forgiveness and move on, growing in the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you have that? If today you don’t have a church family, this
would be a good day to join us. We don’t have any rules and a bunch of us are
downright hoodlums but we love each other and care for each other. All we ask
is for you to be a true believer and follower of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ask God today for forgiveness of all your many sins and then
repent or turn away from those sins and that lifestyle. Allow Him to come into
your life and change you from the inside out. Do it right now as the music
plays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-13837143170068800192021-04-11T13:12:00.004-07:002021-04-11T13:12:57.556-07:00"The Exodus Starts in Genesis" - Genesis 50<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Somebody tell me of a time when a wise person gave you good
advice. The best advice my dad ever gave me was, <i>“Just act like you know
what you’re doing.”</i> I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m doing right now. It has
been good advice.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Apostle Paul was one of the wisest men who ever lived
and he gave us some great advice in the book of Philippians. We have finished
up our sermon series on Philippians and I learned a lot from Paul but I think
if Paul were to give us just one piece of advice it would be to get closer to
God. Get to know Him better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He said in <b>Philippians 3:10</b>, <i>“I want to
know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation
in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”</i> He wanted more
than anything in the world to know Jesus better and more intimately because he
knew that everything in this life and the next was better the more you know
Jesus. And we know that Jesus is God. We know the Holy Spirit is God and we
know the Father is God. But who is God?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Have you ever really thought about it? Who is God? What is
He really like? If God handed you His business card, how would the card read? I
want to pursue that thought for a while and one of the best places to see who
God really is is in the book of Exodus. We have been studying Jesus for a while
now in several places in the New Testament. We have seen what Jesus has done
for us and His sacrifice but Paul encouraged us to get to know Him better and
that means to be able to appreciate Him just for who He is, not just for what
He has done and is going to do for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jesus taught the disciples – and us – to pray by starting
out acknowledging God just for who He is. <i><span style="color: red;">“Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”</span></i><span style="color: red;"> </span>(Matthew 6:9) So, let’s spend some time getting to
know God better and, like I said, one of the best places to do that is in
Exodus. In Genesis, we see Him as the Creator but as we go through Exodus for
the next few weeks, I want you to start to look for the attributes of God and
one of the most amazing attributes of God is His sovereignty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What does it mean to be sovereign? The dictionary says it
means “<b>possessing supreme or ultimate power.” </b>To me it means that God
doesn’t have to ask anybody’s permission to do anything. He does everything and
anything He wants. His overall will is always going to be done. Sometimes it
doesn’t look like it. When people sin, we think, <i>“Well, there goes God’s plan.
It’s all messed up now.” </i>Right? But because God is sovereign, He can factor
in our sin and our stupidity and our stubbornness and still get His will done,
like only He can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, if we are going to fully appreciate God’s sovereignty
in Exodus, we need to be reminded how and why the exodus came about. Exodus
just means to leave. It means to depart from a place and go somewhere else. But
how did the Hebrew people get to a place they needed to leave? What were those
circumstances? Well, we are going to get there but we have to start at the end
of Genesis. The exodus of the Hebrew people started in Genesis so let’s read
part of the last chapter of Genesis before we get to Exodus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As you turn to <b>Genesis 50</b>, I want to remind you of
how this story got to where it is very quickly. You know the story, so I’ll put
it in a nutshell. The <b>old patriarch Jacob</b> had twelve sons but <b>he
doted on Joseph</b>. You remember he gave Joseph the fancy schmancy coat of
many colors and Joseph was kind of cocky about it and made his brothers mad so
they threw him in a well, then sold him into slavery hoping to never see him
again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And they wouldn’t have ever seen him again if God was not
sovereign but God arranged for them to meet again when there was a horrible
famine in Israel. Because there was no food in Israel, they went to Egypt to
buy some only to find dear old brother Joe was the big king kahuna there in
Egypt. It’s a fascinating story and if you haven’t read it lately, go back and
read chapters 37-50 of Genesis. Yes, it is that long. Joseph’s story is
fascinating for several reasons. It is fascinating just for the fact that it
takes up so much room in scripture. God uses less than one chapter to describe
the creation of the entire universe but for the story of Joseph, he uses fourteen
chapters! But it’s a good, entertaining read but we also learn a lot about God,
which is our goal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, let’s start this journey of knowing God better by
reading <b>Genesis 50, verses 15-21</b>. <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">15When
Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if
Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to
him?" 16So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these
instructions before he died: 17'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask
you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating
you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your
father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept. 18His 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.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I know that almost every week I say, <i>“Oh, that’s one of
the most beautiful passages in all of scripture”</i> but it sure is true of
this one! It puts the difference between us and God in such sharp contrast.
What I mean is, have you ever watched an old western movie and the good guy and
the bad guy have a shootout with their six-shooters? So many times you see the
bad guy finally get shot and wounded pretty bad and as he lay in the dirt of
the street dying, you see the good guy come over and stand over him with his
gun cocked and pointed right at him. The bad guy has shot the other man’s mom.
He stole his woman. He kicked his dog! Then they have this long, stupid conversation
about what is right and what is wrong and finally the good guy drops his gun
into his gun belt. And the whole time, what are you screaming at the TV? If you
are like me you are screaming, <i>“Shoot him. Shoot him! Just do it and
quit talking!”</i> Right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s sort of the situation we are in with Joseph and his
brothers. He has them dead to rights and has the gun pointed at them with his
finger on the trigger and then puts it away. How is he able to do that?
Because Joseph knew God. Joseph knew God was sovereign and he knew God was
good!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oh, I have a lot of questions. Why did God create a world He
knew would start being evil? Why did God allow that ol’ serpent into the
garden? Why did He allow sin to keep going? Why does God allow sin and
suffering? I don’t know but what we learn in Genesis 50 about God is that what
we intend for evil, God uses for good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, here we have Joseph, in control of all Egypt, with his
family in front of him, with the promise of Almighty God upon him, with the
hand of All-Knowing God guiding him, the sovereignty of God paving his way, the
presence of God giving him peace and the provision of God making it possible.
With all that we see Joseph make a choice to forgive and to protect and provide
for his family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now I want to ask, “Why?” Why would Joseph forgive them?
They had done nothing to deserve it. They had done nothing in the past to
deserve it for sure but look what they did even now. It says that they sent a
note to Joseph that was supposedly from their father asking him to forgive the
brothers. All of you that believe this was really a note from dad, please stand
on your head. They were trying to deceive him even now to save their own hides.
Joseph knew and I think that is why he cried. He was disappointed in them even
at this point.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A friend of mine posted on Facebook the other day that he
got a call from his son’s school. His son is in the third or fourth grade or
so. He got the call and he knew it wasn’t going to be good. It never is from
the school. But the nice teacher that called said she assumed that the father
had not received his son’s latest report card. The man said he had not. How did
you know? The teacher said the little boy brought the report card back and it
was signed, “Daddy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s kind of what we see with Joseph’s brothers right
here. But none of that mattered to Joseph. He was determined to forgive them.
Why do you think he forgave them if they didn’t deserve it? What was in it for
Joseph? They had no money and besides Joseph was rich beyond all they could have
imagined. They had no power especially to the second most powerful man in the
land. They had proven they didn’t deserve it. Was it just because they were
family?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Family Schmamily! They never wanted Joseph to be part of
their family. They had not treated him like family. They treated him like their
worst enemy. Besides they hadn’t even seen each other in decades. But look at
what Joseph tells them. This is one of the most beautiful and powerful verses
in all of scripture. If we could wrap our minds around this, it would change
everything about us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He tells them in <b>verses 19-20</b>. <i>"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.”</i> At some
point in Joseph’s life, and we are not told where, but at some point, he came
to have a life-changing relationship with God. He knew God. He had an
experience with God, probably somewhere between slavery and imprisonment, he
had come to understand that God had a plan for him, a plan as God said in <b>Jeremiah
29:11</b> to prosper him and not harm him and because he had been forgiven
by God and could see that God had allowed or even caused all this to happen for
his good and the good of his family, he could forgive his brothers that had
once tried to kill him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is sort of the Old Testament version of <b>Romans
8:28</b> that says, <i>“And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”</i> This
does not mean that bad things won’t happen. God may allow or even cause you to
go through great poverty or sickness or extremely unfair situations. Yes, you
are loved and highly favored but you will often go through great difficulties
in this life that you won’t understand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Joseph was blessed to be able to see in his lifetime how all
the horrible things that happened to him was not the world falling apart but
God’s plan falling into place. You may or may not be blessed like that to be
able to see it but whether or not you can see it or not, it is still true. Yes,
it takes faith to be able to see it in the midst of your tragedy but without
faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Notice that Joseph never downplayed his pain or what
happened to him. He never said, <i>“Oh, don’t worry about it. It didn’t
bother me. It didn’t hurt. It’s okay.”</i> No. In fact, I think that is
why he said in <b>verse 19</b>, <i>"Don't be afraid. Am I in the
place of God?”</i> Because if he was in the place of God, he probably
would have thumped them off the planet and straight into the pits of hell. They
had tried to ruin his whole life and Joseph was aware of that but he was also
aware that God was and is in control and had used even their wickedness and
meanness to bring about a promise He had made hundreds of years ago to Joseph’s
great grandfather, Abraham.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They had intended to harm Joseph but God used that situation
for Joseph’s good and for the good of their whole family and, more than that,
to bring about and continue and fulfill His promise to Abraham. It was just
going to take a while to see it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">On May 11, 1996, Demingo Pacheco had a major problem. He was
on a tight schedule to catch his plane out of Miami when the left rear tire of
his Cadillac blew out on the Palmetto Expressway. For more than hour he sweated
under that broiling Florida sun changing that tire. Just as he finished
changing the tire, he got a call on his portable phone. It was his mother. She
said, <i>"Where are you?"</i> He said, <i>"I’m
stuck on the freeway, having just changed a flat tire, and I have missed my
flight." </i>She shouted, <i>"Turn on your radio and thank
God. The plane you were supposed to be on just crashed!”</i>
(sermoncentral.com)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In stories like that it is easy to see that God provides and
protects and sometimes allows us to go through difficulties for our own good.
But sometimes it takes a little longer than the hour that Pacheco spent
changing his tire. Sometimes it takes years and the circumstances are much
worse than a flat tire and a messed-up schedule. Sometimes we never see how any
good comes out of it at all and we won’t see it until we see Jesus face to face
in Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Why do some people have to spend their lives in a wheelchair?
Why do some people get cancer or lose a child or come down with the virus? You
know what I would like to ask God when I see Him? I would like to ask what good
came out of the Holocaust? God allowed millions of His special, chosen people,
the Jews, to be tortured and murdered and I don’t get it. I really don’t. I
don’t understand. But I don’t have to understand!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Am I in the place of God? Thank God I am not and since I am
not, I don’t have to understand His ways. I don’t have to know His thoughts. I
don’t have to even believe it is true that all things work together for the
good of those who know God. All I have to do is know God! The whole
point of this sermon series is for us to know God better and all I have to know
is that God is sovereign. He is just. He is creative. He is faithful to
provide. He wants to reveal Himself to you and to me and His presence is
enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I know God, I don’t have to understand everything He
does or causes or allows. All I have to do is believe it. All I have to do is believe
His Word and either God’s Word is true when it says “all things” or
it’s not true and if it is true then it is true in the darkest days. It is true
when I have a flat. It is true when the doctor gives me a bad report. It is
true in death, in hardship, in sickness and in divorce and if you can’t believe
it when those times come, and they will come, then keep your mouth shut in the
good times because you don’t really believe it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me close by saying that one of the things I love about
the story of Joseph is that he is a type or a picture of Jesus. I’m not saying
he is God or that we should worship him or anything like that. It’s just that
there are a lot of parallels between Joseph and Jesus. Both were loved by their
fathers. Both were rejected by their brothers. Both were tempted. Both suffered
innocently. Both forgave those who hurt them and both were put in glorified
positions. There may be more parallels but that’s enough for now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Why did Joseph forgive his brothers when they did not
deserve it? Why didn’t he kill them? Why did he protect them and provide for
them and their families? It’s the same reason that God forgives us and protects
and provides for us and our families. He loves us. <b>Romans 5:8</b> says, <i>“But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We don’t deserve it. We have all proven over and over again
that we don’t deserve His grace or His mercy or His forgiveness, let alone His
generosity and favor. But He loves us and that is how people will know that we
are followers of Jesus when we act like Him and love others. Jesus
said Himself in <b>John 13:35</b>, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“By
this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another." </span></i>How do you prove you love somebody? Is it love
when you love the folks that are lovely? No. You prove your love by loving and
forgiving and protecting and providing for them when they are the most
unlovely. We know that’s what God does and we know God and are His followers so
now we have to act like Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For those of you that are true Christians, who is God
calling you to love today? Who is He telling you to forgive or protect or
provide for? Now, for those of you that are not true believers, don’t worry.
God doesn’t expect you to love like that. You can’t. That is only done through
the power of God living inside of you through the Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maybe you aren’t a Christian today but you want to be. Maybe
you want to be able to love like that. Maybe you want the kind of peace that
scripture says is beyond all of our understanding (Philippians 4:7). Maybe you
want to know God and live forever with Him in Heaven for eternity instead being
alone in Hell. All you have to do is go to Him and honestly say just what
Joseph’s brothers said to Him. They said, <i>“We are your slaves.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, let me just tell you that if being a slave to God
doesn’t sound like what you want, I understand. But you are going to be a slave
to something. That’s just how we were created. You will either be a slave to
God or a slave to sin. There are no other choices. Some people think they want
just part of God. They want just enough to keep from going to Hell but they
don’t really want to give everything they have. They think of Christianity as a
nice buffet where they can pick and choose. They want peace here and provision
over there and maybe throw in a little worship when it’s convenient but that
whole being a slave to God thing is a hard pass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But it doesn’t work that way. Choose you this day whom you
will serve. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). Give
it all to God today. Admit you are a sinner. Ask Him to forgive you and He
will. Then allow Him to change your life. It is a process that will take all of
your life in every way. Do it right now as the music plays.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-22144796081564267322021-04-06T09:15:00.000-07:002021-04-06T09:15:00.688-07:00“What If…?” – 1 Corinthians 15:12-20<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have some questions for you this morning. Some of them are
ridiculous questions but I am asking them for a reason. I want you to think
through the ramifications of these. <b>What if we kept growing all through our
lives?</b> What would be the ramifications of that? Really old people would be
really tall people. Now they sell clothes based on how old you are. Doorways
and ceilings would be much higher. Cars would have to be different; much
bigger. I know it’s ridiculous to think of but, again, I have a reason for
asking.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>What if animals could talk?</b> That might be fun in some
ways and helpful when they have to go to the vet but could also be pretty
embarrassing, right? I can just hear Bo saying, <i>“Have ya seen how fat this
guy is?”</i> Or here’s one for you. What if I actually caught a fish and what
if that fish could talk? I’d pull him out of the water and he’s cussing me out.
But maybe I could make a deal with him if he would tell me where the big fish
are, I’d let him go. Pretty ridiculous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here’s a better one. <b>What if it was impossible to lie?</b>
Uh-oh. Guys, now what are you going to say when she asks if this dress makes
her look fat? But just think. We would have no use for lawyers or judges or
courts at all. The cops would just politely ask, <i>“Excuse me sir, did you just
kill that lady?” “Well, yes I did.” “Okay, off to jail you go.” </i>And think
about what would happen to Washington D.C. Nobody would want to be a politician
anymore. No more cheating on tests at school. No more passwords to get online.
There would just be a question pop up. <i>“Is this really Todd Blair?” </i>Okay,
go ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alright, I asked those questions to ask you one more serious
question and I want you to think about the ramifications of this question as
well. <b>What if Jesus died but never rose again?</b> What if God sent His Son
Jesus to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life and die on a cross and that
was the end of Him? What would change? Before you answer, I want you to turn in
your Bibles to <b>1 Corinthians 15</b> and we will see that I am not the first
to ask this question. Paul asked it a long time ago and also answered the
question better than I ever could as well. In his letters to the Corinthian
church, Paul was writing to Christians but Corinth was a Greek city and most
Greeks had a real problem believing in any kind of resurrection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <b>Acts 17</b>, Paul was preaching in Athens and declared
the fact of Christ’s resurrection and some of his listeners actually laughed at
him. So, the truth of the resurrection of Jesus was too important to allow incorrect
attitudes to creep into the church and Paul addresses this head-on in <b>1
Corinthians 15:12-20</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you didn’t
bring a Bible, you can use the one in the pew there in front of you and you can
even take it home if you need it. We would love for you to have it. <b>1
Corinthians 15:12-20</b> says, <i><span style="color: #385623; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised
from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the
dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been
raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is
your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about
God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But
he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are
not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not
been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those
also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have
hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20But Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s funny to me that some people have a hard time believing
that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. They have no problem with God
creating the universe with His voice. No problem believing that He parted the
sea, caused a great flood and made a donkey speak. Sure, Jesus was born of a
virgin and lived a sinless life but no way He died and came back to life.
That’s scientifically impossible! That’s right. It is scientifically
impossible. But we aren’t talking about science. We are talking about Almighty
God, the inventor of science. We are not talking about natural power but
supernatural power and God has made it plain in His Word that Jesus died on a
cross and then three days later, came back to life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He died. He was dead. No brainwaves, no heartbeat, dead. He
didn’t faint. He didn’t swoon. He didn’t pass out and then get His second wind.
He was DRT – dead right there. But we know from passages like Lois read this
morning; passages found in all four Gospels that Jesus rose again and if that
were not the case, Paul tells us some things that would happen. He answers the
question of what if Jesus had NOT risen from the grave. In fact, in <b>verses
13-19</b> he gives us seven disastrous consequences that would result. Look at <b>verse
14</b>. If Christ had not been raised then our preaching is useless and some of
you have had those two words running through your head for a while now,
“useless preaching.” I heard a preacher say one time, <i>“I understand that
it's my job to talk to you. Your job is to listen. If you quit before I do, I
hope you'll let me know."</i> (Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, p. 13)
I have found that there are always going to be people that think all preaching
is always useless. And some preachers aren’t too sure of it themselves. But
without the resurrection, the Gospel (the Good News) would be bad news. There
would be nothing worth preaching. Without the resurrection, the Gospel would be
an empty, hopeless message of meaningless nonsense. Unless our Lord conquered sin
and death making a way for men to follow in that victory, there is no Gospel to
proclaim. (MacArthur, pg. 411)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul goes on. He says if Jesus had not risen, our preaching
would be useless and so is our faith. If we had faith in a risen Savior that
had not risen, then what good is our faith? Our faith is only as good as the
object of our faith. A dead Savior can’t bring life. If Jesus had not risen,
then <b>Hebrews 11</b>, the faith chapter would be the fool’s chapter and I
would have to say, <i>“Well, thanks for the effort, Jesus, but what good did
you really do for me?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not only is our preaching useless and our faith worthless
but Paul says we are also a bunch of liars. All of us who believe in the
resurrection of Jesus are now liars as well as all the people in the Bible that
saw Him as well. In <b>1 Corinthians 15</b> it says that after His
resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to the disciples as a group but also
to Peter and James and then 500 folks at one time, then even to Paul years
later. But if Jesus didn’t rise again then all of them are liars as well as us
who believe today. We’re all a bunch of liars. Including Jesus Himself. And if
we are lying about that, then nobody should listen to us about anything.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, the theological problems of Jesus being dead are at
least that our <u>preaching is worthless</u>, <u>our faith is useless</u> and <u>we
are a bunch of liars</u> but there are some personal problems that come with
that as well. If Jesus has not been risen then Paul tells us in <b>verse 17</b>
that we are all still lost in our sins. What does it mean to be lost in our
sins? Well, <b>Romans 6:23</b> says that the wages of sin (what we deserve for
our sins) is death, meaning eternal death in Hell. The purpose of trusting
Christ is for forgiveness of our sins because it is from our sins that we need
to be saved. Paul said earlier in this chapter that Christ died for our sins,
was buried and raised on the third day. If Christ has not really been risen
then His death was in vain and our sins are still counted against us. And Paul
is the biggest liar of all because he said in <b>Romans 4</b> that God <i>“raised
Jesus our LORD from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and
was raised to life for our justification”</i> which means to be justified
before God. <b>Acts 5</b> says, <i>“The God of our ancestors <b>raised Jesus
from the dead…</b>that he might bring us to repentance <b>and forgive our sins</b>.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If Jesus is still dead then that’s bad news for us and bad
news for all of our loved ones that have died believing in Jesus as well. Paul
continues with the bad news in <b>verse 18</b>. Then those who have fallen
asleep in Christ are lost. They are right now in Hell forever. Paul, Peter,
James and John; Martin Luther, John Wesley, Spurgeon, Moody; my mother, your
mother all rotting in Hell if Jesus didn’t take off those grave clothes, fold
them up and lay them there in the tomb and walk out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lastly, Paul says that if Jesus never rose again then we who
are believers are to be pitied more than all other men. And he says that
because, make no mistake, living the Christian life is not easy. There are
sacrifices to make and there is suffering to endure when you become a follower
of Jesus. As true believers we give up a lot of things that the world enjoys
but we have peace and joy even in the difficult times of life and we have that
peace and joy because we serve a risen Savior. BUT if Jesus is still dead, good
grief, everybody ought to feel so sorry for us. We are delusional. We are
addicted to the opiate of the masses (as Karl Marx described religion). We have
no hope. We have no forgiveness, no Savior, no life here or in the afterlife.
And our lives are a joke and a charade and we should be pitied. Oh, woe is me!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If that’s true then let’s eat, drink and be merry for
tomorrow we die. (1 Cor. 15:32) There is nothing to look forward to. Let’s just
live our best lives now as my “buddy” Joel says. If Jesus is dead then God is a
liar and a fool and nothing makes any sense anymore. We might as well get all
we can in this life since there is no other. I’m heading off to the bar to get
drunk. Anybody want to go with me?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Maybe we ought to think
about this for a second. I started off by asking the question of what if Jesus
had not risen from the grave. Let me ask another question. <b>What if</b> He has?
<b>What if</b> it’s true? <b>What if</b> Jesus really did die on that cross but
was laid in a tomb and the power of Almighty God brought Him back to life three
days later? What if He laid there dead and then opened His eyes early that
Sunday morning, sat up, took off the grave clothes, folded them neatly, told an
angel to roll away the stone over the door and walked out of that tomb like a
Boss? What if that happened?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What if scripture is right? What if the wise men were right?
What if the angels told the shepherds the truth? What if the angel sent to Mary
wasn’t lying? What if Simeon was telling the truth? What if Paul really did see
Jesus and have his life changed? What if it’s true what Paul said in <b>verse
20</b> that Jesus has indeed been raised from the dead? What if Jesus is alive
and He is still changing lives today like He has yours and mine? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Jesus is alive then our preaching and our
faith is not useless. If Jesus is alive then we are not liars. If Jesus is
alive then – hallelujah! – we are not dead in our sins and we have been
forgiven and we have hope that when this life is over we will see not only our
loved ones who were also Jesus-followers but we will also see Jesus Himself! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What if we really can have peace and joy in this life even
when the doctor gives us bad news? Even when there is no money in the bank and
the kids are acting crazy and the spouse leaves us for another? Following Jesus
can be hard sometimes but not following Him can be hard too. This life is hard
and I would rather struggle to be more like Jesus and have peace and joy than
to do what I think is best and be miserable in this life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not to mention the promise of eternal life in Heaven when we
die! That’s kind of a big deal. <b>John 3:16</b> says that <u>God loved us so
much</u> He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and all we have to do
is believe in Him and we will have eternal life in Heaven when we die. Now,
that belief will manifest itself in a changed life. It is more than just a head
knowledge about Jesus. It is a complete surrender to the risen Savior of all
our hopes and dreams and rights and allowing Him to change us to look and act
more like Him every day. It won’t always be easy but nothing worth doing in
this life is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And as Heaven is more wonderful and beautiful and colorful and
perfect than we could ever imagine, Hell is more awful. There is a real Heaven
and a real Hell and Hell is being completely separated from God and everybody
else for all eternity in constant torment. And it’s what we deserve but Jesus
paid the price we could never pay so we don’t have to go there. Yea, I hear ya.
<i>“Oh, Todd, that kind of talk is no way to build a church, especially on
Easter.”</i> Well, I’m not trying to build a church. Jesus said He would do
that and since we know He is alive and not a liar, I will let Him do that. I’m
trying to fill up Heaven and I love you too much to not tell you the whole
story. I won’t sugarcoat it, especially on Easter. You’ll probably have enough
sugar today anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What if today you said, <i>“Well, I don’t understand
everything there is to know about this whole Jesus and Christianity thing but I
will step out on faith and try it. I will ask God to forgive me of my many
sins.”</i> <b>1 John 1:9</b> says, <i>“If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”</i> “All
unrighteousness” means everything you have ever done that is displeasing to
God, even that thing you did that is so awful. Jesus died for that sin too. What
if today you allowed the Holy Spirit of God to come into your life and take
control of your life, guiding you to make wise decisions? I know it’s hard to
give up control but how has that worked out for you so far anyway? When we
truly believe in Jesus, His Spirit is now that voice inside of us that says, <i>“This
is the right way. Walk in this way.”</i> (Isaiah 30:21)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He wants good things for you. He wants you to have peace and
joy in this life and He wants you to have all the treasures that Heaven holds.
It won’t always be easy. Ask the Apostle Paul or any of the disciples or even Jesus
Himself. He is alive today and asking you to believe. What if you answered
“yes” today? Do it right now as the music plays.</span><i><span style="color: #385623; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-56115060023566499772021-03-30T08:36:00.001-07:002021-03-30T08:36:18.751-07:00Philippians 4:10-13<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, good morning and welcome to Life’s Restaurant. My name
is Todd and I’ll be your server today. I hope you have enjoyed the appetizers
of praise and worship this morning. Now, let me tell you about our main
courses. I have to warn you that here at Life’s Restaurant you don’t always get
what you order. I’m sorry about that but there is nothing you can do because
you have to eat here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But you can order whatever you want and the Chef will take
it into consideration. I will say that a favorite around here is our delicious
plate of Happiness Soufflé. Almost everybody orders that when they come here
but I’ll be honest with you, it rarely satisfies. It’s a very small plate and
if that’s what you want, you will rarely get enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another favorite around here is a big ol’ Money Sandwich.
You could say this is the opposite of a Po’ Boy. If that is what you want, you
have to order it just right and work real hard and maybe you will get it, maybe
not. The problem with this order is that when you order the Money Sandwich, you
miss out on a lot of other good things. And even a double order is not very
satisfying.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We have a special right now that I would like to tell you
about. We have a Health Casserole that is very popular. It comes with a side of
gym membership and spandex. It’s pretty hard to chew and the Chef may take it
away from you with no warning so there’s that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Other popular dishes we serve here at Life’s Restaurant are
Glory Supreme which comes with a side of vanity. There is also the Sex, Drugs
and Rock N Roll Soup which tastes great going down but I have to warn you, it
will tear you up inside. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is one other item that most folks don’t even know is
on the menu. It’s not ordered very often because most people don’t think it
sounds very appetizing. It doesn’t have a fancy name and it is not served on a
fancy plate. And honestly, I have seen way too many people sample it and not
like it. But if you continue eating it, it will be the most satisfying and
fulfilling thing you have ever had. It is simply called Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When you order Jesus as your main course here at Life’s
Restaurant, you will certainly get it. You are welcome to go back for more as
often as you like as it is the only thing on the menu that is all you can eat.
A little goes a long way but more is better and actually comes with every good
thing this restaurant has to offer as sides. But the really good thing about
ordering Jesus is that you will be <b>content</b> with whatever else the Chef
brings you because Jesus goes well with everything.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today, as you sit here feasting at Life’s Restaurant, are
you content? Would you like to be? You can but if you order contentment, you
rarely get it. You only get contentment through Jesus. When you give your life
completely and fully to Him, you will find yourself able to be content no
matter what else Life’s Restaurant serves up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How do I know this? I know it because the Apostle Paul did
it and tells us how in the book of Philippians. We have come to the end of our
study of this beautiful little book and Paul concludes it with a summary of
what happens when you put everything else he has talked about for four chapters
into play in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When you have joy in the Lord, unity in the church; when you
press on to work out your salvation and when you are not worried but thinking
about right things, focusing on getting to know Jesus more and more through
prayer, scripture and church attendance then you can be content in this life
through the power of Jesus. That is a summary of Philippians and what you get
when your life is focused on Jesus. Let’s read it in <b>Philippians 4:10-13</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I rejoiced greatly in the LORD that at last you renewed
your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to
show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I
know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty
or in want. 13I can do all this through him who gives me strength.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Contentment is a fascinating thing. The more you chase after
it, the less you have. The more stuff you get that you think will make you
content, the more stuff you need. Some of the most contented people I have ever
met have the least amount of stuff. It doesn’t make sense to this world and it
only leads to frustration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I found out in studying this week that there is a whole
business model around contented cows. Morris suggested I look it up when I told
him what I was preaching on today so I “researched” it. I Googled it and found
that it started with Borden Dairy Company’s advertisements of Elsie the
contented cow back in the 1940’s. The idea was that Borden kept their cows so
contented that their milk output reflected their happy life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That branched off into a business model that suggests if you
keep your employees happy and comfortable and secure then they will be more
productive as well. So, it works out well for everybody. There’s only one problem.
As I just said, lasting contentment is not found in stuff. You can be content
for a while…if things are good…if you have everything you need and want…but it
never lasts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul says here that he has <b>learned</b> to be content no
matter the circumstance. Now how do you learn anything? Well, you can learn by
reading about it in a book. You can learn by watching somebody else go through
it or you can learn by experience. Anybody want to guess how Paul learned to be
content? He learned by experience. He went through it. He went through the
highest highs and the lowest lows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don’t know if you caught it but I started off by comparing
God to a Chef in Life’s Restaurant serving us up whatever He wanted. Now, I
want us to think about God as a Father. If God is a Father, and scripture calls
Him that several times, then let’s think about how He treats His special child,
the Apostle Paul.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul was extremely passionate when his name was Saul in
persecuting the Christians. In <b>Acts 9</b> it says that Paul was breathing
out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. His passionate hate was the
breath in his lungs. It stirred him up and kept him going and I believe that is
one reason why God chose to change him over to the right team and chose him to
be one of the most influential Christians that has ever lived. Paul was a
passionate man and for the rest of his life, Paul was passionate about seeing
others come to know Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Before his conversion, Paul had been trained by the best and
smartest people. He came from a long line of religious people. He had done all
the right things and been to all the right places and could say all the right
things. He had made good choices in his life and thought he was making a good
choice by rooting out what he thought was blasphemy in this new “cult” called
the Way or what we now call Christianity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But then God changed his life. And you would think that God
would see that he now has an all-star on his team. You would think that God
would handle him with kid gloves and make everything go his way and protect him
from anything that might hurt him or even discourage him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But you know Paul’s story. He tells us in <b>2 Corinthians
11</b> that he was a servant of Christ. Then he goes on to say, <i>“I have
worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely,
and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the
Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I
was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the
open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from
rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from
Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea;
and in danger from false believers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often
gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without
food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure
of my concern for all the churches.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’m exhausted and in pain just from reading it! I can tell
you after the first beating or two, I would have said, <i>“I’m gonna go make
some tents or something over here real quietly. Leave all that missionary stuff
to somebody else.”</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But I say all of that to show you two things. <b>Number one</b>
– it’s not out of the realm of possibility for you to have to go through that
kind of thing as well even as a Christian. <b>Number two</b> – you can still be
content. You can still have everything you need. Even if your loving Heavenly
Father allows you to go through the worst things in this world you can be
content. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Greek word Paul uses here for “content” is “autarkes”
(aw-tar-kace) and it literally means to be self-sufficient, adequate and
needing no assistance. Paul was glad to get whatever it was that the church in
Philippi sent him but he was mainly glad because of what it meant for them. He
didn’t need anything else to be content. He had contentment. He had joy and
peace and God’s wisdom. He had all the promises of God but he was glad they
sent it because of what it meant for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You may have noticed I rarely say much at all about tithing.
I don’t because so many other preachers talk about it all the time and it has
given preachers a bad name. The Bible talks a lot about giving but I’m afraid
if I bring it up, somebody is going to say, <i>“There he goes again, Ethyl,
talking about money. That’s all he ever talks about.” </i>I don’t want to give
you that excuse. And it’s a shame because giving of your time, talent and
treasure is how you get rewards in Heaven. That’s what Paul was talking about
here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We talked about it a little last Thursday night. <b>Matthew
6</b> tells us not to store up treasures in this life because they will wear
out or get stolen or ruined but instead use our time, talent and earthly
treasure to store up treasure in Heaven. Money and stuff comes and goes. You
should give your money and stuff to the church so we can do good things that
God allows us to do with it but don’t think the church needs it. This church is
<b>autarkes</b>. We don’t need a thing. God protects and provides like crazy
but you need to give so that God sees your faith and will reward you. And that
reward MIGHT be here but it will definitely be in Heaven for all eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Like almost everything in God’s congress or how God works,
it is countercultural. Giving to God will actually make you more content with
what you do have. And I’ll tell you the truth, if you think I’m just saying
that to get you to give then try this: give whatever God tells you to give to
the church in Bridgeport or Decatur or Runaway Bay. Seriously. I want you to be
rewarded for eternity just like Paul wanted for the Philippian church that was
giving to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Have you ever seen an uprooted tree? When a storm uproots a
tree, take a look at the massive root ball. The bigger the tree, the more
massive the roots. The most important part of the tree, the part that is most vital
to life is the part that can’t be seen. It’s basically the same with a
Christian’s life. The most important and vital part is the part that can only
be seen by God. When you give from the heart, whether it is giving your time,
your talent or money, God sees. Don’t let anybody else know. That’s not their
business. It’s between you and God and God sees the heart and rewards you for
it. When you let other people know what you are doing or giving, Jesus said you
have your reward right then and there. (Matt. 6:1-2)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But Paul’s main point here is really his main point in the
whole book of Philippians. Do you want contentment? Get close to God. Do you
want joy? Get close to God. Do you want peace? Get close to God. <b>Matthew
6:33</b> backs it up when it says to<span style="background: white; color: #001320;"> </span>seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul says, I can do all things through Him who gives me
strength and so many people think that means I can do all things through a
verse taken out of context. Does that mean that Christ will give me strength to
do anything I want? Nope. Keep it in context. Paul is talking about going
through difficult times. He is chained to a guard. He is in prison. He has lost
his freedom, his rights, his livelihood, his friends. He has no home. Food is
questionable. Clothing is sparse. And Paul says, <i>“I’m okay. I’m fine. Don’t
need a thing.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, guys, when Paul says he is fine, he means it. He’s
fine. He’s content. This is not like how your wife says she is fine the day
after y’all have a big argument. You know what I’m talking about. You think
everything is over and done. You have gotten on with your life but your wife
keeps giving you that look. You know the look. And when you ask her what’s
wrong, she says, <i>“Nothing! I’m fine.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, what do you say? <i>“Whoo, good. I thought something was
wrong. But if everything is fine, I guess I’ll go fishing.”</i> If you have
been married for more than 30 minutes, you know that’s the wrong answer. Her
“fine” does not mean fine. She is not content and you are about to find out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But Paul knew the secret to having true contentment. That’s
what he called it in <b>verse 12</b>. It’s a secret. It’s a secret but he wants
everybody to know that the secret is knowing Jesus Christ and knowing Him
better and more intimately. It’s the whole theme of Philippians and it is the
secret to this life and the next. I will say it again. Knowing Jesus more and
better is the secret to having a rewarding, full and abundant life here and in
the next life. It makes everything better in this life and the next. It was
Paul’s one goal in life and everything else stemmed from knowing Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Leaning on his fence one day, a devout Quaker was watching a
new neighbor move in next door. After all kinds of modern appliances,
electronic gadgets, plush furniture, and costly wall hangings had been carried
in, the onlooker called over, "If you find you're lacking anything,
neighbor, <b>let me know and I'll show you how to live without it</b>." (<a href="http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/c/contentment.htm">SermonIllustrations</a>.com)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’ve heard it before that it takes for people to hear
something at least three times before they start to remember it. Well, Paul has
told us over and over and over in this book to have joy or rejoice in the Lord.
He says here that he is content through Him who gives Paul strength. All of
this; the joy, the peace, the contentment, the grace, mercy, blessing,
everything is found IN Jesus, through Jesus, by Jesus and for Jesus. It is to
our good and His glory and when you live your life with that mindset, you have
everything you need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you know Him today? I’m not asking if you go to church. I
don’t care what class your mama taught or that your grandad was a preacher. Do
you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus? You can but
you have to decide in this life. Once you die, it will be too late and we are
not guaranteed another breath. Ask Him today to forgive you of all your many
sins and if you ask sincerely, He will. Repent of those sins – turn away from
that lifestyle and that attitude. Surrender everything you have and everything
you are to Him today and make Him Lord of your life right now as we pray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-8329275220000264842021-03-30T08:34:00.004-07:002021-03-30T08:34:47.314-07:00Philippians 4:8-9<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have said before that we are all weird. Is anybody really
normal? What is normal? Who decides? Anyway, I found out just recently that not
only are we all weird but we are also all crazy. It’s true. I was watching a
show the other night by sleep scientist Matthew Walker who said that every
night when we dream, we go through a nightly insanity. When we dream we see
things that aren’t there. We talk to people who aren’t there. We do things that
are impossible. We even taste, smell and feel things that are not real. We
literally go crazy for a few hours every night. When you relax your mind
completely and allow it to go and do what it wants, it will do crazy things.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How many of you have ever woke up and thought, <i>“I just
had the craziest dream”</i>? We all have done it and we do it every night. We
just don’t always remember it. I had a great dream the other night and I
remember it because in my dream I just knew I had this great idea. It was so
good, I couldn’t believe nobody had thought of it before. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was going to do some fund-raising (for what,
I don’t know) by getting celebrities to get their hair cut with a weedeater.
They would see who could get it done the fastest and we would raise money…for
something. Great idea, right? What could go wrong? No. It’s crazy! But in my
dream, it was brilliant. I woke up so confused and disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But knowing that we all go crazy every night helped me to
understand the importance of controlling our minds and our thoughts. Just as
you would not want to be driving down the highway and take your hands off the
wheel and close your eyes, you also have to control your thoughts. If you were
driving and did that, your car is never going to take you to a good place. If
you are not in control of your car and you go speeding down the road, the car
is not going to pull safely into the McDonalds drive thru. It might go through
the front door but it won’t be good. It’s the same with our minds. Left
uncontrolled, our minds will take us to some crazy dark places where there is
no peace and no joy much less a lovely McRib sandwich.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Apostle Paul knew how dangerous our minds can be and
knew that every temptation always starts in the mind. We have been going
through the joy book of the Bible, the book of Philippians and we have read
over and over that we are to have joy. Last week he told us not to worry and
gave us the recipe, the formula for not worrying. There is a method that we
have to go through when we are tempted to worry and we have to go through that
process because worry is a sin and sin puts a barrier between us and God. So,
not only does worry steal our joy and peace but there is no lasting peace and
joy apart from God. Paul told us last week to replace worry with worship. We
should pray about everything and start our prayers, specifically the prayers
about our concerns, with worship and praise and thanksgiving. And Paul said
that God’s peace will guard our hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is a wonderful privilege we have to be able to take
every concern to Almighty God and respectfully ask Him to take care of it in a
way that is to our benefit and to His glory. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He
gives us more help to be able to control our minds because every sin starts in
our minds. Let’s turn to <b>Philippians 4</b> and read <b>verses 8-9</b>. By
the way Paul writes this letter you would surely think he was laying around a
huge palace, sitting by the pool drinking sweet tea and listening to smooth
jazz on the radio. He mentions joy or rejoicing sixteen times in four chapters
so surely he is living high on the hog right now, right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Actually, he is writing this from a jail cell in Rome,
arrested for preaching the Good News of Jesus because he wanted everybody to
have the joy and peace that Jesus brings to this life but also the security of
knowing that they would spend eternity in Heaven when they die. And for that,
he was imprisoned and would ultimately die. But he had joy and he knew how to
think. Let’s read it in <b>Philippians 4:8-9</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #002060;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Finally, brothers, whatever
is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think
about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or
seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don’t know much about how computers work but I understand
that they will only put out what you put into them. If you fill your computer
with junk, you will get junk out. It’s the same with our minds. <b>Proverbs
23:7</b> (KJV) says, <i>“For as a man thinks, so he is.”</i> Jesus said in Mark
7 that all evil comes from within us. So, Paul tells us to think on these
things. That word “think” means <u>to evaluate, consider thoughtfully, or to calculate</u>.
It is talking about a habitual discipline of the mind. It is part of the
working out of our salvation that Paul talked about in <b>chapter 2</b>. It is
going to require work on our part. God provides everything we need to do the
work. But we have to do the work. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I know you don’t want to worry anymore. I know you are tired
of it. I know you hate missing out on the blessings God has for you, not to
mention the sleep you are missing laying awake at night worrying. And I wish I
had an easy, <i>“Make a wish and blow out the candles”</i> method to help you
but it is going to require some effort. And we are commanded to make that
effort! Paul is giving us a command that comes from God when he said not to
worry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But in this passage, Paul gives us a cheat sheet on how to
keep from worrying. In fact, it helps with every other sin as well because all
sin starts in the mind. So, we have to discipline our mind to think on things
other than those triggers that cause us to sin. I’m calling it a cheat sheet
and so I have this verse printed out for everybody so you can make notes on it.
Use it as a cheat sheet when you feel tempted to worry or gossip or lie or rob
a bank or whatever it is that tempts you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">*If you are reading this message in jail or somewhere else,
I recommend writing verse 8 out on a separate piece of paper and then making
notes on that paper. * Or cut this part out…<i><span style="color: #002060;">
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy -think about such things. Philippians 4:8</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He says to think on these things instead of those triggers
and he starts with what is true. Think on what is true. Now, I have given you
this verse printed out for a reason. We have done this before a few years ago
and some of you still have yours in your Bible. I did that so that you can
write down something that is true right now while you are thinking about it and
thinking clearly. Because in the heat of the battle, when Satan is whispering
to you to go do that thing you like to do or say this thing or go over there
and look at that or be that way and you know you shouldn’t but you are tempted
to, it’s hard to think of anything else, much less sit down and thoughtfully
consider what is true and what is lovely, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, right now, write down something that is <b>true</b>. But
how do we know what is true? Well, the Bible is our guide for all things truth
and do you know what scripture says is true? Scripture. <b>Psalm 31</b>, <b>Isaiah
65</b> and <b>Ephesians 4</b> all call God the God of truth and the God of
truth inspired scripture so all scripture is truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jesus prayed to the Father, <i><span style="color: red;">“Your
word is truth”</span></i><span style="color: red;"> </span>in <b>John 17</b>.
David said in <b>Psalm 19</b>, <i>“The judgements of the Lord are true.”</i> <b>Psalm
119</b> adds, <i>“All your commandments are truth.”</i> The Bible is true and thinking
about it leads to reading it and memorizing it and that leads away from
temptation just like Jesus told us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. So, tell me
something in scripture that is true. Now, write that or something else true in
the blank there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next, Paul tells us to think on things that are <b>noble</b>
or <b>honorable</b>. It has to do with heavenly things not things that are
temporary or earthly. I love to think about Heaven and what we are going to do
there, eat there, and see there. I love to think about the music, the people,
the golden streets, all of it. What about Heaven are you looking forward to?
Write that in the blank.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul tells us to think about whatever is <b>right</b>. The
world says whatever you feel is right but we know that feelings can often lead
us astray. The word Paul uses means <b>“righteous”</b> and in perfect harmony
with God’s standards. What is something that is righteous or right? The 10
Commandments. Jesus dying for our sins on the cross. Write that down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next, we have <b>“pure.”</b> There are not many things in
this world that are pure besides Jesus but I’ll tell you what the guys in jail
talk about a lot when we talk about things that are pure. Do you have young
kids or babies, grandbabies? When you are tempted to sin, think about your
grandchild finding out about you doing what you are tempted to do. How tempting
is it now? Write their name in the blank or the name of somebody else even the
name of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Think on what is <b>lovely</b>. What is lovely? It could be
translated as sweet, gracious, generous or patient. What does the Bible say is
lovely? <b>Psalm 133:1</b> says, <i>“How good and pleasant it is when God's
people live together in unity!”</i> Maybe you want to write Christ Fellowship
in that blank and think about your sin being shown on the screen here at church.
That’s a unity-killer right there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What is something that is <b>admirable</b> or of <b>good
repute</b>? It means to be highly regarded. <b>Proverbs 31:10</b> says a good
wife is worth more than rubies. Maybe think about how your wife or husband will
feel if they found out about your sin. Write their name in there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul concludes with, <i>“if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy-think about such things.”</i> Think about your reputation if
nothing else. <a href="https://biblehub.com/numbers/32-23.htm" target="_blank">Numbers
32:23</a> says to be sure your sins will find you out. How are you going to
feel when that happens and everybody and their mother and your mother and your
dog finds out what you did or said or where you went or what you thought or
worried about?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in
the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he'd received in a fight
earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought
that he'd pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes
and there stood his wife. <i>"You were drunk last night weren't you!"
"No, honey." <b>"Well, if you weren't, then who put all the
band-aids on the bathroom mirror?"</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul gives us this cheat sheet so we don’t have to find out
how that feels or worse. But I want to continue on to the next verse where Paul
says, <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">“Whatever you have learned or received or
heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice.”</span></i><span style="color: #0070c0;"> </span>That’s Paul’s way of saying the Nike slogan. Just
do it! Turn your thoughts into right practice. When you take the whole book of
Philippians together, it tells you how to live in such a way that you will not
worry but have joy. You will live a full and abundant life as Jesus said we
could have in John 10:10. But you have to do more than just think right
thoughts. Again, Paul tells us to work out our salvation which we know does not
mean that we have to work FOR our salvation. It means that we are provided
everything we need to do what God has put us here to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God has provided our minds to be able to figure things out.
He has provided the energy and the ability and the opportunity. Now, you have
to do it. And when you don’t know what to do, Paul tells us to get closer to
the Lord. We do that through prayer, Bible study and being with like-minded church
family. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When we pray, we go to God in worship and praise to start
and then tell Him our needs. We don’t have to worry about anything because He
loves us and is in control. And when we do start to worry, we go through the
process of taking everything to Him with thanksgiving and then we think on
these other things that we have learned today. It all adds up to a full and
abundant life but we have to do our part. We are responsible for doing our part
and the biggest part of our part is just getting closer to God. When we do
that, everything is better in this life and the next.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul knew what he was talking about but remember, he is
writing to a church of Jesus followers. He was writing to true Christians and
if you are a true believer like that church was, you too can have what Paul is
talking about. But it doesn’t work at all if you are not a believer. Unless you
have given your life to God and accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins,
you will always struggle with worry and a bunch of other sins because
unbelievers are slaves to sin. That’s just what they do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, today, if you have never asked God for forgiveness, do
that right now. Allow Him to come into your life and change you and make you
more and more like Him until you die. Do that right now as we pray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #002060;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-88919013898004021262021-03-30T08:33:00.002-07:002021-03-30T08:33:24.287-07:00Philippians 4:6-7<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">How many of you men are married? Now, even in the best
marriages, there are sometimes differences of opinion. Sometimes those
differences become serious debates or even vigorous discussions. Every now and
then they may become a passionate exchange or even a hearty argument. Hopefully,
it is rare that those become contentious quarrels. But, men, when those
quarrels happen, have you ever tried to just simply say, <i>“Honey, calm down!”</i>?
Have you ever tried to just end the ridiculous argument where you know you are
right and she is wrong by saying, <i>“Hey, you need to calm down!”</i>? If you
have and you are now out of the hospital, I would like to congratulate you for
the effort. And I bet you never try that again, right? Because never in the
history of calm down has a woman ever calmed down because her husband told her
to calm down. It just doesn’t work that way. Now, guys, don’t say “amen” to
that because, I’m not sure why but there is a real possibility that could lead
to one of those “passionate exchanges” when you get home. Just look at her
right now like you don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s good.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, just like saying <i>“Calm down”</i> doesn’t work when
somebody is upset, saying, <i>“Don’t worry”</i> also doesn’t work when somebody
feels like they have something to worry about. Worry is a feeling that just
comes naturally. You don’t have to learn it in school. Your parents never had
to sit you down and explain how to worry. There is no Master Class on how to be
the best worrier you can be. If there were, some of you could teach that class,
couldn’t you? I looked up the definition of worry and anxiety this week and
found something interesting. I was trying to find out the difference between
worry, anxiety and care. We know that God is not worried about anything but He
does care about us so what’s the difference? And I didn’t find any really good
answers. The basic definition of anxiety is if something makes you worry,
that’s anxiety. The basic definition of worry is if something makes you
anxious, then that’s worry. Well, thanks a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But you know when you are worrying, or at least you do if
you will stop and consider it. You know when you wake up at three in the
morning and some thought keeps rolling around in your head. You are overly
concerned about your health, your finances, your kids, your country and you
should be concerned about all of those things but not overly so. And you know
when you reach that tipping point and you know that it keeps you awake at night
and it is bad for your mental and physical health and we are reminded in <b>Philippians
4</b> that worrying is a sin. It displeases God when we worry. But some of you
also need to be reminded of <b>1 Corinthians 10:13</b> that says, <i><span style="color: #00b050;">“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
mankind. 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 endure it.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When it comes to worry, God has provided a way out of that
temptation and that way is found specifically in <b>Philippians 4:6-7</b>.
Let’s turn there now if you haven’t already. Remember, Paul is writing to his
Christian friends in the church of Philippi. He loved these people and had
special affection for them and Paul knew that they had reasons to worry. It was
a hard time to be a Christian back in those days. Not only did they have
reasons to worry about their health, finances and family but they were being
persecuted for being followers of Jesus. But Paul, writing from a jail cell,
had overflowing joy and wanted his friends to have that joy as well and he knew
that when they showed joy instead of worry in the midst of their struggles that
non-believers would see them and say, <i>“Hey, I want what they have.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you can’t model joy and peace in the difficulties of this
life, then what success will you have trying to witness to somebody and
convince them that following Jesus is the way to live? You’ll have more success
telling your wife to calm down because it just doesn’t work. So, let’s look at <b>Philippians
4:6-7</b> as we continue through one of my favorite chapters in all of
scripture. This is part two of learning how not to worry. We couldn’t get it
all in last week and I will warn you / encourage you that there will also be a
part three. But let’s read <b>Philippians 4:6-7</b> now. It says, <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When we counsel someone to calm down or don’t worry, it
almost always sounds like a cop out, right? So it is with <i>“You should pray
about it.”</i> I was talking to a friend just last week and she was having some
really worrisome issues going on and I said, <i>“I hate for this to sound like
a pastor but you really just need to pray about it.”</i> And that is Paul’s
solution to the worry problem as well. Just pray about it. But there is more to
it then just, <i>“Hey God, I’m worried about such and such. Fix it for me
please.” </i>With any difficult problem, there is a specific solution. There
are steps to take. So, let’s look at the steps we need to take to solve the
problem of worrying. Paul starts by saying to take every situation to God.
Every situation. Big, small, medium, difficult, easy, doesn’t matter. We ought
to already be having a running conversation with God. It ought to be second
nature for a mature Christian to purposely think about adding God to the
thought process of whatever situation we are in. And while I have said before
that there is no wrong way to pray, there is a right way. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As believers, we have full and complete access to the throne
room of God and there are times in an emergency that we just kick in the door
and sprint to His throne and crawl up in His lap and beg for help. Nothing
wrong with that when your car is sliding off the road into the canyon. But
Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer that there is a method to going to God in
prayer. Remember how it starts? In <b>Matthew 6:9-10</b> Jesus says, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven.”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>The way to start our serious, mindful
prayers is with worship and adoration. That’s what Jesus is saying and the word
Paul here is using in Philippians 4 is the word for basic prayer and basic
prayer should always start with worship. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I heard the story of a church in Colorado in the 1980’s that
was growing and growing and they kept adding rooms and out-buildings but they
quickly ran out of room because they were at the base of a mountain. They felt
God telling them to make more room but they didn’t know how and so they had a
prayer meeting about it. The pastor stood up and started praying by just
praising God. He just opened his heart and thanked God for His power and
sovereignty and His creativity. He thanked Him for His grace and mercy and
forgiveness and the man just truly worshiped God in prayer. Towards the end of
the prayer, he added, almost as a second thought, how they needed more room and
he asked God to provide. Supposedly this is a true story but I don’t remember
if it was the next day or the next week but very soon after that, a
construction company called the preacher and said they needed a massive amount
of dirt for a construction project they had coming up and they were wondering
how much the church would charge them to move a big part of that mountain out
of the way. See, God is still in the mountain-moving business. We have all the
power of the risen Lord in the power of prayer but the best way to pray is
always to begin with worship. Jesus said it and we say we believe it but how
often do we start that way? It’s so easy to just run in and vomit all our cares
and wants and needs to God and then turn around and walk out. Then we wonder
why God doesn’t answer our prayers like we asked. The first step in right
praying is showing our adoration of Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The second step is petition or supplication. This has the
meaning of being earnest and heartfelt but also to be specific. I like the way
the Phillips Modern English version interprets it. “Whenever you pray, tell God
every detail of your needs in thankful prayer.” I wonder if God ever gets tired
of hearing, “Lord, please bless me. And please bless my friend Bobby and bless
Karen and…” Bless how? With what? What are you really asking for? Tell God in
detail what is worrying you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have also found some secrets about telling God my concerns
in detail. First, it helps to be somewhere where you can say it out loud. When
you say what is bothering you out loud, it often tends to bring it into focus
for you and you realize it is probably nothing to worry about to begin with. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, it also helps to come in here when I
am praying about something that is bothering me. I don’t know how many times I
have started praying and before I can get a sentence out good, I see these
little rocks in their little cups on the pulpit. For those of you that don’t
know, these little pebbles are taken from the church parking lot in Runaway Bay
when God provided a way for us to move over here debt-free. It’s a wonderfully
long story that most of you have heard so I won’t go all through it again but
it is a great reminder for me that God always provides. So, when I come over
here and start complaining to God about not knowing what to do and how there’s
no way this or that could ever happen and blah, blah, blah…God says, <b><i>“Really?
Because I remember doing a much bigger thing in the life of this church – TWICE
– and all you had to do was turn it over to me. Maybe do that again?”<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Again, Jesus is our model for this. In <b>Hebrews 5:7</b> it
says, <i><span style="color: #833c0b; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“During
the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud
cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard
because of his reverent submission.” </span></i>He offered up prayers and
petitions with loud cries and tears and was heard because of His worshipful
submission. Praying like that is just saying, <i>“God, here are my
difficulties. I give them to You and I will do whatever you want me to do
including doing nothing.”</i> We start with worship. We pray with fervency and
detail in faith that God is in control and He loves us. The next thing Paul
tells us to do instead of worrying is to include thanksgiving in our prayers.
Tell me right now what you are thankful for. What has God done in your life
that you would give Him thanks? I’m thankful for family. Some family is by
blood and some by the decision to be part of this church and I am thankful for
my family. God has blessed me with a wonderful church family and a job that I
love and a place to live that is wonderful and I am very grateful. Thank you,
Lord!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me tell you what happens when you take your worries to
God in fervent prayer with petition and thanksgiving. I’ll tell you by telling
you a story. There once was a young man named Daniel. Ol’ Danny was a good boy.
He had lived a hard life but as he got older, he made wise decisions and proved
himself to be an honest and hard-working man. And his boss really like him and
was going to promote him but his co-workers didn’t want him being their boss
and so they framed him. Danny’s boss had made a rule that anybody that prayed
to any god or man besides him would be thrown into the lion’s den. So, what
does ol’ Danny do? He goes home and <b>Daniel 6:10</b> says that Danny <b>prayed</b>
(same word Paul uses in Phil. 4) and <b>gave thanks to God</b>. As soon as he
did they hauled him into the boss’s office and the boss had to sentence him to
the lion’s den. But, do you know what happened? The boss was sick at what he
had done and he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t eat. He was miserably worried. And
as soon as it was first light, the boss ran down to the lion’s den and called
into it. <b>Daniel 6:20</b> says, <i>“When he came near the den, he called to
Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your
God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" </i>And
Danny said, “Huh? What? I’m sound asleep down here. Can you come back in a few
minutes? Me and the cats are snuggled up and I don’t want to move.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, that’s my version of what happened but it’s pretty
close. It’s like Daniel had been reading Philippians or something, right? (Even
though Daniel lived about 500 years before Paul.) Daniel knew that going to God
in worshipful prayer with thanksgiving brings peace. Amazing peace. Peace that
you won’t believe and can’t even understand. That’s what Paul says in <b>Philippians
4:7</b>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The peace of God will guard
your hearts and minds. That word “guard” is “phroureo” (phroo-ray’-o) in the
original Greek and it means to stand guard like a sentinel. It is a military
term used to describe a garrison of men watching and guarding a protected
place. When you became a Christian, you went from being an enemy of God to
being a friend of God and you were given the right to have peace WITH God. But
when you take your worries to God in worshipful, detailed prayer with
thanksgiving, you now have the peace OF God and He is not going to let anything
worrisome into your mind. He is guarding your mind with His own peace; a peace
that I can’t explain and you can’t explain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We don’t deserve it. God doesn’t have to give it. The world
can’t even imagine it. But God gives that kind of peace because He loves you.
As a child of the one true King, there are so many wonderful benefits. We can
have peace and joy in the midst of great difficulty. He gives us wisdom if we
but ask. Not to mention the incredible benefit of spending eternity with Him as
a co-heir with Jesus to all the wonderful things God has planned for us in
Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But all of that is ONLY for true believers. It is only for
those who have asked God to forgive them of their many sins, repented – turned
away – from those sins and that lifestyle and trusted God with every aspect of
their lives and allowed God to change their lives. If that describes you then
what in the world are you worried about? If that doesn’t describe you, then you
have every reason to be worried. In fact, you ought to be scared to death. This
life is hard enough without the peace and joy that God gives but the next life
will be impossibly horrible as you spend eternity in a real place called Hell,
separated from God and everybody else. I love you too much to sugar-coat it.
Repent today of your sins and allow God access to every part of you. Do that
right now as we pray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-59239463867808191332021-03-11T13:27:00.004-08:002021-03-11T13:27:58.994-08:00Philippians 4:4-7<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What is it about Heaven that you are looking forward to
specifically? Are you looking forward to seeing Jesus? You gotta say yes to
that, sitting here in church, right? But I think we all really are. Can you
imagine getting to spend time with Jesus one on one? Can you imagine getting to
take long walks in the countryside with Jesus explaining things to you? Can you
imagine getting to hear Him explain all the “whys” you have?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>“Lord, why did this have to happen? Why did I have to
lose this person or this job or this thing I loved?”</i> And then Jesus will
explain all the things you couldn’t see or know that affected your life and it
will all make sense and be okay. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I can’t wait to see Mama and my grandparents and King David
and Paul and Peter and all those other people too. I can’t wait to have perfect
joy and peace; no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow. I can’t wait to
eat heavenly Mexican food and not get fat! There is a lot that I look forward
to about Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But until I get to Heaven, I want this life to be the best
that it can for me and everybody else. We can all agree on that. Where the
disagreements come is how to do that. The world says to go for the gusto. Live
your best life now. You deserve it. He with the most toys wins. You only live
once. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">They look at Christianity as a hindrance to living well. <i>“Why
would I want to go to church? That’s my only day off. I gotta have some me
time. Plus, they just want my money. No thanks!”</i> But what they don’t
understand is that Christianity is the true way to peace, joy and happiness in
this life PLUS there is all of eternity to think about and the only way to have
any peace, joy and happiness in eternity is through knowing Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The book of Philippians is all about how to have joy. We
have talked about that over and over as we have gone through this book and we
have seen that Paul says that the only way to have any kind of true, lasting
joy is through knowing Jesus and being obedient to Him. And we learned the past
couple of weeks that the better you know Jesus, the more joy you will have. So,
this book is really telling us the secret to making this life the best that it
can be for us and everyone around us and I have enjoyed just eating this book
up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But now…now we come to the fourth chapter of Philippians and
speaking of eating it up, this chapter reminds me of eating a really great
meal. Have you ever eaten at one of those Brazilian steak houses? Some friends
invited me to Texas de Brazil years ago. I’m sure it’s crazy expensive because
it is all you can eat and it is incredible!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, the first three chapters of Philippians is sort of like
the salad bar at Texas de Brazil. Their salad bar is amazing. Not just salad
but meats and cheese and fish and soups and seafood. It’s easy to get filled up
on the salad bar. But that’s a rookie mistake. Same with Philippians. Don’t
stop with chapter three because chapter four is like the main course. It is the
filet mignon, the leg of lamb and pork ribs and barbecued steak, the
parmesan-crusted pork loin. Good grief, my mouth is watering. We are all going
to have a hard time not thinking about lunch now. Sorry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But my point is, if you want a great meal, eat at some place
like that. If you want a good life, in this life AND the next, eat at <b>Philippians
chapter 4</b>. Let’s quit drooling and go there now and we will taste and see
that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, what you have to remember is that Paul is writing this
letter to his Christian friends in Philippi from a jail cell. Some of y’all
have been in jail. Some of you may be reading this message sitting in jail. How
is or was your attitude while you’re in the pokey? It is hard to have a good
attitude while there, isn’t it? Well, Paul didn’t have TV or pillow or warm
clothes or even three meals a day and he can’t quit talking about joy. Let’s
see what the secret is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Philippians 4:4-7</b> says, <i><span style="color: #00b0f0;">“Rejoice
in the LORD always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be
evident to all. The LORD is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in
every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul says twice to rejoice. Have “calm delight” in the Lord.
That’s my favorite definition of joy – calm delight. Have joy or rejoice; have
calm delight in the Lord. Now, if Todd was telling you to have calm delight always
in this life, you might be nice and nod and smile while inside you are
thinking, <i>“Ain’t gonna happen, fat boy.”</i> Right? But it’s not Todd
telling you this. In fact, it’s not originally from Paul. This is God speaking
through Paul giving that church in Philippi and this church in Lake Bridgeport
a command. Rejoice in the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God is not saying, <i>“Hey, it would be really cool if, you
know, maybe if circumstances were good and you felt like it maybe you could
fake a good feeling every now and then.”</i> No. This is a command of God
telling you how to live and it is the best way to live for you and everyone
around you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But I hear ya. <i>“You don’t know how bad my circumstances…”</i>
STOP! Who said anything about circumstances? <b>John MacArthur</b> says, <i>“Joy
is not a feeling. It is the deep-down confidence that God is in control of
everything for the believer’s good and His own glory, and thus all is well no
matter what the circumstances.”</i> (Philippians, pg. 273) Repeat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our joy is not found in circumstances because circumstances
change. People will hurt you. They will disappoint you. Jobs will be lost.
Health will decline. Fish will be uncatchable and old pontoon boats will sink.
Don’t expect people or things to bring you joy. They can bring happiness but
that’s different.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is nothing wrong with being happy, of course. In fact,
Jesus tells us several times in the Beatitudes how to be happy. But your joy
should be permanent. And again, I hear ya. Todd, I want to be joyful. I want to
rejoice always but sometimes, it’s just hard. I get it. I do. But here is where
you have to make a trip back to the salad bar of <b>chapter three</b> and see
why Paul made such a fuss about knowing Jesus and knowing Him better and
knowing Him more intimately even to the point of suffering and death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Because the more you know Jesus, the more joy you have. The
more you know Him and the closer you are to Him, the easier it is to be still
and know He is God. The easier it is to not worry about your circumstances and
allow Him to work in you and through you for your good and His glory. So,
without repeating too much of the last two messages, get to know Jesus better
by spending time with Him in prayer, Bible study and with others who want the
same thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s keep going because in the next verse, Paul says two
things that seem like they are from out in left field and we wonder what in the
world he is talking about. Look at <b>verse 5</b> again. He says to rejoice and
then re-rejoice in verse 4. Keep on doing it. Then he says, <span style="color: #00b0f0;">“<i>5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The LORD is
near.” </i></span>And I believe those two sentences go together hand in hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, somebody tell me what your translation has for that
word the NIV translates gentleness. It may say moderation, considerate and
unselfish, forbearance, magnanimity (!), reasonableness, gentle spirit or
tolerance and they are all wrong. I say they are wrong because our English just
can’t translate this word exactly right. It is a combination of all of that and
more. After reading six or eight different commentaries and the concordance,
the best way I can describe it in today’s language is to just chill. Chill out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It means to know what is right but when somebody does
something wrong, you don’t hammer them for it. I’m not talking about doctrine.
We have no chill when it comes to what we believe about Jesus and how to get to
Heaven or any “spinal” issue. But for the “rib” issues, just chill, baby.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I was in high school, I remember taking a test in some
class and the instructions were to finish the test and then walk up to the
teacher’s desk, staple the sheets together and hand it to her. No problem. I
finished my test, walked to her desk and I see the stapler is sitting on this
plastic two-tiered stackable paper holder on her desk. So, I put the papers in
the stapler and pressed down and completely crushed her paper holder. Broke it
into twenty pieces. And I still remember the look she gave me like, <i>“Really?”</i>
But she just smiled and said, <i>“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was a stupid mistake. I should have known better but I
didn’t mean her any harm and so she didn’t get mad. What good would it have
done to get mad? And 35 years later, I still remember her gentleness, her tolerance
and reasonableness. I don’t remember her name but I remember that because it is
so rare in this world. We are all just dying to be able to get mad at somebody
for something when it never helps and never makes us feel any better and can do
lasting damage. Let your gentleness be evident to all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then the next sentence goes hand in hand with that one
because when you realize that the Lord is near, your gentleness will be more
evident. Now, when Paul says the Lord is near, it could be that the Lord is
near in time or in space. Either one works. The Lord is near in time in that He
is coming back soon to get us at the rapture or at our deaths to usher us into
Heaven and He is near in space in a way that He is always with us in a real way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are a little kid and you know there are bullies down
the street, life is scary. But if your big brother who is home on leave from
the Marine Corp walks you to school, are you worried? You aren’t worried about
what anybody is going to do to you because you know your big brother will
protect you. But you also aren’t going to do anything that displeases your
brother either. You aren’t going to act the fool and have him get onto you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s the same way with knowing that the Lord is near. You
know that all things work together for the good of those that know Him (Rom.
8:28) and so you have joy but you also don’t want to displease Him and suffer
His wrath. So, <u>all is well. Now act like it</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This moves us right along to <b>verse 6</b> which is a verse
that needs to be tattooed onto the back of some of your eyelids. <i>Be anxious
for nothing</i>. The King James says to be careful for nothing and that’s not
how we use the word “careful” anymore but it means to have a distracting care
about something and again God is saying through Paul, <i>“Don’t! Stop it!”</i>
It’s a command and to do what God commands us not to do is a sin and some of
you need to repent right now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, at this point I could read to you all the statistics
about how stressed we all are these days and all the things that might bring
worry and anxiety in this world. All I would have to do is read a few news headlines
and we would all need to repent probably.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Or I could read to you what the internet says we should do
to combat stress and worry in our lives and they aren’t necessarily wrong to
recommend exercise and breathing and getting away from it all and all that
stuff. But what it boils down to is anxiety stems from having a low view of God.
When I say that, I know some of you are offended. You think you have a high and
lofty view of God but you were just made a worrier. It’s how you were created.
It’s what you do. You think I just don’t know what all is going on in your
life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, you’re right. I don’t know what is going in your life
but God didn’t say to be anxious for nothing unless I created you a worrier. He
didn’t say not to worry about anything except, you know, the really bad stuff.
And if you think God created you to be a worrier that is basically the
definition of having too low a view of Him. <u>God is not going to create you
to violate His commandments so stop saying that.</u> Repent and let God handle
it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jesus said in <b>Matthew 6</b>, <i><span style="color: red;">“So
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.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you know what He is saying when He says to seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness? Jesus is saying to get to know Him better. Seek
Him. Pursue Him. Run after the things of Jesus with all your strength. Paul
said in the last chapter that is what he did. He pressed on. He strained
forward trying to know Jesus better and better forgetting about what was behind
only trying to know Jesus more intimately whether his circumstances were good
or bad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My favorite verses in all of scripture are <b>Isaiah
43:18-19</b> where God says, Todd, <i><span style="color: #806000; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the
past. 19See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The more you know Jesus, the more you will want to know Him
and the more you will forget about what happened in the past and you will only
be anxious in a good way, waiting to see what God is going to do next, not
worried about anything. Why should you? If God is with you and in control and
He loves you then what in the world is there to be worried about?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, hey, have you ever watched a TV series that had a
cliffhanger at the end of each episode? Then you couldn’t wait to see how it
played out the next week, right? That’s part of the beauty of preaching through
Philippians. It is so rich and so practical and helpful. I don’t want to skip
through the next few verses in a hurry and I know after talking about food
earlier, that’s all some of you are thinking about anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me close with this. I was talking to a friend the other
day who told me that he had started paying somebody to worry for him. I said, <i>“Really?
How does that work?”</i> He said he tells the guy everything going on in his
life and the guy does all the worrying. I said, <i>“How much does that cost? I
may want to hire him.”</i> He said, <i>“Well, I promised to give him a million
dollars a year.”</i> I said, <i>“A million bucks? You don’t have a million
bucks!”</i> He said, <b><i>“That’s his worry.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In all seriousness, you have two choices in this life. You
can be a <b>slave to sin</b> and live this life like you think is best and
worry about every little thing and big thing. You might have some fleeting joy
and a little happiness but it will disappear as soon as trouble comes. You will
need to be really smart, really good, really wise and in the end you will die
and spend eternity in Hell separated from God and everybody else. That’s what
the Bible says.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Or you can be a slave to God and spend your days allowing
Him to work in you and through you and revealing Himself to you more and more.
You have nothing to worry about because He is near. He loves you and He is in
control. And that brings great and lasting peace and joy. All you have to do is
have faith that what He says is true; that Jesus is the way, the truth and the
life and no man comes to the Father except through Him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Admit that you are a sinner. Sin is anything that displeases
God. You have sin in your life and the only way to get to Heaven is to ask God
to forgive you of those sins and <b>1 John 1:9</b> says He is faithful and just
to forgive you and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. That starts a
lifetime – an eternity, in fact – of knowing Him better and better and relying
on Him more and more. That is yours by His grace. He wants to give you that
grace. All you have to do is accept it. Do that right now as we pray.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #00b0f0;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-37270038488197397862021-03-11T13:25:00.004-08:002021-03-11T13:25:50.925-08:00Philippians 3:12-14<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The year is 1985. The setting is a Castleberry High School
track meet. A young Todd Blair is relaxing and laughing with some friends
sitting on the grass next to the little concrete circle that we used for the
shotput and discus competition. I was never a runner. I didn’t want to run. I
wasn’t built to run even forty pounds ago like I weighed then. I enjoyed
throwing the shotput and discus even though I wasn’t very good at that either.
But that part of the track meet was over and I thought I was done for the day. The
next race was what we called the 440. One lap around the track. I think it’s
called the 400 meters now but whatever. It was one lap. They announced the race
and then announced that there were only five people signed up for the race and
there were spots for six people so if somebody else wanted to race, they could.
There would be five ribbons handed out at the end. Again, I was never a runner.
I wasn’t built for it nor was I dressed for it. I’m in my white, high-top,
lace-up canvas Chuck Taylor tennis shoes and over-the-calf multi-color striped
socks but nobody else volunteered to run so I thought, why not? I jumped up and
ran to the starting blocks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">On your mark, get set, bang! I take off running. About the
first turn, I notice that I am in first place. I am winning this race and I
feel good. This is great! I am the wind. I am one with the track. I’m getting
it! Whew! I’m also starting to get a little winded about the second corner and
as I start to feel my lungs, I get passed by some kid. No problem. Second place
is still very respectable and I’m still running hard. About half-way through,
the second guy passes me. Obviously, these guys are world-class athletes so
it’s no shame to come in third to these guys. Wow! My lungs are really starting
to burn now. And, uh-oh. Third guy passes me at the third turn. At least I have
fourth place. Not bad. But now my legs are getting heavy and my heart is
pounding and as we pull into the home stretch the fourth guy passes but I am
determined not to come in last. That is not going to be how this story ends! I
am running as fast as I can, giving it all I have and now I can hear the last
guy behind me. He’s getting closer as the finish line is getting closer. I can
hear him breathing as we get closer and closer. Now I can feel his arm glance
off mine. He is right beside me at the finish line. As we cross the line I
stick my chest out with every ounce of energy I have and he sticks his chest
out…just a little bit farther.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Last place. All for nothing. I’m exhausted, embarrassed and
I’m done. I got no ribbon. I got no extra points with the coach or extra credit
for my grade. How do you think I reacted after this? Do you think I was now
more motivated than ever to run faster and get better? Do you think I was
motivated to win medals and get glory and become a track star? Of course not. I
was done running. What was the point, right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that is exactly how some of you feel right now about
running the Christian race. That’s how you feel about knowing Jesus better and
becoming more like Him. You have your ticket to Heaven. There was a point in
your life when you asked God to forgive you of your many sins and to come into
your life and change you and you admit that you can’t do it on your own and it
is only through Jesus that we can get to Heaven. You did that. You got
baptized. You go to church sometimes now. You even give a little moolah when
the plate is passed but there’s no sense getting carried away with it, right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Apostle Paul would call you a fool; unwise and disobedient
and he said the wrath of God will come on you. (Ephesians 5:6) Some of you
wonder why your prayers never seem to get answered like you ask and you wonder
why you always seem to be fighting some horrible battle. Maybe it’s because you
have made bad decisions. Maybe it’s because you are being disobedient by not
giving yourself fully to the Lord. Let’s turn to <b>Philippians 3:12-14</b> and
see what Paul says about knowing Jesus better and becoming more like Him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I believe Paul must have been a sports fan. He uses sports
illustrations a lot to help us understand what he is saying. He says we don’t
wrestle against flesh and blood in <b>Ephesians 6</b>. He talked about boxing
his body in <b>1 Corinthians 9:26</b>. And he mentions running a lot in several
different places and mentions the crowns the winners would get and how they
would take the weights off their feet and so on. And it is the running analogy
that we see here in this passage. Paul subtly works this running picture into
our passage this morning. Let’s read it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Philippians 3:12-14</b> says, <i><span style="color: #7030a0;">“Not
that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, 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.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul was arguably the best, most powerful, most influential
Christian to ever live. If anybody had reached their spiritual goals, surely it
was Paul but here he denies that flat out. He says in <b>verse 12</b> that he
has not obtained his goal. The obvious question is, if you are just reading
this passage, what goal was he pursuing? He told us that in the previous
passage that we talked about last time. His goal, as he wrote in <b>verses 8-11</b>,
was to know Jesus better. Paul is a Christian writing to Christians. He is not
talking about how to get to Heaven. He is already going there. He is talking
about the goal of his life now is to just know Jesus better and more
intimately. But he’s not there yet. He knows Jesus well but he wants to know
Him better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some of you are thinking you know Jesus pretty well. You
know He was born in Bethlehem, raised a carpenter’s son, started His ministry
at about age thirty, did that for three years and died on a cross because He
made the Pharisees mad. There you go. Next project. But there is a big
difference in knowing <u>about</u> Jesus and knowing Jesus. There is a
difference in praying to God and hearing from God. There is a difference
between spending some time with Him and abiding in Him. Paul wanted to know the
feeling John had when John had his head on the chest of Jesus as they finished
their meal in <b>John 13</b>. Paul wanted to know what Jesus wanted, what He
thought, what He did and even how He suffered. He wanted nothing more than to
hear His voice and do what was expected of him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In fact, not only was it Paul’s goal but he pursued that
goal relentlessly. Look at the word “press” or “press on” in verses 12 and 14.
I found this fascinating. Paul uses the word twice in this passage but it’s
also the same word he uses in verse 6. Look at verse 6. Get your Bible back out
and look at verse 6. Paul said he used to persecute the church. It’s the same
word. To persecute here means to press on. It means to relentlessly pursue; to
go after; to chase. Isn’t that interesting? Okay, it is to me. 😊<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He says he is pursuing the intimate knowledge of Jesus but
he isn’t there yet. Then he starts with the running analogy. He says, <span style="color: #7030a0;">“<i>But one thing I do:” </i></span>Stop right there for
a second. When you watch a good runner, what are they watching? They are
looking straight ahead. Are they looking at their watch? Are they waving to
their mama? Are they checking emails? Blowing kisses to the pretty girl in row
3? No. They are doing one thing; looking at one thing; concentrating on one
thing. All their focus and energy is going toward winning the race.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <b>Luke 10</b>, Jesus tells Martha who had been
complaining about Mary not helping her, <i>“Martha, Martha,” the Lord
answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only
<b>one thing</b> is needed.” </i>The blind man healed by Jesus in <b>John 9</b>
said, <i>“<b>One thing</b> I do know: I was blind, and now I
see." </i>David said in <b>Psalm 27:4</b>, <i>“<b>One thing</b> I ask from
the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all
the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his
temple.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s what Paul wanted and that’s what we should want. But
I hear ya. Sounds like a lotta work and I got stuff to do. I’m all about that
Jesus but I have to go to work. I have kids. I have responsibilities. Paul is
writing from jail. What else did he have to do? Straining toward the goal of
knowing Jesus better sounds hard. Right? Well, let me tell you something. Life
is hard. Life is hard for everybody but it’s harder if you are a Christian who
is disobedient. It’s hard to be holy. But it’s hard not being holy. It’s hard
to give your whole life to God. It’s hard not giving it all to Him. It is hard
to go to church. It’s hard not to. What I mean is, there are consequences of
disobedience. You remember BOOCOD? Benefits of obedience and consequences of
disobedience? We all want the BOO but we don’t want the COD. But there is
definitely COD.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, would you rather live a hard life striving to know Jesus
better or live a hard life barely knowing Him? Would you rather have peace and
joy in the difficulty or have the difficulty without peace and joy? Would you
prefer blessings in Heaven difficult or no blessings in Heaven difficult? It’s
your choice. Paul has found that everything in this life and the next is better
the better he knows Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, at this point you should have one last question. We have
seen <u>what</u> Paul’s goal was: knowing Jesus better. We have seen <u>why</u>
we should do that as well. Now, let me ask you a question. <u>How</u>? How do
we do that? How do we pursue, strain, press on toward the knowledge of Jesus?
What does that look like? What can we do specifically to know Jesus better? There
are basically three ways. I wish I had some flashy answer that involved exotic
locations and lightning bolts but the ways to get to know Jesus better all
involve just spending time with Him in prayer, scripture and church. “Oh, the
preacher thinks we ought to go to church more! There’s a shocker!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, let’s think about it for a second. Let’s go back to my
opening story and let’s pretend that I want to run that race again. You really
have to pretend because that’s the last thing I want to do but just use your
imagination with me. If I wanted to run that 440-yard race and win it, what
should I do? I better start training, right? I better start by getting some
running shoes. I’m not going to do very good in these boots. So, running shoes
would be a good start. Then maybe some of those shorty shorts all the runners
wear. Maybe I’ll wait on those. Anyway, maybe I would subscribe to Runner’s
World Magazine. Start hanging out with other runners like myself. Maybe get a
stopwatch to time myself. I guess that’s about it, huh? I’ll be winning that
race in no time. Oh, yea. I guess I better start running. Now, I could run on
the street but the roads around here have a lot of holes plus there’s a lot of
traffic and also, I don’t know how far 440 yards is. If I am serious about
winning that race, I have to go to the track, don’t I? The track is built for
that. It is made for nothing else but for people to run around it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s sort of like if I want to really get to know Jesus
more and better and more intimately, I’m sorry but the best place to do that is
the church because everything we do around here is done to facilitate your
getting to know the Lord. Even when the church is not in this building; when we
are in the jail or ministering to the RV park or passing out flyers or anything
else we do as a church, the main purpose of that is to help us all get to know
Jesus better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You can and should strive to know Him better on your own.
You should, as part of your pressing on toward the goal, have a good quality
quiet time every day. You should pray and sing and worship every day on your
own but if you are like Paul and truly want to know Him and want to be obedient
to Him and you want that peace and joy in this life plus blessings in the next
life, you will spend every second you can at church.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I have said many times and will say again that church
is not the be all end all. Church attendance does not get you to Heaven. But
that’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about how to know Jesus
better. Paul says we should strive, press on, pursue relentlessly that goal. It
is going to take a real effort and if you are serious about it, act like it. I
know you have to work. You have kids. You have stuff to do and responsibilities
but everything we do, every day we wake up ought to start, end and include some
kind of worship. If you are really striving towards that goal, you will listen
to Christian music and even sermons on the radio as you go about your day and
evening. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your conversations ought to reflect your desire to know
Jesus better. Do you talk about Him? Do you think about Him? Do your hobbies
include Him? Do you have that running conversation with Him as you go about
your day? I realize some people can’t make it to church. Some people may read
this message from a jail cell and have little or no opportunity to get to
church. You are going to have to strive even more, pressing on toward that goal
at every opportunity, concentrating more and more on Him and His ways and His
desires and being obedient right where you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But none of this is even possible if you don’t have that
relationship to begin with. You can’t know Him better if you have never truly
met Him and given your life to Him. The thing about Jesus is when you realize
who He is, you have to make a decision. You have to decide to give Him all of
you forever more or none at all. There is no in between. Half-hearted
Christianity is not Christianity. But when you truly understand who He is and
you understand what He has done for you, you will want to make Him Lord of all
you have and are. Ask Him today to forgive you of your sins. Ask Him to come
into your life and change you. As Him to have control and you just have to be
obedient. Do that right now as we pray.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-62543271490881325582021-02-26T14:39:00.002-08:002021-02-26T14:39:27.283-08:00Philippians 3:1-11<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, somebody tell me how you know you are going to go to
Heaven when you die. How do you know for sure?
Or do you? If you don’t know for sure, then we will change that before
you leave here today if you want. But first, somebody tell me why you deserve
to go to Heaven. Anybody?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’ll tell you why I know I am going to Heaven. It is this
right here. My family calls it the Mayflower Document. My cousin documented
back fourteen generations and proved that my family on my mother’s side is
descended from two families that came to America on the Mayflower. I don’t want
to brag but it’s kind of a big deal. Not many people can prove their ancestors
came over on the Mayflower but here I have proof that I come from two different
families.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not only that, the oldest relative was William Brewster who
was responsible for their spiritual training and was the preacher for their
worship services. That is absolutely the truth. I promise. Now, that ought to
be enough to get ya into Heaven right there, right? But wait! There’s more! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four generations later, my great, great,
great, etc. grandmother married Hancock Lee of Virginia and their descendent
was the illustrious Confederate General Robert E. Lee. So, now you know I’m
going to Heaven, right? Now, almost all of my family is mentioned to have gone
to church. That has always been important since the very first, even though
some of them were Presbyterians, which may or may not get you into Heaven but
let me skip down to my grandfather, from generation number twelve. Harvey W.
Graham was a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Baptist churches all
over Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia for over 50 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then my father, Richard B. Blair, was a pastor for about the
same length of time all over Texas and now I am a pastor and have been for
nearly ten years. So…that proves that I am going to Heaven, right? That’s how I
know. I mean, what else could God want? I have a very spiritual bloodline. And
except for great grandpa Eustice who was indicted for swearing in a county
court, they all lived very moral lives. And if that wasn’t enough, I’m pretty
sure that at this point in my life, my good deeds now outweigh my bad deeds. I’m
getting closer, at least. Surely that’s plenty to get me into Heaven! Do you
want to hear about some of all my good deeds? No? Why not? What do you mean
that’s not how it works? If I were God, that’s how it would work! But aren’t
you glad I’m not God???<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aren’t you glad you don’t have to work your way into Heaven
or be dependent on your family history to get you there? In fact, not only is
this Mayflower Document not helpful to get me to Heaven, it could actually be a
hindrance if I put any stock in it at all to do that. In that case, it’s less
than helpful. It’s actually harmful and it’s the same with anything we try to
do on our own except to have faith in Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As we go through the beautiful little book of Philippians,
we come to chapter three and we see that Paul has his own Mayflower Document
and it puts mine to shame. He will tell us about it but he will also tell us
what we need to do to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. Let’s read
it in <b>Philippians 3:1-11</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no
trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a
safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers,
those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the
circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and
who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons
for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence
in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of
the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;
in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the
church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But
whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of
Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have
lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain
Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[</i><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:1-11&version=NIV#fen-NIV-29431a" title="See footnote a"><i>a</i></a><i>] Christ—the righteousness that
comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to
know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation
in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so,
somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I love how Paul starts off here with the word <b><i>“finally.”</i></b>
Like a good preacher, he says finally as in <i>“Finally, I’m halfway through.”</i>
It’s like a preacher saying, <i>“Let me close with this…”</i>and he goes on for
thirty more minutes. No, actually Paul is saying <i>“furthermore”</i> or <i>“also”</i>
but he’s shifting gears here just a little bit in his letter but he wants to
make sure that you remember that in all of this, <i>“rejoice in the Lord!” </i>No
matter what happens, whatever is said and done, we will always have joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, how many of you were a little bit insulted when Paul
said to watch out for those dogs and compared evil men to dogs? Us dog lovers
don’t like it when people talk like that, right? But in those days it was a
good insult to people to call them dogs. And all through here Paul is comparing
people who have wrong ideas about how to get to Heaven with what he and we now know
to be truth. Just know that Paul could get away with it. If you are trying to
witness to somebody today, calling them a dog is probably not going to help
your case.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I said earlier that if I were God, getting to Heaven would
be a matter of good deeds outweighing your bad deeds, right? Doesn’t that just
make sense? You have to earn things in this world. There’s no free lunch. You
have to work and try and work harder and try harder and maybe, if you are a
really good person, then you get to go to Heaven. That seems right to me and it
has always seemed right to people just like it did for those people Paul is
calling dogs and evil men. They just were living out what makes sense and what
seemed right. But <b>Proverbs 14:12</b> says there is a way that seems right to
a man and in the end leads to death. And it’s talking about eternal death in
Hell separated from God and everybody else. Paul calls it having <u>confidence
in the flesh</u>. Do you see that in <b>verse 4</b>? Confidence in the flesh is
thinking that you can do or be or have anything of your own making or in your
own ability any way to get to Heaven and be right with God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the world that most of us live in, not many people put
much stock in being a Pharisee or Hebrew or any of the other things that Paul
had a claim on but there are a lot of people today that think that because they
are a good person, they are going to Heaven. Some people think you have to go
to church or give your money to the church or be baptized in the church. Or
maybe their mother was a Sunday School teacher and their daddy was a preacher,
so they are automatically headed to glory. None of that is true.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have a good friend who is another denomination who has
people in his church that believe that when you die, Jesus is going to ask if
you had musical instruments in your worship and if so, adios right to Hell
baby. I will call those people misguided. Paul called them evil-doers and dogs
and would say that their religion is rubbish as he says in <b>verse 8</b> about
his own good deeds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s make sure that we are all on the same page here and
after we do, I want us to see how Paul says we should live. But first, how do
we get to Heaven? <b>Ephesians 2:8-9</b> tells us, <i>“For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift
of God- 9not by works, so that no one can boast.” </i>We are saved and go to
Heaven as a gift of God. In <b>John 14:6</b>, <i>“Jesus answered, "I am
the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.”</i> We are saved by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus and when we are
He will change us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, all that stuff I
mentioned earlier: the church attendance and baptism and giving and doing good
things; those are all commanded for us to do. Those are all things that
Christians do but they don’t make you a Christian. People that are going to
Heaven do those things but just doing those things won’t get you to Heaven.
Make sense?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I want to show you another word here that Paul uses. We
talk a lot about going to Heaven and being saved and that is right and good but
look at the word that Paul uses in <b>verse 9</b>. He says all that other stuff
– the heritage, the good works, the outward obedience – is all rubbish compared
to <i>“a</i> <i>righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” </i>Paul
uses the word <b>“righteousness”</b> here. What does it mean to be righteous?
It simply means to be right with God. Our sin – anything that displeases God –
makes us automatically unrighteous. We are not right with God. We are out of
His favor and doomed to Hell. One sin gets you there, big boy. I have to tell
you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But we become righteous when we put all our faith and trust
and hope and belief in Jesus. Then Jesus takes our sin and gives us the ability
to be right with God. It’s a crazy good deal. We get to be righteous based on
what Jesus did, not on what we have done. Now we are getting to the good stuff
here. From <b>verses 1-9</b> we see <u>how not to do it</u> and we see <u>how
we should do it</u> but in <b>verse 10</b> we start to see <u>what to do now</u>.
Now that we are right with God, how should we act? What should we do?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, let me ask you a question. And you are going to think
this is a weird question but here me out. <b>What’s the purpose of marriage?</b>
Is the purpose of marriage to get to file differently on your income tax and
get a financial break? I hope that’s not your plan. Is the purpose of marriage
to have somebody to help you make the bed in the morning? That’s nice but it’s
not the reason people get married or it shouldn’t be. There are some good
reasons to get married and there are plenty of bad ones but if you really love
someone, <b>you marry them to know them better.</b> You marry that person so
you can love them more and know them more and know them better and more
intimately. You want to spend your time with them and grow old with them and
you want that more and more as you know them better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul is madly in love with Jesus – as we should all be – and
he just wants to know Jesus better. See, so many of us get caught up in just
getting to Heaven. That’s the goal and when we hit that goal then we are done.
I got my fire insurance. I’ll put in a little time in church and Bible study
and I’ll pray when I need something but let’s not get carried away, right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">No! Paul is saying he has gotten way carried away! And he
wants to go further because he knows that is where the blessings are. His love
for Jesus started the ball rolling but then it became obvious that the closer
he got to Jesus, the better his life became WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More Jesus, more love, more Jesus, more peace,
more Jesus, more joy, more blessings in this life and more treasures in Heaven.
This life is a wisp of smoke. Eternity is forever and ever and ever. Paul
wanted to know Jesus so bad he even wanted to understand the <b>suffering </b>of
Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You know, there is a lot to be learned by suffering. <b>Malcolm
Muggeridge</b> once said, <i>“Contrary to what might be expected, I look back
on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with
particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that
everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has
truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and
not through happiness. </i>Malcolm Muggeridge, in Homemade, July, 1990.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is a lot to be learned by suffering but the greatest
thing we can learn is more about Jesus; how He lived, how He died, what He
thought, what He felt. Paul said in <b>Galatians 2:20</b>, <i>“I have been
crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I
now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.” </i>If you truly are a believer, a disciple, a child of the
One True King, then you are loved and because we are loved, we love Him and
will suffer for Him and with Him by crucifying ourselves and allowing God to
work in us and through us to do whatever He wants us to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And our lives will reflect that. Our language will reflect
that. Our attitudes will reflect that. Our habits will reflect that we don’t
even live anymore but it is Jesus who lives in us and through us. Does that
describe you today? Would your spouse agree that describes you? Would your boss
agree? Would your friends agree?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If not, then make that change today right now in your heart.
Come to the altar right now if you want. Don’t wait until you go home. That’s
Satan telling you to just wait. Do it right now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you don’t have that kind of relationship with God through
His Son Jesus, then do that right now. You can. Right where you are. Ask God to
forgive you of your many sins. Repent – turn away – from those sins and lose
that lifestyle. You don’t have to understand everything. You never will. I
don’t but I trust Jesus with my life and you can too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pray this prayer right now: Father God, I come to you a
sinner in need of a Savior. I realize I can’t do it myself. I can’t be good
enough or smart enough or ever be right with you on my own. I trust that Jesus
has provided that way by dying on the cross to pay the price for my sins and
coming back to life after three days and I want to have a relationship with you
on that basis. I know I can do that because you tell me so in scripture. So
please forgive me of all my sins. I apologize and want to live for you the rest
of my life. Please help me do that starting right now. I trust you. Amen.</span><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-88269966463161244162021-02-02T07:29:00.003-08:002021-02-02T07:29:52.289-08:00Philippians 2:1-11<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How many Elvis Presley fans do
we have here today? It’s ok. I would have to raise my hand as
well. I like some of his songs. I have said before here that I think
credit should be given where it is due and I believe that the three greatest
musical performers of modern history are Garth Brooks, Michael Jackson and
Elvis Presley. Just based on their musical ability and ability to
entertain and nothing else, I think that’s true. You have every right to
disagree but as far as musical talent goes, those guys are tops. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Elvis has always fascinated
me. Called the King of Rock n Roll, he had 40 top 10 hits and is the </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists" target="_blank" title="List of best-selling music artists"><span style="color: #249fa3; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">best-selling solo artist</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in the history of recorded
music. He sold more than 250 million records and starred in 33
films. Whether that is your style of music or not you have to give him
credit for being able to perform. Some people might even say that was his
God-given purpose for being here. But Elvis himself would disagree with
you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I read a quote about Elvis from
his wife Priscilla Presley after his death and when I read it I knew it was
appropriate for the sermon series we are going through. She said, “<b>Elvis
never came to terms with <u>who he was meant to be</u> or <u>what
his purpose in life was</u>. He t<u>hought</u> he was here for a
reason –maybe to preach, or to save, or to serve & care for
people. That agonizing desire was always in him, and <u>he knew he
wasn’t fulfilling</u> it.” </b>(Quoted by Rick Warren)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He t<u>hought</u> he was
here for a reason and <u>he knew he wasn’t fulfilling</u> it.” </span></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tragic words. He had
everything a man could possibly want. He had zillions of dollars, millions
of fans, people all over who would do anything for him and yet he was
unfulfilled. He was not living out his purpose. Isn’t that
amazing? What’s the difference in his situation and Robin Williams,
though? Or any number of other wealthy, high-profile, well-loved
celebrities who have ended their own lives or cut them short by drinking or
drugs?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Satan wants you dead. And
if God won’t allow him to kill you, he would love to get you involved in
anything that is not your purpose in life because he knows that sooner or later
it will kill you. He knows that your search for meaning through drugs,
alcohol, fame, stuff, power, entertainment or even religion if done outside of
biblical truth…will kill you. <b>Proverbs</b> <b>14:12</b> says there
is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God, though, has a plan for your
life and a purpose for your life and when you follow that plan and purpose it
leads to great joy and peace and contentment. In <b>Philippians 4:11</b> Paul
says, “<i>I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”</i> Paul
knew what his purpose was and he lived it out. Was he
comfortable? Probably not very often. Was he happy? Probably
sometimes but not always. Was he joyful? Always. Was he
wealthy? Nope. Famous? Infamous, maybe, while he lived.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In <b>John 10:10</b> Jesus
said He came to give us an abundant life. Paul is the poster boy for an
abundant life, right? He had some stories to tell! He was never
bored. He was never boring. You talk about the most interesting man
in the world. Paul had that title! He had that title because he lived
his purpose. Do you want everything that the world and Satan has to give
and in the end it leads to an unfulfilling life and then eternal agonizing
death or do you want an abundant life with joy and peace here and with eternal
life in Heaven with Jesus; a life filled with God’s rewards there and here?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, who should be our model for
ministry? Elvis? Garth? Michael? I’m sure they have all
done good things in this life but it’s not them. And while Paul is the
poster boy for living out his purpose, it’s not even him either. Who did Paul
learn from? He learned from Jesus. We learned a while back that
anyone who learns from Jesus and tells others what they have learned is a
disciple. So, let’s all be disciples and turn to Paul’s book of <b>Philippians
chapter 2, verses 1-11</b> and let’s learn from Jesus as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I mentioned Paul had joy and in
no other book is that more evident than Philippians. He talks about joy a
lot here. <i>“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice!”</i> he
says in <b>chapter 4</b>. And he writes all of this…while in prison. And
while he sometimes said that we should emulate him, he was always ultimately
pointing to Jesus. Let’s read <b>Philippians 2:1-11</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="color: #00b050; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Therefore, if you have any
encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if
any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, <sup>2 </sup>then
make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in
spirit and of one mind. <sup>3 </sup>Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, <sup>4</sup>not
looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the
others. <sup>5 </sup>In your relationships with one another, have the
same mindset as Christ Jesus: <sup>6 </sup>Who, being in very nature God,<br />
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;<br />
<sup>7 </sup>rather, he made himself nothing<br />
by taking the very nature<sup> </sup>of a servant,<br />
being made in human likeness.<br />
<sup>8 </sup>And being found in appearance as a man,<br />
he humbled himself<br />
by becoming obedient to death—<br />
even death on a cross! <sup>9 </sup>Therefore God exalted him to the
highest place<br />
and gave him the name that is above every name,<br />
<sup>10 </sup>that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,<br />
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,<br />
<sup>11 </sup>and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,<br />
to the glory of God the Father. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Most commentators think Paul was
quoting a hymn popular in the first church starting in <b>verse 6</b>. That
may be why most versions choose to make it look a little differently. Paul
is saying at the beginning here that if we really do have that relationship; if
we really do have fellowship with Jesus and are learning from Him then we will
be like Paul because that is what Paul had. And if we are like-minded with
Paul we will do as Paul did and emulate Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And Paul says that when the
church looks and lives and talks like Jesus, then his joy is complete! <b>3
John 1:4</b> says, </span><i><span style="color: #833c0b; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 128;">“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are
walking in the truth.” </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And
that is true if those are your biological kids or your spiritual kids. When you
make disciples as Jesus told us to and those disciples mature in their walk
with the Lord, that brings complete joy. That’s why Paul says that.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But Paul ends that focus starting
in <b>verse 6</b> by describing how Jesus did what He did and His
motivation for doing it. It says that Jesus made Himself to be a servant
in human form and was obedient to the Father even to the point of
dying. We will look deeper at this passage tonight and I will have lots of
questions for you starting about 6 pm tonight. But this morning I want us
to see more about how Jesus served. How did He minister? How did He
live out His purpose?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How many of you believe that God
has given you some sort of talent or ability or gift? Maybe you’re not the
world’s greatest at it but you have the ability to serve God in some
way. The Bible, and Paul specifically teaches that we all have God-given
gifts. Do you know why? <b>1 Peter 4:10</b> says “<i>Each of you
should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.</i>” Some
people want to serve God but they don’t really want to serve
people. That’s not their gift, they think. But that’s not
possible. God gave those gifts to us so we would serve other people and
Jesus modeled that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I saw an old story about an
elderly widow who was a shut-in but was eager to serve the Lord. After praying
about this, she realized that she could bring blessing to others by playing the
piano. The next day she placed this small ad in the Oakland Tribune: <i>"Pianist
will play hymns by phone daily for those who are sick and despondent--the
service is free."</i> The notice included the number to dial. When people
called, she would ask, <i>"What hymn would you like to hear?" </i>Within
a few months her playing had brought cheer to several hundred people. Many of
them freely poured out their hearts to her, and she was able to help and
encourage them. (Source Unknown.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God has given all of us some
gift or ability or talent. And while others may have that same ability and
may even do it better, we have the unique opportunity to minister to those
people God has given us to minister to. There are four things that we need
to look at in the life of Jesus that made Him such a good minister or
servant. The first thing I want us to see is that He was
available. Do you know what the number one killer of ministry is? It
is busyness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I heard a fascinating quote
about ministers the other day, and you know, we are all ministers. I don’t
know who said it but it went something like this. <b>You should use the
phrase “busy minister” in the same way you say “adulterous spouse” or “embezzling
employee”.</b> What do you think about that? It’s pretty severe but I
think it’s true. Again, Satan wants us to think that busyness is next to
godliness. But remember Satan is a liar and he wants you dead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It may or may not be true that
hard work never killed anyone but busyness has killed a lot of
ministry. So many times in the Bible when Jesus does some amazing thing it
is when He was on His way to do something else. In <b>Matthew 20</b> it
says that Jesus was leaving Jericho when two blind men asked Jesus to have
mercy on them. So, <i>Jesus <b>stopped</b>.</i> It says
in <b>verse 34</b> “<i>Jesus had compassion on them and touched their
eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In <b>Luke 8</b> Jesus
is on His way to heal Jairus’s daughter and is almost being crushed by so many
people around Him when a woman touches the hem of His robe and it says that
Jesus <b><i>stopped</i></b> and it says in <b>verse 48</b>, </span><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<i>Then he said to her, ‘Daughter,
your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric Hoffer said, <i>“The
feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and
having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are
wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no
time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world</i>.” <i>Bits
& Pieces</i>, May 1990, p.1<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you sometimes feel that all
you do is rush, rush, rush? It’s not supposed to be that way. Have
you ever said you were too busy to go on that mission trip; too busy to serve
at the church; too busy to help somebody who needed it? You don’t do
yourself nor anyone else any favor by not being available.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Everybody in the world, at one
time or another just needs somebody to <b>stop </b>and be there for
them. In fact, people are desperate to know that Jesus stops for them;
that Jesus is there for them; that Jesus cares enough to stop and minister to
them. And they see that through you as a disciple of Jesus who takes time
to stop and minister to them. But you can’t do that if you are not <b>available</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After being <b>available</b>,
we see that Jesus was <b>also grateful</b>. How does being grateful
make you a more effective minister? Well, let’s see when Jesus was
grateful. In <b>John 11:41 </b>Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the
dead but He stops and takes time to pray, “<i>Father, I thank you that you have
heard me.</i>” Have you ever prayed that prayer? Most of us
have. Most of us realize how ridiculous it seems that the Creator and
Sustainer of the universe would stop and take time to hear our
prayers. But the Bible is full of passages telling us that God does hear
our prayers. And that should make us grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul said in <b>1 Timothy
1:12</b>, “<i>I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he
considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.”</i> Thank you,
Lord, for hearing me. Thank you, Lord, for giving me strength. Thank
you, Lord, for sending Jesus to model thankfulness to me and through whom I
have the strength to do all things!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm 100:2</span></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> says, “<i>Serve the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> with gladness! Come into
his presence with singing.” </i>We serve God with grateful hearts because
He loved us and saved us. That ought to make you a serving force to be
reckoned with. When you realize what you are saved from and what you are
saved to then you should be grateful and that gratefulness makes you a powerful
servant just like Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus was <b>available</b> and
He was <b>grateful</b>. He was also <b>faithful</b> in His
service. What does it mean to be faithful? Jesus gives us a great
definition, used of Himself in <b>John 17:4</b> where He prays to the
Father, </span><i><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What a perfect description of
being faithful! Bringing glory to God by finishing the work He has given
us to do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oswald Chambers said, <i>“<b>God
wants to use us as He used His own Son</b></i><b>.”</b> But there is a
problem with being faithful. See, the way to be faithful is to be
consistent, to be always there, always doing your job; one that can be counted
on at all times. This is somebody you can not only set your watch by but
also your calendar. You know what I mean? This is somebody who never
stops doing what they are supposed to be doing until they die.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And so the problem with being
faithful is that most of the time you don’t get credit for it until you are
dead. If somebody is faithful except for the last few years of their life,
is that person really faithful? If a man is faithful to his wife most of
the time, is he faithful? If your refrigerator works great except for
those times every now and then when it quits, is it a faithful appliance?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, the problem with
faithfulness is that you rarely get the credit you deserve and if it wasn’t
difficult then you would never hear the words from God, “<i>Well done my good
and FAITHFUL servant</i>.” But Jesus proved Himself to be faithful and He
is our model for that as well as for being available and grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is one more way that we
can serve like Jesus served and that is to serve <b>generously</b>. And
do you want an example of Jesus being generous? Well, you can just open up
to almost any page of the Bible and see it. From <b>Genesis 1</b>, where
God says, </span><span style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“<i>Let
us make man in our image</i>” </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">all
the way to the cross where He so generously gave His life as the ultimate
sacrifice for sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jesus proved Himself to be
available, grateful, faithful and very generous. And so now this is the
point in the sermon where every smart preacher on the planet explains how you
can be like Jesus and generously give your money to the church. And they
wouldn’t be wrong to say it. Jesus was very generous and the church is His
bride and is only sustained by your generosity. And maybe I’m not smart (please
don’t say amen) but I already know you to be generous. I know it is your
generosity to this church that keeps the bills paid and the lights on and gives
us the ability to do any kind of outreach.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But I also think about how Jesus
was most generous. He spent His life pouring out His life for His
friends. It ended with His generous substitution of Himself for us on that
cross but it also included spending day in and day out worshipping with,
discipling, fellowshipping, and ministering to those who had the least; who
were least likely to repay Him or give Him credit for anything.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you want to be generous like
Jesus was generous? Then it is going to take more than just giving to the
church. It is going to require you giving your time, your talent and your
treasure; your whole life for somebody else. Maybe that is one person
every day, a different person every day or a group of people. Your life is
not your own and you will never be satisfied; you will never fulfill your
purpose and never have true, lasting joy as long as you are thinking of
yourself first.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus said in <b>John 15:13</b>,
</span><i><span style="color: #c00000;">“Greater love has no one than this: to
lay down one's life for one's friends.”</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #c00000;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That doesn’t always mean dying
for somebody. It often means living your life for them. That’s how you serve
like Jesus. That is how you are available, grateful, faithful and
generous. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Invitation:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Generously giving your
life for someone else starts by telling them that you love them too much not to
tell them the truth about the free gift of salvation that Jesus provided on the
cross when He died to take their place. Confess your sins. Repent of
those sins and ask Jesus into your life to be Lord and Savior today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-87366431136202883092021-01-26T04:39:00.001-08:002021-01-26T04:39:14.996-08:00Philippians 1:27-30<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A lady was
walking through Walmart the other day pushing a buggy with a toddler in it and
the toddler was not happy. The little girl was screaming and crying and
throwing stuff but the mother was very calm. She kept saying, </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">“Now, Becky,
be quiet. Becky, be calm. Becky, use your inside voice.”</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I saw her
and knew she was struggling and I wanted to encourage her so I said, <i>“You’re
doing a good job with little Becky there.”</i> The woman looked at me and said,
<b><i>“I’m Becky!”</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Did your
mother ever tell you that y’all were about to go to a store and if you didn’t
behave in there you were going to be in trouble? My mom did. I think most moms
do. And if they don’t, they should. It’s part of being a good parent. You know
that your child is a reflection of you and you want your child to be
well-behaved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You want
your children to grow up to be well-adjusted and productive members of society.
You, as a parent or grandparent, have the most vital role in making sure that
happens. It’s not up to the schools or the courts or politicians to make sure
your kids grow up well. In fact, a big part of your job is going to be
un-teaching them what the world wants to teach them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I saw a
headline on Apple News the other day that said, <i>“Make a difference: Learn,
give back, take action, and more.” </i>Now, that sounds like a good thing,
doesn’t it? But the picture that went along with it gave away their intentions.
The picture showed a rainbow flag with a black power fist drawn on it. When I
went to the article I found that their definition of <i>“Learn, give back and
take action”</i> is a lot different than what the Bible teaches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You have to
teach your kids how to behave as good citizens of this country but also as
travelers just passing through this world on our way to the next. And that’s
hard! It is a struggle. You will face push-back and challenges every step of
the way. The world doesn’t want you raising your kids that way. Don’t expect
any real help from anybody that is not a true Spirit-filled follower of Jesus
that gets their help from scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But thank
you, God, for scripture! We have help to know how to raise our kids and also to
know how we are supposed to live. The Apostle Paul has been our teacher for
several weeks now as we continue our sermon series going through the joyful
little book of Philippians. We have come to a passage at the end of chapter one
that, as usual, I didn’t understand at first. I really thought about just
skipping it and going on to the incredible chapter two but God gave me no peace
about that, so I hammered down and got to studying. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And it was
so much fun digging into this passage. At one point, I had three different
Bibles open, four commentaries, my 32-pound concordance and my laptop had seven
web pages up but I learned so much. What I found was that Paul really felt like
a parent trying to raise a bunch of kids. He had started the church in Philippi
and thought of them as his children in the Lord and he wanted to make sure they
grew up to be mature citizens of the Kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He wanted
them to be aware of what to expect and what was expected of them. He warns them
that it was not going to be easy and it would mean hard work and they should
expect to be persecuted for doing it. Just like raising godly kids today. Let’s
turn to Philippians 1 and read verses 27-30. As always, Paul can say more in
three verses than most of us ever will.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Remember
from last week, Paul has just told them he doesn’t know if he will ever see
them again or not. He is writing from jail and he may be released tomorrow and
sent home or they might lop his head off. These are his next words to his children
in the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Whatever happens,
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I
come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you
stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the
gospel 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a
sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved-and that
by God. 29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to
believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are going through the
same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Doesn’t that
sound very fatherly? He starts off saying, <i>“Look kids, whether I’m there or
not, you better be acting right.”</i> Did your dad ever say, <i>“Don’t make me
come in there!”</i>? Or maybe he was driving down the road and said, <i>“Don’t
make me pull over!”</i> My favorite was always, <i>“Do you want a spanking?”</i>
I’m thinking, that’s a dumb question but I usually kept my mouth shut.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul tells
them to conduct themselves worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Then everything
after that is a description of what that means. What is the Gospel of Christ?
It’s the Good News that Jesus was born, lived a sinless life, died on a cross
and rose again three days later and lives today and wants to have a
relationship with you. That’s the great Good News but if you truly believe it,
you better live it. That’s what Paul is saying here in <b>verse 27</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s almost
cliché to point out the hypocrisy of some people on social media. They post one
thing that is a scripture verse with a wonderful message under it and the next
is full of bad language and calling people names. Don’t do that, please. If you
claim to be a Christian, you have to realize that the world is watching you
just waiting for you to do something like that so they can say, <i>“Well,
obviously that Christianity stuff is no good. I don’t want anything to do with
that.”</i> They shouldn’t feel that way but that’s how the world is and you
can’t give them that out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, Paul
goes on to say what conducting yourselves worthy is going to look like. The
first thing he mentions is standing firm in the one spirit. The Greek word for
“standing firm” is “steko” which means to hold one’s ground regardless of the
danger. It was used of a soldier who defended his position at all costs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul uses
the same word in <b>Ephesians 6</b> where he says to put on the full armor of
God and then…stand. Stand strong. Stand for truth and against lies. Now, when I
say that we all think, <i>“Oh yes. I’m standing for truth all the time. My
opinions are all correct!”</i> Maybe. But where this is hardest is when the
father of lies tempts you to sin. Now how ya standing? It’s not that hard to
stand up for truth when somebody else is falling for the lies of Satan. It’s
something else when we see ourselves falling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">John
Newton</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> said, <i>“<span style="background: white; color: black;">When people are right with God, they are
apt to be hard on themselves and easy on other people. But when they are not
right with God, they are easy on themselves and hard on others.”</span></i><span style="background: white; color: black;"> We are to stand up against sin but first
make sure you are standing against it in your own life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paul goes on to say that when you stand, there is good news.
You don’t stand alone. At the end of <b>verse 27</b>, he says, “</span><i><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving
together as one for the faith of the gospel…” </span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s good news when you are
struggling against sin either in your own life or in the world itself because
it means you will have others to stand with you. But remember, that means you
have to stand when somebody else is fighting that battle. You have to stand
with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This past
week, I posted something on Facebook speaking harshly against the new
presidential policy of giving money to other countries to further abortion. I
thought it was going to be a pretty easy battle, to tell you the truth. I mean,
what kind of sicko thinks it’s okay to kill babies? But also, who wants our
taxpayer money to be used for other countries to do it? I thought it was a
no-brainer. I didn’t expect to get hammered for it, not only by unbelievers but
also by some who claim to be Christians. It blew me away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But I had a
bunch of brothers and sisters to stand with me. They were nice and polite,
unlike some on the other side. They were there to support me but mainly to
support the truth and it made all the difference. They repelled the enemy’s
arrows in places I didn’t see them coming and God got the glory for it so it
was a winning situation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But that is
what is going to happen when you stand. The world is not going to like it and
they will attack. That is the next thing that Paul warns us about in this
passage. He says when you stand, you will have to strive. Look at the end of <b>verse
27</b> again. “<i><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, <b>striving</b>
together…”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That word
that Paul uses there means to be an athlete competing in a match, something
like wrestling or boxing. But Paul uses this word to say that this life, if
lived well and lived correctly, will be a battle. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alright, I
want you to think in terms of a battle for just a minute. Let’s get tactical,
if you will. We are fighting a battle and, again going back to <b>Ephesians 6</b>,
we know that this battle is not against flesh and blood, right? We are flesh
and blood and there are opponents on the other side, non-believers, that are
flesh and blood but our battle is not really against them. Our battle is
against Satan and all the forces of this dark world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I can tell
you that one of Satan’s favorite battle plans is to divide and conquer. He does
it in the family. He does it in the church. He will do it in your own mind if
you let him. And he does it because it works. I repeat. Divide and conquer
works…so why don’t we use that strategy? Let’s divide some of those flesh and blood
on the other side and actually bring them over to our side. What better way to
win a battle than to make your enemy your friend and brother? I’m not saying
unbelievers ARE really our enemy but they are on the other side because they
have fallen for Satan’s lies just like we used to. So, let’s bring them over to
the side of truth by standing together for the sake of the Gospel, being polite
and nice at all times, but it’s time to start fighting this battle
aggressively.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">No army wins
a battle by just being defensive. We need to start picking out and picking off
some of those on the other side and speaking the life-changing Gospel of Jesus
to them. Don’t get carried away with this battle illustration and think we are
out to hurt anybody in any way. Just the opposite. Satan is taking them
straight to hell with his lies. We want to aggressively speak truth to the
people in our circle of influence and pray fervently for those outside our
circle. That’s a battle plan to divide and conquer for the Kingdom of God and
I’ll give you some encouragement. Our commanding officer is the Creator of all
the universe and has equipped you with everything you need to fulfill your duty
as a soldier. That’s the good news about sharing the Good News. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The bad news
about sharing the Good News is that, as Paul tells us in verse 28, there will
be those who oppose you and when people oppose you, Paul goes on to say that
you will suffer. Now, I need you to look at <b>verse 28</b> again and this will
make sense. He says, “<i><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose
you</span></i>.” He goes on to say that when they oppose you as you speak truth
to them, it shows them to be on their way to destruction. But when they oppose
you, you will be saved. But you have to expect to be opposed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some people
can’t handle rejection very well and it keeps them from sharing their testimony
or telling somebody what scripture says about how to get to Heaven. But you
have to get over that fear of rejection and know that some people are always
going to reject you. They rejected Paul plenty of times. They rejected Jesus so
they are going to reject you. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me give
you an illustration of what this could very well look like. Did you know that
on Joe Biden’s very first day in office he signed seventeen executive
orders?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep. And one of those executive
orders was a mandate to allow transgender athletes to play sports as whatever
gender they identify with. What that means is that schools now have to allow
boys who say they feel like girls to not only play sports with those girls but
also share locker rooms. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Don’t believe
me? Here are his exact words: <i><span style="color: red;">“Children should be
able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the
restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”</span></i> Now, we can all work
ourselves into a dither talking about how wrong that is but let me give you a
scenario to show what Paul was talking about in this passage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s say
you go to see your daughter or granddaughter play volleyball at her high school
or college like you have for years. But this year there is a boy on her team
that identifies as a girl. He’s 6’4” and 200 pounds and has a beard but he says
he “feels like” he’s a girl so the school has to let him play volleyball with
the girls. You can imagine how unfair that is to all the other girls but that’s
not the big problem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After the
game you realize they are all headed back to the same locker room. What ya
gonna do? Sit there? No. You walk down the bleachers and stand in front of that
boy and explain nicely to him that your daughter is in there and you will not
allow him to go in there while she is changing clothes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He explains
that he identifies as a girl and you have to let him by. I know what you are
thinking. You are thinking that you now identify as the tooth fairy and you are
going to knock his teeth out if he goes any further. But you don’t say that.
You are nice but you stand your ground. The word is steko in Greek, to stand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, the boy
goes home and tells his parents. The parents tell the principal and the
principal calls the cops who show up at your door the next morning. And if you
think this is implausible you have not been paying attention to the world
around you. So, the cops knock on the door and ask about the run-in you had with
the transgender individual last night. But here is what the nice officer says, <i>“Look,
what you did is now a hate crime. That is discrimination against a member of
the LGBTQ community and we are here to arrest you…unless you recant your
statement, apologize to the boy and agree to never do it again.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, now what
do you do? It’s easy to say now but are you positive? I hope you go to jail
because, if what Paul says is true, then you won’t be in jail long but pretty
soon you will be joined by me and several others in our church there to support
you and the biblical truth that God created ONLY man and woman. All of us there
standing firm and striving together and being opposed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Look again
at the incredible words that Paul uses in <b>verse 28</b>. “<i><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">This is a sign
to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved.” </span></i>Paul
is saying that when this oppression happens, just know that it is a sign that
as John McArthur says, “the enemies of God are under severe judgment…eternal
punishment…everlasting suffering in hell.” (Philippians, page 93)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And it is
also a sign that as Christians suffering for the cause of Christ that we are
true believers. Now suffering sounds like a scary and depressing thing but Paul
goes on to say that it is a gift of God. Look at it in <b>verse 29</b>. <i><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">“For <b>it has
been granted to you</b> on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but
also to suffer for him.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul told
Timothy in <b>2 Timothy 3:12</b>, <i>“All who desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted.”</i> Paul understood that in a way that most of us
never have and never will but times are coming when we just might need to
remember that suffering is a gift and Paul wanted all the gifts Jesus had to
offer. In fact, he said in <b>Philippians 3:10</b>, <i>“I want to know
Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection <b>and participation in his
sufferings</b>, becoming like him in his death.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s big
talk and a hard prayer to pray. I’m not saying I’m there yet but I will say I
want the joy that Paul had in the difficulties of this life because I believe,
like David said, that this life is a wisp of smoke. (Psalm 39:5) <b>James 4:14</b>
says, <i>“You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” </i>But
we know our treasure in Heaven last forever and ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Are you
ready? Are you living in such a way that might warrant persecution in the last
days because we are living in the last of the last days and it is coming. We
aren’t guaranteed another breath. Make sure your relationship with God is what
it should be. If you don’t have that relationship then ask God for forgiveness
right now. Repent of your sins. Turn away from that old lifestyle that was
leading you to hell and allow God to change your life. All you have to do is
truly believe. Do it right now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></i></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-28435817320188507902021-01-19T07:33:00.003-08:002021-01-19T07:33:55.544-08:00Philippians 1:18b-26<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s talk about Heaven for a minute. What is Heaven going
to be like? Who will be there? How do we get there? What will we do? Are you
ready to go there? And, of course, we have to ask the question, will our dogs
be there? There is a lot we don’t know about Heaven but there is a lot we do
know and we know enough right now to know we want to go there.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I know you have heard the old joke about the preacher who
asked for everybody to raise their hand if they wanted to go to Heaven. A
little boy in the back didn’t raise his hand and the preacher asked why not.
The little boy said, <i>“Well, I thought you were getting up a group to go
right now.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, my question to you today is, <i>“Why not?”</i> Why not
right now? No. Don’t worry. I’m not going to break out the Jim Jones juice in
communion cups so we can all commit suicide. I’m just asking the question. If I
had a heavenly bus, a divine Greyhound, waiting right outside the door ready to
haul you to Heaven right now, would you get on? Why or why not? And I honestly
understand if you answer yes or no. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I say that because I completely understand wanting to be in
Heaven right now and away from this nasty old world but maybe there is
something in this world that I am supposed to do. So, that can be a difficult
question to answer. In fact, the Apostle Paul didn’t know how to answer that
question either as we will see in <b>Philippians 1:18-26</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As you turn there, I want you to realize and think about why
you are still here. If God has allowed you to live to see this day, then there must
be a reason. It is God’s will that you are alive today and when it is not God’s
will for you to live, then you won’t. It’s as simple as that. But if you are
alive today, and most of you appear to be, then you are alive, as Paul says, to
help somebody else progress in their faith and have joy in their faith. That’s
why we are all still here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let’s read it in <b>Philippians 1</b>. Let’s start with the
last part of <b>verse 18</b> and read through <b>verse</b> <b>26</b>. Paul
says, <i>Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your
prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to
me will turn out for my deliverance. 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in
no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ
will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live
is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will
mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn
between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of
this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your
progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy
in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Previous to this, Paul has told of some difficult things
that have happened to him but he says at the end of <b>verse 18</b> that he
still rejoices. He says in <b>2 Corinthians 11</b> that he was whipped, stoned,
left for dead, shipwrecked, stabbed, shot and run over by a steam roller (well,
not exactly but he might as well have) and yet here he is rejoicing. I’m
reminded of the old Alabama song, You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down. That describes
Paul, doesn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I looked up the words to that song and here is what it says.
He starts off talking about how his woman has left him and he was really bummed
out at first but you can’t keep a good man down. He says, <i>“Oh, enough is
enough I won't take anymore<br />
I'm pickin' myself up off the floor<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gonna dress up in the finest clothes that I own<br />
And take it to the streets, I won't be lonely for long<br />
I'm gonna put all my best moves<br />
On every single woman I see<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">You can’t keep a good man down.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, I like Alabama but what is this man’s hope in? It
sounds like his hope is in his wardrobe and his good looks and in his charm. I
hope that works out for him. Well, some of us here don’t have that stuff to
rely on and that is okay because that is not where our joy comes from. I guess,
like Paul, we will just have to rely on obedience to God to find our joy. When
you have a relationship with God and your focus is on Him and pleasing Him and
being obedient to Him, then you can’t keep a good man or woman down. We will
have joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You have joy when you see this life as <u>a net win</u>.
Whatever happens, we win. As true believers, whatever happens to us is in God’s
hands and God is in control and He loves us so what is there not to have joy
about? Paul earlier told the Romans that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him. (Romans 8:28) If you believe that, and you should, then
what in the world are you worried about?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, sometimes we make bad decisions and wind up in trouble.
Sort of like how Morris wrote in the bulletin the other day the funny saying, <i>“Well,
well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions!”</i> We are
surprised sometimes that our actions have consequences and we shouldn’t be. But
that is part of what Paul is saying in <b>verse 20</b> where he says, <i>“I
eagerly expect and hope that I will in <b>no way be ashamed</b>, but will have
sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body...”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is a choice to exalt Jesus Christ and we do that by
acting more and more like Him. And how do we act more like Him? We act more
like Him by learning more about Him and seeking to know Him better. <b>Matthew
6:33</b> says, <i>“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well.” “<b>All these things</b>” </i>means
joy and peace and love and the ability to go through this life overcoming all
the things that might keep a man down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alright, I’m going to say something controversial right
here. Start your tape recorders. Get ready to tweet or twit or whatever you do.
You ready? Here goes. Put it on record that on January 17<sup>th</sup>, Todd
Blair said this… <i>“That God…He’s pretty smart.”</i> That’s it. That’s the
tweet and I stand by it. He is. But hear me out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God’s way is perfect. His way of living is perfect. His way
of dying is perfect. His way of -----------fill in the blank is perfect. Want
peace? Get closer to God. Want joy? Get closer to God. Want a better marriage?
Closer to God. Wondering what to do next? Closer to God. Afraid to die? Get
closer to God. Afraid to live? Closer to Him. Afraid of the virus? Afraid of
the Democrats? Afraid of spiders or snakes, get closer to God. Even if you are
afraid of the consequences of your own actions. Get closer to God and just
watch Him give you everything you need. It’s the stinking secret to all of
life!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul is writing from jail, punished for preaching the
Gospel. It’s not right. It’s not fair. His rights have been taken away. His
life, liberty and pursuit of happiness has been taken away. If anybody had the
right to cry, cuss and complain, it was this man. If anybody had reason to want
to get out of this life and go to Heaven, it was him but look what he says. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I
am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what
shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What does it mean <i>“to live is Christ?”</i> We know what
it means to die and go to Heaven, that is gain but what does it look like for
your life to be about Christ? Paul tells us what it means in <b>verse 22</b>.
He says it will mean fruitful labor. Now, for some of you, when I say “fruitful
labor” your mind goes to one of a few places, most of which don’t sound very
fun. Fruitful labor to you might sound like a lot of work. It sounds like
digging a garden or planting a tree, which can be hard to do and tiring.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It may sound like something very lofty and “spiritual”,
things that only us highly paid and highly trained professional ministers can
do. 😊 And fruitful labor may include some of those
kinds of things but it also includes things like <b>being a mother</b>. I can’t
do that. I can’t imagine how hard it is to be a mother these days but that is
exactly what fruitful labor might look like. I love hearing stories about how
Harlee or Kylie or one of the other little girls in our church starts repeating
something they learned in Sunday School or prays on her own or sings a
Christian song while her mama drives down the road. That doesn’t happen by
accident. That is a mother investing in her child and it is a fruitful labor. Henry
James said, <i>“The best use for your life is to invest it in something that
will outlast it.” </i>A mother or father is in perfect position to invest in
fruitful labor in their child.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fruitful labor may also show up in your giving. And I hear
ya. <i>“Oh, there he goes again, Ethyl, talking about money! That’s all he
cares about.” </i>Whatever. You know better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you think our church is involved with any
fruitful labor? Then be a part of it by giving. If you don’t think so, then
give to the church down the street that you think is doing fruitful labor. I
don’t care. I just want your life to look like Paul’s as he lived for Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Most of you know that our church has been called to minister
specifically to the poor, the addicted and the incarcerated. That’s a pretty
fruitful area. It can be hard though. We are not set up to provide the poor
with money or the addicted with professional counseling. We have no sway with
the judges or the courts to be able to get somebody out of jail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We do have a food pantry that is available and stocked up
with all kinds of good stuff. We don’t promote it and sometimes it might go a
week or two with nobody taking advantage of it. But every time it gets used by
either a church member or non-church member, it is showing the love of Jesus in
a way that is fruitful labor. Maybe you would like to donate a few cans or some
meat or bread that can be frozen. That’s fruitful labor right there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Something else we do is send a copy of my sermons to every
person on the jail ministry list every week. Right now, there are over fifty
people on that list. I always tell them that this will not be the greatest
thing you have ever read but it is truth and the Gospel is in there and if
nothing else, it’s something to read. Think that’s fruitful? Between that and
visiting in the jails when we can, this has grown from one person several years
ago to all these names on this list and every name is a person, a person that
is probably struggling in a way you might not can imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, way more people read this message than hear it and you
can be part of this fruitful labor if you want. The first and best thing you
can do is write to one of these men or women and just give them a little note
of encouragement. It doesn’t have to be long. Just a note saying you are
praying for them and maybe your favorite verse or whatever God leads you to
say. Use the church address if you are worried about something but please do
that. It will make all the difference for somebody and will be exactly what
Paul was talking about when he said, “fruitful labor.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another thing you can do if you want to be part of this
ministry is just donate some stamps or envelopes or printer ink. We go through
a lot of that with fifty people every week as you can imagine. Do me a favor
and donate the stamps or envelopes and not the money towards it. Make it a
fruitful labor for yourself and be rewarded accordingly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">One other way you can be involved in fruitful labor is to spread
the Good News of Jesus. That may be the ultimate way and the most important way
to produce fruitful labor. Don’t answer out loud but just think to yourself,
when was the last time you said the name of Jesus outside the walls of this
building?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here’s a crazy idea. With the political climate like it is
right now, you have a choice when you go on social media. You can prove what an
idiot somebody is for believing how they do with charts and graphs and quotes.
You can prove that they are a hypocrite and a brain-dead moron by just citing
some stats you got off Google.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Or…you could give your personal testimony on Facebook or Twitter
or whatever the flavor of the month website is nowadays. How about telling how
God has healed you physically, mentally or spiritually? How about posting that
you are praying for Trump and Pence AND Biden and Harris to have a
life-changing relationship with God through His Son Jesus, if they haven’t
already?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">How about telling the world what it means to you to have
that relationship? There are a million things wrong with social media these
days but instead of adding to the long list of things that don’t bring peace,
how about doing some fruitful labor like Paul talks about here and showing your
flood of love within the banks of knowledge and discernment like we learned
last week?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul, who was in prison for preaching the Gospel when he
wrote this and had been beaten and stoned and blown up by bombs and all that
other stuff, would say, <i>“Hmm, that sounds pretty easy to me!”</i> And it is
literally the secret to life AND the secret to death. Just get closer to God.
Spend more time seeking Him and His righteousness and less time worrying and
complaining and just watch as God gives you peace and joy (calm delight) in
this life and as you come to the end of your life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I used to read a blog a few years ago written by a guy was a
nurse. He had been in the military for years, got out and went into nursing and
I read it just because he could tell a good story. As far as I know, he wasn’t
a Christian. He never wrote anything about it but he once wrote about how he
knew people had real faith or not. From combat in the military to seeing people
in the ICU, he had seen a lot of death and he said he could always tell how a
person really believed by how they died and how their family handled it when
they died.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He said it was easy to tell because the ones without faith
(that’s how he put it) resisted and fought it and struggled and screamed and
cried and so did their families. But he said the ones with faith were usually calm
and peaceful as were their families. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There will always be grief when a loved one dies. That’s
natural and there is nothing wrong with that. We miss them when they are gone
but for a believer, we know we will see them again soon and we ought to be even
a little bit jealous because they are now enjoying all the treasures of Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But until then, we can have peace and joy in this life and
help others to have it as well. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me. How
about you? Do you know for sure that when you die, you will go to Heaven? It
has nothing to do with how good you are although as a Christian, you should be
known for your fruitful labor. It doesn’t have anything to do with your parents
or your country. Just because you were raised in a Christian country and a
Christian home doesn’t make you a Christian.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The only thing that makes any difference is if you have
truly trusted in Jesus to be your Savior and allowed Him to change your life.
He is the only way to Heaven. Ask Him for forgiveness today and repent of your
sins and rejoice in this life just like Paul did. Do it right now as we pray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402998202309168274.post-70331419006378496652021-01-19T07:32:00.004-08:002021-01-19T07:32:44.497-08:00Joy – Part 2 – Phil. 1:9-11<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The year 2020 went out screaming that it was the worst year
ever on record for some of us. 2021 walked in and, at six days old, said, <i>“Just
watch this!”</i> For me personally, Satan almost always attacks me with what I
am preaching right before or right after I preach it. Last Sunday we started a
sermon series on how to have joy from the book of Philippians and this past
week my joy was seriously tested.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I read the online reports and saw the pictures of what
was happening in our nation’s capitol, it made me sad. It made me mad. We are
all frustrated. We are confused. We want truth and it seems like it is nowhere
to be found. And if your joy and peace are anchored to any politician or
political party, it was a bad week for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For others, you may trust in God but you don’t understand
how He could allow such things to happen. You lost your joy this week thinking
that God is either not powerful enough to stop such things or maybe that He
just doesn’t care. Either way, your joy and peace are not really in God but in
your understanding of God and it was a bad week for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">God never says that if you try hard enough you will
understand Him and then you will have joy and peace. In fact, He says that His
ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)
He never says to understand Him. He only says to trust Him. <strong><span style="background: white; color: #111111;">Romans
15:13</span></strong><span style="background: white; color: #111111;"> says</span>, <i><span style="color: red;">“May God fill
you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.”</span></i><span style="color: red;"> </span>God is still on the throne. He is still sovereign. He
is still just and righteous and the King of all kings, politicians,
republicans, democrats, Antifa, BLM, Planned Parenthood, the Klan and is still
King of your joy IF you have a personal relationship with Him through His Son
Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But if you have a relationship with Him, you will have joy
and do you know what will happen if you truly have joy? <b>You will show love</b>.
You will show agape love. What is <b>agape</b> love? Agape love is love no
matter what. No matter what happens, what you say or what you do, I choose to
love you. That is agape love. It is the love God has for us and should be the
love we have for Him and for other people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As Christians and members of the bride of Christ in this
church, we are encouraged by Paul the Apostle to have love and the right kind
of love focused in the right way. If you say you have a relationship with Him
and you say you have joy then you will show your love correctly and abundantly and
with a purpose. That’s what Paul tells us in <b>Philippians 1:9-11</b>. Turn
there in your Bibles and follow along if you would please. Notice I said
“please.” That’s because I love you. 😊<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As we talked about last week, Paul loved this little church
in Philippi. They had supported him when no other church did and, no doubt, had
supported him financially and physically as well as spiritually in prayer. That’s
what people do who love each other. They support each other in every way
including and most importantly in prayer. In prayer, we have all the power of
God Himself but as most of you know, there is a right way to pray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This past week, I heard a song written by a man named Jaron Lowenstein.
It’s a very pretty song and maybe some of you might want it played at your
wedding or your funeral. It’s called “Pray For You.” The words go like this<i>:
<span style="color: red;">I haven't been to church<br />
Since I don't remember when<br />
Things were going great 'til they fell apart again<br />
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do<br />
He said you can't go hatin' others<br />
Who have done wrong to you<br />
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn<br />
Let the good Lord do his job, you just pray for them <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, here’s the chorus: <i><span style="color: red;">I pray
your brakes go out runnin' down a hill<br />
I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill<br />
And knocks you in the head like I'd like to<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I pray your birthday comes and
nobody calls<br />
I pray you're flyin' high when your engine stalls<br />
I pray all your dreams never come true<br />
Just know wherever you are, honey, I pray for you<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It goes on like that for a while but you get the drift. What’s
wrong with that kind of prayer? It’s not based on agape love, is it? Some of
you are looking that song up right now on your phones so you can send it to
your ex. Don’t do that. At least not during church. And don’t say your preacher
told you about it either. All that would go against what Paul is telling us to
do in <b>Philippians 1:9-11</b>. Let’s read that right now. <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and
more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern
what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with
the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and
praise of God.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, some of you are thinking just what Peter was thinking
when he wrote in <b>2 Peter 3:16</b> that some of what Paul wrote was hard to
understand. I thought the same thing the first few times I read it but I have
some good commentaries and I listened to some other good preachers about this
and it helped me and blessed me. Maybe you will get something out of it as we
go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul has just told the church in Philippi in his opening
that he has joy when he thinks of them and prays for them and he tells them how
to have joy so it is appropriate that he tell them <i>how</i> he is praying for
them. I find it interesting that nowhere is it recorded that Paul ever prayed
for anybody’s physical problems. I’m sure he prayed for healing and finances
and for God to help people physically, but it’s not recorded. Paul doesn’t
write about that. He writes about what is most important and for the
Philippians, he prayed for their love and the original word he uses is agape.
Do you see that in <b>verse 9</b>?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first thing about their love that Paul mentions that he
is praying for is that their love will abound or grow and get bigger. He wants
them to have more of it. Now, do you think Paul wants them to have more love
for him? Eh, could be but I don’t think that really sounds like Paul plus we
know he is already just almost giddy about their love and support for him.
That’s part of what gives him such joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you think Paul is praying that their love for other
people outside the church would grow? That could very well be. That sounds like
something Jesus would say so that may be part of it. Maybe you think Paul is
saying he prays their love toward God would abound more and more. We all need
that. Our love for God is something that definitely keeps us from sin. That
would be a good prayer. Or maybe Paul is praying that their love grows for each
other in the church. Or maybe it is all the above. I honestly don’t know how he
meant it specifically and at first that bothered me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But Paul is praying here for their love to abound. Think
tsunami, tidal wave. All the love of God poured out into them and spilling over
so that we can love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves as
Jesus said in <b>Matthew 22</b>. So, that means we just love everybody and
everything and every occasion and every situation, right? Not so much. Let’s
continue reading that verse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul said, <span style="color: #00b0f0;">“</span><i><span style="color: #0070c0;">that your love may abound more and more <b>in knowledge</b>
and <b>depth of insight</b>.” </span></i>Knowledge and depth of insight. Those
are the parameters, the boundaries of our love. If our love is a flood, these
are the banks of the river that contain the flood. Without banks, the flood
would be dangerous. It needs some boundaries and Paul is saying he is praying
for these to be the boundaries. I heard one preacher say, <i>“Don’t let your
agape get sloppy.”</i> But what does it mean to abound in knowledge and insight?
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That word “knowledge” means more than just to know something
a little bit. It means to know it better, to know it well. And where does true
knowledge come from? Let me give you a hint about where knowledge comes from by
telling you that I did some research (I googled it of course) and did you
“know” there are at least 64 different genders? Oh yea. According to the
internet (also known as the world) there are more than just boys and girls. The
knowledge of the world says you might be “cisgender, binary, Gender
nonconforming, graygender, intergender” and a host of others that give me a
headache to read. That knowledge comes from the mind of a person or group of
people and it may make sense to some people but God said in Genesis, <i>“I made
‘em male and female.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Scripture is the source of all true knowledge. Paul is
praying they will have scriptural knowledge in their love. That is one bank of
our flowing love. The other bank is depth of insight or discernment. Some
translations say “judgment.” That word discernment means perception or the
right application of biblical knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me give you an example. When you think of Mother Teresa,
what do you think of? You think of love and caring and selflessness, right? Well,
in 1994, Mother Teresa was the keynote speaker at the National Day of Prayer
Breakfast in Washington, DC. All the bigwigs were there. President Clinton sat
next to Vice-President Al Gore. All kinds of political muckety-mucks were
there. It was quite the occasion. Eighty-three-year-old Mother Teresa was
helped up to the podium from her wheelchair and at four feet, six inches, she
was not a very commanding figure…until she started talking. With great
knowledge and discernment, Mother Teresa lit into the American leaders for
their stance on abortion. Looking right at the president and vp, she said, <b>“If
we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other
people not to kill each other?”</b> She went on to say, <b>“Any country that
accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love but to use any violence to
get what they want.”</b> Then she looked at the cameras and pleaded with pregnant
women that might be watching. She said, <b>“Please don’t kill the child. I want
the child. Please give me the child. I want it. I will care for it.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That is a flood of love within the boundaries of knowledge
and discernment just like Paul was praying for. She knew <u>what was truth</u>
and she knew <u>how to apply that truth</u>. May we be more like her in that
way. But if you have a little kid inside your mind like I do that is constantly
asking, “Why?” well Paul answers that question in <b>verse 10</b>. Why did Paul
pray for such things for that church and why should this church want to have knowledge
and discernment in their love? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul says he wants us to have that <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">so that you </span></i>(we)<i> <span style="color: #0070c0;">may
be able to discern what is best. </span></i>To discern what is best here means
to thoroughly examine the expression of our love in light of God’s Word. Let me
give you a couple of illustrations to help you understand what Paul is praying
for here. If you give your child a gift, you give it out of love, right? You
want your kid to have good things, even fun things. Nothing wrong with that. That
is an appropriate expression of your love. It is biblically based and even how
God feels about you as His child. But what if your child takes that new toy and
throws it as hard as he can at your face? Are you going to let him get away
with that? Of course not. Sometimes a spanking is a great expression of your
love because you want your child to not be a freak when he grows up, right?
That can be hard to do but it is often necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, what if you woke up in the middle of the night to glass
breaking? You go downstairs and there is a masked man wandering through your
living room. Do you say, <i>“Well, I don’t know who you are but the Bible says
I have to love everybody so the big screen is over there. Here’s my wallet. Try
not to scratch my car when you drive it off, okay?” </i>Of course not! In fact,
Jesus said in <b>Matthew 24</b>, <i><span style="color: #c00000;">“If the owner
of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would
have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.”</span></i><span style="color: #c00000;"> </span>Sometimes appropriately expressing your love
means doing whatever it takes to protect your family and your life or the life
of others. But that takes some amount of biblical knowledge and insight to know
where to draw the line.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We need discernment to know what the Bible says and how to
express our love correctly because sometimes <b>our feelings</b> will take us
in the wrong direction. <b>The world</b> will almost always take us in the
wrong direction. Sometimes love may be too easy to show like giving too many
gifts and sometimes showing love may be hard to do. So, Paul prays that we will
know and apply that knowledge correctly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, wait a minute. I hear that little kid in my head asking
“Why?” again so let’s go back to <b>verse 10</b> and read the rest of it along
with <b>verse 11</b>. He wants us to have wisdom and insight when showing our
love so that we <i><span style="color: #0070c0;">may be pure and blameless for
the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God. </span></i>“Pure and blameless.”
Okay, I could give you the Greek words and we could joke about that and then I
could give you some illustrations of what it means to be pure and blameless but
I think we all have a pretty good handle on their meanings, right? If not, you
can bring it up tonight and we will talk about it then. Due to time constraints,
I want to get on to some more really good stuff in this passage. Not that being
pure and blameless aren’t really good. That is part of why Paul is praying for
their love to grow so that they could be pure and blameless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But look at <b>verse 11</b> again and let’s see another
reason and then what that leads to. It won’t take long. I promise. Again, Paul
is praying that their love will grow like a tidal wave but within the banks of
biblical knowledge and discernment. When that happens, they will be pure and
blameless in this life and the next and when we are pure and blameless, we will
also be filled with the fruit of righteousness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When you hear of fruit in the New Testament, what do you
think of? If you think of the Fruit of the Spirit, you are on the right track.
The Fruit of the Spirit is the proof that God is in you and you are in God and He
gives you fruit that shows your good works. And those good works are not for
our glory but for His. It’s the same basic thought here. When you love people
in the right way and your love is manifested in the right way, the biblical
way, you will be pure and blameless and will do good works. When you love
abundantly, even when it is hard to do, you will prove it with good works
towards those you love and God will get the glory and you will have been
obedient.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And then…and then…(but wait, there’s more!) and then when
you are obedient to God, do you know what that leads to? <i>“I got the joy,
joy, joy, joy, down in my heart! Down in my heart!”</i> Yes! Loving people that
don’t love you back or can’t do anything for you ultimately brings you joy,
that calm delight that allows you to go through difficulties without turning to
booze or pills or anything else with bad side effects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do you want joy? Of course you do. But there is only one way
to true joy and that is through obedience to God. That is what Paul is praying
for here for this church in Philippi and what I am praying for Christ Fellowship.
We have joy in our lives because of what God has done for us and so it ought to
show in our love for other people. It ought to be a tsunami of love based
correctly on scripture that pours out of us appropriately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It may mean that we give gifts to little kids all over the
world through our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes or it may also be an
expression of love that says<i>, “I’m done supporting any politician that
approves of abortion.” </i>God calls that murder and I will stand against it.
Your expression of love may mean to stand up against the homosexual lifestyle.
God calls that an abomination and so we stand against it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">All of that can be tricky to do though. You can turn people
away from you and God by doing that so that is why Paul says we need
discernment. But ultimately, we want to do what God tells us to do in the way
He tells us to do it and when He says it needs to be done. When we do that, we
are obedient to Him and He rewards us with joy. Sounds like a pretty good deal
to me!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">People search for joy and peace in every imaginable way. Sometimes
there is temporary joy when things are going well and sometimes you can find
peace when there are no battles to fight but if you want true, lasting joy and
peace when the world is on fire and war is raging then you have to be obedient
to God and that starts with understanding that we are all sinners as it says in
Romans 3:23. Romans 6:23 goes on to say that what we deserve for that sin is
eternal death in Hell separated from God and everybody else. That’s bad news.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the good news is that God loved you so much that He sent
His Son to die in your place (John 3:16) and all you have to do is truly
believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man gets to the Father
but through Him (John 14:6). Ask God for forgiveness of your sins and repent of
those sins and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). Do that right now as we pray.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Christ Fellowshiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10073995277137347083noreply@blogger.com0