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- Aug 4, 2019Church Growth Series #2
Church Growth Series #2Church Growth Series #2The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning.Scott PeckGod is not done with his work when we first believe and are saved. He intends day by day to make us into what we already are in Christ. We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; - Oswald Chambers We have been talking about growth for the past several Sundays. And when we think of Growth we often skip to looking at the final product and forget the work and commitment it takes to get there. I can think of people that I have spoken with in ministry that can relate to my experience with the garden. You grew, and now all you see are weeds…….. It’s not the Garden, it’s the Gardner 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 New International Version (NIV) 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[a] In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 it’s great to see that our Gardner, Jesus Christ, never changes. In fact, there is nothing Good in me but Jesus. He is our Righteousness, Holiness and Redemption. When things begin to go wrong in my Christian life, the weeds begin to grow, my passions and desires begin to fade. The first part of seeing growth again is realizing it is me, not anyone or anything else. I was told by a wise man a long time ago….. never allow anyone or anything to come between you and your relationship with the Lord. And if you do, don’t blame the church, the person, nor the situation, look only to you for the blame. NOTHING should get in the way of your relationship with God. It’s not the Garden, it’s what you allow inside the Garden For if you and I are not careful, we will allow things in our lives that will lead to the demise of our walk with the Lord. 1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. Every person that truly believes in Christ is increasingly transformed into his likeness. When we begin to see the things that are hindering our garden from growing, and THEN we are willing to remove that which is hindering it. The problem is the flesh likes these things. And when the ground is tilled for Godly growth, the enemy loves to sneak in some devilish seed to hinder the growth. WE MUST KICK IT OUT. It’s not the Garden, it’s the results we really want. Our spiritual life is no different than the Garden. When you don’t work your garden, the results are not good. All of us want the fruits and vegetables out of the garden, and all of us say we want to GROW spiritually, but we must learn to crave the things of God. Once we taste and see the results we cannot get enough. You will be willing to do whatever it takes to produce THAT type of fruit. Growing in your salvation is when you taste something that you know is good, you bend your wills and desires to make sure that you get the results Christ desires. It’s a craving that comes and we love and we want more of it. And when we experience it, the more we receive, the more that we grow. The deeper we go the more fruits come out.
- Jul 28, 2019Church Growth Series #1
Church Growth Series #1CHURCH GROWTH SERIES #1 Acts 2:36-41 I want to give some ideas of what it will take to make the church grow.
- WE MUST HAVE A GROWTH MENTALITY
- WE MUST HAVE SOME DEFINITE GOALS IN MIND
RISE UP
- The only disciple left out.
- The only disciple with nothing but words to go by.
- The one disciple most like us today.
- Apr 28, 2019The Weak After Easter Sermon 4-28-19 AM
The Weak After Easter Sermon 4-28-19 AM"The Weak After Easter Sermon 4-28-19 AM"Easter is such an awesome time of the year. We celebrate the fact that Jesus defeated death and rose from the dead. We hang out with family, which means that there is a lot of cooking and preparation that goes in to that. We have to make sure that the family looks good and matching for all the pictures that we will take. All while maintaining the other responsibilities of life. It often will leave someone feeling tired and weak. Well put yourself in the shoes of the disciples and the followers of Jesus. Their King had just been brutally executed. The man that had been their biggest influence for the past several years was now gone. They had celebrated his triumphant entry, less than a week later watch his body be crushed and bruised on the cross, took him to a borrowed tomb, 3 days later found the tomb empty, and now they are locked in a room scared for their lives. Moments and weeks like these leave us feeling exhausted and weak. But what happened to the excitement from a week ago? Easter, He is Risen, He is Alive, you know all the enthusiasm that came with Easter. The sad news is that some of us this week are locked in a room scared for our life, weak Christians just one week since the Greatest news ever told, He is Alive. We are a lot like the first disciples…… John 20:19–25 (NKJV) 19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Our text of John gives us a quick glimpse back to Easter and Christ’s resurrection. The disciples are huddled in fear behind a locked door when Jesus appears to them, and when he does - he not only reveals his resurrection, he breathes an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them. Now, for some reason… Thomas was absent from the disciples. He didn’t get to see Jesus that night. Now the other disciples are sharing the wonderful news with him… “We have seen the Lord!” But what proof do they bring? Only their words. Thomas’ response is “Not gonna believe it till I see it.” This catches us up with the heart of today’s lesson. One week after Easter, the very same room where Jesus appeared before… Eleven disciples sit in excitement……..And Thomas… probably sitting with his arms crossed, legs crossed, and pouting. You know that look your kids give you when you didn’t let them win….. As Christians I’m sure we all can relate to Thomas at some point in our life. We feel like we pulled the short straw and that life just isn’t fair. Weirsbe says, No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity because it removes God from the throne of our lives replacing Him with our own self-interest. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges- always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives. This part of our human nature reminds me of a story I once heard of a man out on a glorious nature walk next to some beautiful cliffs and caverns. The walk, however, quickly turned cruel when the man… walking too close to the edge found himself tumbling down the side of one of the cliffs. Luckily, he managed to grab hold of a small tree growing out of the side of the cliff. Unluckily, it was too steep to climb up or down, he was far too high to jump, and he knew he was likely the only person for miles. Having nothing to lose, he began to shout “Help. Is anybody out there? HELP!” After a short while he heard a response, “This is God. I am here. Let go of that branch and I will catch you.” The man contemplated this, and responded, “God… don’t you have a rope or a ladder?” God replied, “Put your faith in me. Let go of that branch and I will catch you.” The man contemplated yet again, and after a long pause he shouted, “Is anyone else there?” Luckily for Thomas and for us, that is not the end of the text. Thomas is not left sitting there doubting. Often times God shows us when we finally have “nothing to lose” when we finally surrender. Weakness Turns to Redemption John 20:26–29 (NKJV) 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus knew he doubted. Jesus knew he had been excluded from the special revelation the night he appeared to the other eleven. Jesus even knew what that whole last week must have been like for Thomas. Just think about what Thomas must have been dealing with.Thomas, the one left out, spent that entire week wrestling alone with his doubts. He could have rebuked them for their unfaithfulness and spinelessness the previous weekend, but He did not[1] Jesus does not lecture him, chastise him, or discipline him for doubting, instead Jesus wished him peace, and in his mercy, he gives Thomas what he needed to move beyond his doubt. Jesus simply came to Thomas. He met Thomas right where he was at, and he promises to meet you this morning right where you are at. But he also promises not to leave you the same way you came. No one has ever met Jesus and stayed the same. Redemption Turns to Delight John 20:27 (NKJV) 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Notice Thomas’s needs were met down to the letter of what he was asking for. When you really desire to know Christ on a deeper level, he will give you exactly what you need to dive deep. Notice He has not had a conversation with Jesus about what all he needs, Jesus knows your every thought, need, and desire. And when it comes to your relationship with Him he has every resource available to help you move towards delight. But the wounds meant more than identification; they also were evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and man indeed could have “peace with God.” The basis for all our peace is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He died for us, He arose from the dead in victory, and now He lives for us. In our fears, we cannot lock Him out! He comes to us in grace and reassures us through His Word. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).[2] These words ring clear this morning as we sit one week removed from Easter, all the hype is gone, all the emotions are gone, and we are left with these words, “Do not be unbelieving but believing.” Once we believe … Delight Turns to Declaration John 20:28–29 (NKJV) 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I want you to go back to the day that Jesus set you free……. Can you go there…… The day that you surrendered control and asked Jesus to be the Lord and Boss of your life? Thomas had been hurt, confused, because he didn’t know but Jesus was able to turn all his issues into Delight. We all have issues, this morning God wants to do a work in you. When Jesus saw that the disciples’ fear had now turned to joy, He commissioned them: “As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). Keep in mind that the original disciples were not the only ones present; others, were also in the room. You see, you can’t give someone what you don’t have. John 20:21 (NKJV) 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” It must have given the men great joy to realize that, in spite of their many failures, their Lord was entrusting them with His Word and His work. They had forsaken Him and fled, but now He was sending them out to represent Him. Peter had denied Him three times; and yet in a few days, Peter would preach the Word (and accuse the Jews of denying Him—Acts 3:13–14!) and thousands would be saved[3] The good news is that it’s one week after Easter and many of you are feeling weak, but you can trade that weakness in for dominance over every situation. He is Alive, Risen, and He has enabled us with His Spirit to be able to be more than conquers. When you get a hold of that you will want to shout it from the rooftops, declaring Jesus is Lord. [1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 392). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 392). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 392–393). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
- The only disciple left out.
- The only disciple with nothing but words to go by.
- The one disciple most like us today.
- Apr 21, 2019Will Good People Go to Heaven? Sermon 4-21-19
Will Good People Go to Heaven? Sermon 4-21-19Why Good People Won't Go to Heaven Romans 10:1-4 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given.[b] As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Will good people go to heaven?
- Because You Can Never Be Good Enough.
- Because Good People Are Deceived About The Reality of Their True Condition.
- Because Good People Think They Don’t Need Jesus.
- Because Good People Wouldn’t Be Happy If They Did Go to Heaven.
- Apr 14, 2019Parade or Protest Sermon 4-14-19 AM
Parade or Protest Sermon 4-14-19 AMParade or Protest Palms or Picket Signs Crown Him or Crucify Him Hail Him or Nail Him Cheers and Tears Luke 19:28-45 Luke 19:28: After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone ask you, ‘why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘the Lord needs it.’” THE CHEERS OF THE CROWD Everyone loves a parade.
- PAST: Jesus entered Jerusalem as a humble King
- FUTURE: He will enter Jerusalem as a conquering King
- THE TEARS OF THE KING
- Jesus wept because of superficial belief
- Jesus wept because of spiritual blindness
- Apr 7, 2019Rise Up and Be Changed Sermon 4-7-19 AM
Rise Up and Be Changed Sermon 4-7-19 AMWhat if there was not a Resurrection? Well, there was so… RISE UP and be CHANGED 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (NKJV) 12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have [a]fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiful. PLAY: (Jayson??) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxH8Q8ue65o what if that resurrection never happened…suppose that the Lord Jesus was still in that tomb? That’s what Paul is talking about in our text.
- THE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES OF A FALSE RESURRECTION
- Our Preaching is Profitless.
- Our Faith is Foolish
- The Disciples are Deceivers
- Sin is Sovereign
- Death has Dominion
- The Future is Futile
- THE TREMENDOUS CHANGES OF A TRUE RESURRECTION
- Through the Resurrection, a Statement was Made
- JOHN 20:6-7, “Simon Peter therefore also came, following him, and entered the tomb;
- and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there, and the face cloth which had been on his head,
- not lying by the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.”
- Through the Resurrection, Sanctification was Mandated
- Through the Resurrection, a Salvation was Manifested
- Mar 31, 2019Rise Up 3-31-19 SERMON AM
Rise Up 3-31-19 SERMON AMRise Up You can’t have a resurrection until you have a burial
- JESUS’ BURIAL WAS CONDUCTED BY TWO UNLIKELY UNDERTAKERS
- Joseph had the courage to ask for the corpse of Jesus
- Nicodemus came into the light to help the Man who told him he needed a new birth
- JESUS’ BURIAL WAS PROPHESIED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
- Mar 24, 2019Rise Up O’ Men of God Sermon 3-24-19
Rise Up O’ Men of God Sermon 3-24-19“Rise Up O’ Men of God!”Ezekiel 22:23-30 God has placed within the heart, hands, and soul of men incredible power to heal or hurt, build up or tear down, comfort or crush, and serve or enslave. When men decide to do something…something happens….good or bad Ezekiel 22:23 Again the word of the LORD came to me: 24“Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath.’ 25There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’—when the LORD has not spoken. 29The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. 30“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. (Ezekiel 22:24-30 NIV) The walls are down in America today. It is time to rise up O’ men of God! We have gotten excited about temporal, transient things like sports, cars, and climbing the ladder of success instead of passionately pursuing the things that will last long after we are gone. The four character traits that will enable us to be men who can stand in the gap for our wives, children, church, community, and businesses. Repentance. Isaiah 29:13 13The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Beliefs. “Men without an organized system of thought will always be at the mercy of men who have one.” We are in great need of men who know why and what they believe. Strength. The strength of a man is his passionate commitment to the Lord. 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. (Psalm 28:7 NIV) 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. (Habakkuk 3:19 NIV) 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV) Fellowship. Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. God has placed within the heart, hands, and souls of men incredible power. Power to shape the hearts of our children, power to bless our wives, power to restore our communities, power to strengthen God’s Church, power to glorify God in an unbelieving world.
- Mar 17, 2019Rise Up…Surprise! Sermon 3-17-19 AM
Rise Up…Surprise! Sermon 3-17-19 AMRise Up…..Surprise! That’s just like Jesus! He loved surprising people, especially those who had lost all hope. John 11:1-5 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. John 11:6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. God seems so slow sometimes, especially when we’re in a hurry. Most of us don’t like to wait, do we? John 11:7-8 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” What do you want to do? Get yourself killed! John 11:9-10 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” John 11:11-15 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” John 11:16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Now, they all expect to die if they go back to Judah. John 11:17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. John 11:18-21 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. John 11:22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” John 11:23-24 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection and the life.” Do you believe it? John 11:27-32 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They wanted Jesus to raise Lazarus out of his sick bed, but Jesus had something far greater planned for Lazarus. DON’T BE SURPRISED BY HIS DELAYS. DON’T BE SURPRISED THAT HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH. John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. John 11:34-35 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. John 11:36-37 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” DON’T BE SURPRISED BY MIRACLES JESUS CAN AND WILL DO IN YOUR LIFE. John 11:38-39 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” John 11:40-43 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” John 11:44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” It was a miracle far beyond anyone’s imagining. Ephesians 3:20 puts it, “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” We want a fix on the old life when Jesus wants to give us a new one. We want a healing when Jesus wants to give us a resurrection.
- Mar 10, 2019I Prophesy Life…Sermon 3-10-19 AM
I Prophesy Life…Sermon 3-10-19 AMI PROPHESY LIFE…RISE UP “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” Ezekiel 37:1-4 “So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.” Ezekiel 37:7 God sets the prophet Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones for one purpose—to prophesy life. Everything in your life that has illegally been killed or died a premature death will live again! HAS IT BEEN DEAD TOO LONG? Some say yes “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?...” Genesis 18:14 VALLEY OF DRY BONES “And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.” Ezekiel 37:2 “And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” Ezekiel 37:3 “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Ezekiel 37:10 There is nothing so dead that God cannot bring it back to life. ABRAHAM—SARAH Genesis 17 ”[Abraham] being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.” Romans 4:19 Abraham and Sarah were both old. In fact, Abraham was one hundred and Sarah his wife was ninety. The Bible says Abraham was the same as dead and Sarah’s womb was dead. In the natural, there was no way that Sarah could ever conceive and birth a son. She was past the age of child bearing. “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God…” Luke 18:27 What is in your life that needs to come back to life? LAZARUS John 11 Lazarus had been dead for four days. The human body begins to decay after three days, which means Lazarus’ body was already experiencing corruption or decay. “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” John 11:44 JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER RAISED FROM THE DEAD Mark 5 “My little girl is sick unto death. Please come lay Your hands on her and heal her that she may live.” “[Jairus] besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” Mark 5:23 Jesus went with him, but the crowd was all around Him. He also stopped and healed a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. Before He arrived at Jairus’ house, someone came and informed Jairus that his daughter was dead and there was no need to trouble Jesus. Jesus was not afraid of death. He turned to Jairus and said, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.” Mark 5:36 “And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.” Mark 5:38-39 He prophesied life to her and what happened? Death had to flee. ELISHA RAISES THE SHUNAMITE’S SON 2 Kings 4 THE DEVIL IS A LIAR “…Being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Romans 4:21 Your Best Is Yet To Come “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19 CANCEL THE FUNERAL—HEZEKIAH Isaiah 38 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.” Isaiah 38:1 “Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” Isaiah 38:5 Hezekiah’s funeral was cancelled. life. IF GOD KILLED IT, LET IT REMAIN DEAD Everything in your life that has been illegally killed or prematurely died will live again!
HOT TOPICS
- Apr 7, 2019Hot Topics #6- Transforming the Culture Sermon 4-7-19 PM
Hot Topics #6- Transforming the Culture Sermon 4-7-19 PMTransforming Our Culture 1 Cor. 3:6-7 It’s the word CHANGE. not a new program, a new building or a new emphasis. NO! To change our culture God is going to have to change our minds, our attitudes, our styles and preferences and even our behavior inside and outside of the church. Paul knew that his culture would never willingly come to him…so he made it his priority to go to them. The latest statistics show that America is now considered the 3rd largest mission field in the English speaking world. That means the American church isn’t reaching our own people, much less the people of the world! So let’s face it, WE NEED TO CHANGE! the key is found in 1 Cor. 3:6-7, “My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. The ones who do the planting or watering aren’t important, but God is important because he is the one. who makes the seed grow.” Listen close all the way to the end or my may not hear what I’m proposing… 1). We have to develop a “come as you are” attitude. GRACE God saves every one of us using the exact same formula – his grace applied to our messy lives = a new creation. Matt. 22:2,9-10, “God’s kingdom is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on— every place filled.” The good and the bad! Rom 8:1-2 (NLT) “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.” “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of GRACE and truth.” John 1:14 (NIV) 2). We have to root out the “us versus them” attitude. There’s one other ingredient that’s necessary if we want to change our church culture. 3). We have to understand that spiritual life is a process. My question is – are we going to become that church or will God have to look for another?
- Mar 24, 2019Hot Topics #5- Is it Okay to Play The Lottery?
Hot Topics #5- Is it Okay to Play The Lottery?Is It Okay To Play The Lottery? Isaiah 65:11–12 says, “But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.”
- Current Concerns about Playing the Lottery
- Culture’s Answers to Playing the Lottery
- Because It Denies the Reality of God’s Sovereignty
- Because It Is Built on Irresponsible Stewardship
- Because It Erodes a Biblical Work Ethic
- Because It Is Driven by the Sin of Covetousness
- Because It Is Built on the Exploitation of Others
- Mar 17, 2019Hot Topics #4 Sermon
Hot Topics #4 Sermon"Hot Topics #4 Sermon".
- Mar 10, 2019Hot Topics #3 Sermon
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- Mar 3, 2019Hot Topic #2 Sermon 3-3-19 PM
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- Feb 24, 2019Hot Topic #1 Sermon 2-24-19
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STORIES
- Dec 2, 2018Herod’s Story Sermon 12-2-18
Herod’s Story Sermon 12-2-18"Herod's Story Sermon 12-2-18".
- Nov 25, 2018The Great Pretender Sermon 11-25-18
The Great Pretender Sermon 11-25-18"The Great Pretender Sermon 11-25-18".
- Nov 4, 2018Stories Sermon- The Orphan’s Story 11-4-18
Stories Sermon- The Orphan’s Story 11-4-18"Stories Sermon- The Orphan's Story 11-4-18".
- Oct 28, 2018Stories Sermon-The Ministers Story 10-28-18 AM
Stories Sermon-The Ministers Story 10-28-18 AM"Stories Sermon-The Ministers Story 10-28-18 AM".
- Oct 21, 2018The Stories of Our Faith Part 3 Sermon 10-21-18
The Stories of Our Faith Part 3 Sermon 10-21-18STORIES OF OUR FAITH part 3 The Marriage Story “We had no idea what we were getting into. That was probably a good thing”.
- The Problem: Busy but Lonely
- The Solution: A Partner Who Completes
- Oct 14, 2018The Stories of Our Faith Part 1 Sermon 10-14-18
The Stories of Our Faith Part 1 Sermon 10-14-18The Stories of Our Faith part 1 Luke 5 Have you noticed how much of Gods Word is stories? There is power in a story. God’s story has the power to save and transform. Top of Form Bottom of Form “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, but the Jew first and also the Greek.” Romans 1:16. The spiritual forces of evil are working in the sons of disobedience to craft their messages and tell their stories in our entertainment business with amazing success. Luke 5 Jesus has four encounters with four individuals whose lives were impacted by Jesus and they were never the same again. These stories are told to show us what happens when we meet Jesus. Through the stories we are invited to participate and see Jesus. God wants us to join in the story. What is your story? Can you tell it?
DANIEL
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE IS A BOOK OF LIFE (12:1)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE ARE TWO FUTURE RESURRECTIONS (12:2)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: REAL “STARS” ARE THOSE WHO SHINE FOR JESUS (12:3)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: AN EXPLOSION OF INFORMATION WILL CHARACTERIZE THE LAST DAYS (12:4)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE IS A REST AND A REWARD FOR GOD’S CHILDREN (12:13)
- Sep 23, 2018What’s the Bottom Line Sermon 9-23-18
What’s the Bottom Line Sermon 9-23-18WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE Daniel 11 and 12 Top of Form Bottom of Form Daniel 12:8-9. “I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, ‘My Lord, what will the outcome of all this be?’ He replied, ‘Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.’” I want us to think about the bottom-line and then respond Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people will arise There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people (Israel)–everyone whose name is found written in the book–will be delivered.”
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE IS A BOOK OF LIFE (12:1)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE ARE TWO FUTURE RESURRECTIONS (12:2)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: REAL “STARS” ARE THOSE WHO SHINE FOR JESUS (12:3)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: AN EXPLOSION OF INFORMATION WILL CHARACTERIZE THE LAST DAYS (12:4)
- BOTTOM LINE TRUTH: THERE IS A REST AND A REWARD FOR GOD’S CHILDREN (12:13)
- Sep 16, 2018Behind the Curtain Sermon 9-16-18
Behind the Curtain Sermon 9-16-18BEHIND THE CURTAINVietnam War Strategy or Gulf War Strategy? Daniel 10
- Powerful Prayer starts with a burden (vs. 2-3)
- POWERFUL Prayer doesn’t stop until an answer comes (vs. 12)
- Prayer is often resisted by Satan’s soldiers (vs. 13)
- POWERFUL Prayer is our strategic weapon against Satan (vs. 20)
- Sep 2, 2018Over and Beyond Our Wildest Imagination Sermon 9-9-18
Over and Beyond Our Wildest Imagination Sermon 9-9-18OVER AND BEYOND OUR WILDEST IMAGINATIONNo Ordinary God Daniel 9:20-27 Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), but “With God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). He delights in doing “abundantly beyond all that we could ask or even think” (Ephesians 3:20) Daniel 9:20-21 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill— while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. This is the same Gabriel that comes to Mary 500 years later to announce the birth of Messiah. Daniel 9:22-24 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. TRUST GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS BEYOND ANYTHING YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE. Depend on the Lord to go way above your immediate concerns to addressing the ultimate issues of your life. verse 24 says, He wants “to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, [and] to atone for wickedness.” Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Trust God to answer your prayers beyond anything you could ever imagine. Then 2nd… TRUST GOD TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PLAN WHICH IS ALSO BEYOND ANYTHING YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE. Daniel was thinking about his nation’s immediate future, just three years ahead. What God had in mind was their ultimate future. Look at this amazing prophecy, God’s plan, as the angel Gabriel revealed it to Daniel. Daniel 9:25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ 69 sevens or a total of 483 years. In other words, when the decree is issued to rebuild Jerusalem, 483 years will pass until Israel’s Messiah comes into the city as Israel’s King. “It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” Jerusalem was in ruins at the time Daniel receives this prophecy, but God assures him that it will be rebuilt again, which of course it was. King Artaxerxes issued a decree to restore and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem on March 5, 444 B.C. It was a time of trouble, but in 52 days the walls were rebuilt. Then it took another 49 years to restore the rest of the city. That’s the seven sevens (or 49 years) described in verse 25. After that, there are another 62 sevens (or 434 years) until “the Anointed One” the Messiah comes. Over 500 years before it happened, Daniel was told when Israel’s Messiah would come and not just to the year. This prophecy actually tells us the very day Messiah would come! The Jewish year, in Daniel’s day, was 360 days (not our current 365 and 1/3 days). So when you multiply the 49 years + 434 years, for a total of 483 years, by 360, you come up with exactly 173,880 days. The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was made on March 5, 444 B.C. When you add 173,880 days to March 5, 444 B.C., you come up to March 30, A.D. 33. Luke was very precise in dating the various events of Jesus’ life, we know the precise day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, presenting Himself as Israel’s King. That day was March 30, A.D. 33! More than 500 years before it happened, Daniel knew the exact day of Messiah’s arrival! This is no mere human book. But that’s not the end of the prophecy. Look at verse 26. Daniel 9:26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. (NIV) Gabriel is talking about some things that will happen “AFTER” the 62 sevens of years, which follows the 7 sevens of years. So “AFTER” 69 sevens of years, or 483 years, or 173,880 days, “AFTER” that time, the Messiah will be cut off, the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed, along with its temple, and war will continue. Well, that’s exactly what happened! A week AFTER Jesus presented Himself as Israel’s King, he was crucified…37 years later. We have a “time-out” here between Daniel’s 69th and 70th seven, during which Jesus died on a cross, Jerusalem was destroyed, and wars have continued. Now, nobody thought that this “time-out” would last nearly 2,000 years so far, but it has. WE ARE LIVING IN THE TIME OUT! I’m convinced that the Referee of Heaven is about to blow His whistle, and the 70th and final 7-year period of God’s game-plan for Israel will resume. The final 7-year period before Jesus comes again to bring in “everlasting righteousness” is about to begin. Just look at the description of that final 7-year period in verse 27, and you’ll see what I mean. Daniel 9:27 “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’” The “ruler who will come” talked about in verse 26. This is not the Christ, but the anti-Christ. He will sign a 7-year peace treaty with Israel. That’s when the final 7-year period begins. Daniel 9:27 [But] in the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. In the middle of those 7 years, he’ll break that treaty, desecrate the temple in Jerusalem, and wreak havoc. This prophecy presupposes speaks of four events, which were unthinkable just a few decades ago. 1st, Israel must become a nation again, and that happened in 1948 when the United Nations officially recognized Israel as a nation in the community of nations. 2nd, Israel must control Jerusalem again, which happened in 1967 during the 6-days war, after over 2,500 years of foreign domination! 3rd, The Roman Empire must come together again.. exactly what we see in Europe now. 4th, Israel must rebuild her temple again. Right now, there is no temple in Jerusalem. The Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70, and it has not yet been rebuilt. The Temple Institute has all the implements needed to operate the temple including the knowledge of the location of the Ark of the Covenant. All 28,000 priests, to be used in the next temple, have been trained and even their priestly garments are either made or being made right now. (Jimmy DeYoung’s News Update, October 23, 2013, www.news.prophecytoday.com) The only piece of the puzzle that yet remains for Daniel 9:27 to be fulfilled is the rebuilding of Israel’s ancient temple, but that is about to happen. The stage is set for Daniel’s 70th seven, the final seven years before Jesus comes again to bring in “everlasting righteousness.” Again, I believe that Christ will take His church out of this world before Daniel’s 70th seven, that could happen any day! Don’t be discouraged! Trust God to accomplish His plan beyond anything you or I could ever imagine. Our God is no ordinary God!!!
- Aug 26, 2018Daniel’s Most Troubling Vision Sermon 8-26-18
Daniel’s Most Troubling Vision Sermon 8-26-18
Daniels Most Troubling Vision
THE TRUTH ABOUT SATAN’S SERVANT
Daniel 8:27
27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
Daniel 8:23-27
23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom,
When the transgressors have reached their fullness,
A king shall arise,
Having fierce [a]features,
Who understands sinister schemes.
24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power;
He shall destroy [b]fearfully,
And shall prosper and thrive;
He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.25 “Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his [c]rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
But he shall be broken without human [d]means.26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which was told is true;
Therefore seal up the vision,
For it refers to many days in the future.”27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was [e]astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.
Because the time is short and we need to hear the truth.
This man who will be known as the Antichrist will be powerful, deceitful, intelligent, brutal, ruthless and efficient.
- THE APPEARANCE OF SATAN’S SERVANT (vv. 23)
- The Condition Of The World
- The Corruption Of Religion
Since the New Testament was written for and about believers, it makes since to conclude that this falling away will be apparent in churches and denominations which operate under the umbrella of Christianity.
- The Completion Of The Church
- THE ABILITIES OF SATAN’S SERVANT (v. 23b)
- He Will Be A Man Of Popularity – (Rev. 6:2)
The world stage is set for the appearance of such a man! He will be popular!
- He Will Be A Man Of Peace – (Rev. 6:2)
It can be clearly seen that our world is looking for such a leader.
The world is tired of war!
The world will readily embrace a man with a message of peace.
- He Will Be A Man Of Prosperity – (Dan. 11:43; Rev. 13:16-17).
The Antichrist will eventually control the wealth of the world.
He will bring prosperity to those who have lived in poverty.
I am convinced that the Antichrist will bring an end to world hunger.
This is one area of this rule that will bring him lasting success. People like to prosper! Just look at America!
- He Will Be A Man Of Power – (Rev. 13:7-8) These verses tell us that Antichrist will eventually rule the entire world.
III. THE ABOMINATIONS OF SATAN’S SERVANT (vv. 24-25b)
- He Will Attack The People Of God – (Dan. 7:25)
- He Will Attack The Prince Of God – (Dan. 8:25)
- He Will Attack The Place Of God – (Dan. 8:25; Dan. 11:36-37; Dan. 9:27; 2 Thess. 2:4; Matt. 24:15)
- THE AFFLICTIONS OF SATAN’S SERVANT (v. 25c)
- It Will Be Sudden – (Dan 8:25)
Defeat is sure for the Antichrist.
- It Will Be Serious - Notice that Rev. 19:20 says that Antichrist will enter the Lake of Fire alive!
When Daniel looked into these things, he fainted and became ill.
He was a godly man!
What effect do these words have on your heart?
- Aug 12, 2018The Ancient of Days Sermon
The Ancient of Days Sermon
The Ancient of Days
Daniel 7
The study of end times or the end of the world is called eschatology; it comes from the Greek word eschaton and means “end.”
There are two warnings here.
First, don’t become obsessed with Bible prophecy.
Warning number two: Don’t be afraid of Bible prophecy.
God’s definition of prophecy: (Isaiah 46:10)
“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”
- FOUR WORLD KINGDOMS or MODERN GOVERNMENTS (7:1-7, 17)
First, Daniel dreams of four world kingdoms or modern governments.
Daniel 7:1-3. “In the first year of Belshazzar [the king who saw the writing on the wall], Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of the dream. Daniel said: ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the other came up out of the sea.”
The wind, symbolizes the constant turmoil that surrounds military conflicts.
We aren’t going to look at the details of each animal in vs 4-7, but what a nightmare!
Thankfully God explains it.
verse 16, “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints [that’s us] of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever–yes, for ever and ever.”
I HAVE GOOD NEWS!!! We win!
- Lion/Eagle
- Bear
- Leopard
Now some scholars disagree with what these animals represent. Some say they represent ancient empires and some say modern governments that will lead up to the end times.
Some have identified the lion as Britain, the bear as Russia, and the leopard as Israel or even China.
- Scary Beast: Roman
The fourth beast is identified as having iron teeth (military power) and conquering all the territory of the previous Gentile powers.
There is a second stage to this kingdom and the ten nations are symbolized here as ten horns.
But Daniel notices there is a “little horn” that rises up and takes control of all ten.
- THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ANTICHRIST (8, 11, 21-25)
Daniel 7:8, 11, 21-25. “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully…Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire…As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgement in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will arise, different from the earlier ones; he [now the “it” has become a “he”] will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.’”
That means “one year, add two years, add a half a year, the result: three and a half years.” That’s exactly 42 months,
This is exactly the same person spoken of in Revelation 13, the Antichrist.
Keep that three-and-a-half years (or 42 months) in mind as I read a portion of it from
Revelation 13:5. “The beast [Antichrist] was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.”
Verse 7 says, “He was given power to make war against the saints to conquer them.”
Jesus is going to come to rapture those of us who are born again.
Arising out of the turmoil following that event, a one-world government will be established.
It will originate from the old Roman Empire area, the European community, which is roughly ten nations.
This time of political turbulence is often called the Seven-Year Tribulation.
I do not know if the Antichrist is actually alive today, but I do know this 1 John 4:3 says, “The spirit of antichrist ...even now already is in the world.”
III. THE RETURN OF JESUS AND HIS KINGDOM (13-14, 26-27)
Daniel 7:13. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
That is also reported in verses 26 and 27, the interpretation.
“But the court will sit, and his power [that’s the little horn, the antichrist] will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints [that’s us when we reign with Christ on the earth for 1,000 years], the people of the Most High. His Kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.”
Standing on this side of the New Testament, who do you think the son of man is? It’s Jesus!
Daniel 7 says the Son of Man will return in the clouds and will defeat the Antichrist.
- THE FINAL JUDGEMENT (9-10)
verse 9. “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.”
This description of God sounds exactly like what the Apostle John saw in Revelation 1:14, “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.”
Keep reading in Daniel 7:10 to see what’s happening in this vision: “A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him [probably angels]; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court [or literally “judgement”] was seated, and the books were opened.”
This is a vision of the Final Judgement linked to Revelation 20:11-15. “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books…If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire”
- Books of Works
Matthew 12:36, “But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”
- The Bible
John 12:48 Jesus said, “There is a judge for the one who rejects me–the very words which I have spoken will condemn him at the last day.”
- The Book of Life
“Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven... Depart from me, I never knew you.” (From Matthew 7:21ff)
I fall to my knees and say, “Okay, I was wrong. I thought religion was enough. Now I confess that Jesus is Lord!”
But by then it’s too late, for the Bible says, “One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
- Aug 5, 2018Daniel in the Den of Lions Sermon 8-5-18
Daniel in the Den of Lions Sermon 8-5-18"Daniel in the Den of Lions Sermon 8-5-18".
- Jul 22, 2018Spitting in the Face of God Sermon
Spitting in the Face of God Sermon
SPITTING IN THE FACE OF GOD
Daniel 5
Daniel 5:1-9. “King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lamp stand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.’ [His father, Nabonidus was number one, he was only number two, so number three was as good as he could offer]. Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.”
Obviously, the king consumed too much of his wine and his judgement was clouded. He did a stupid thing.
He said, “Remember those golden goblets King Nebuchadnezzar took from the Hebrew Temple? They are over in the museum. Go get ‘em and let’s drink out of ‘em. We’ll show that puny Hebrew God who is in charge around here.”
Belshazzar was really spitting in God’s face.
Everyone there recognized something supernatural was happening. It was God crashing the king’s party to say....THIS PARTY IS OVER!
Without Jesus: You may party hard—but judgement is near!
Daniel 5:10-28. “The queen [this is not one of Belshazzar’s wives. This is who we would call the “Queen Mother.” She is probably one of the daughters of Nebuchadnezzar, perhaps one of the wives of Nabonidus. When she speaks, everyone listens] hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. ‘O king, live forever!’ she said. ‘Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father–your father the king, I say–appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.’
[So he calls him and tries to bribe him, verse 16]
Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered the king, ‘You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.’”
Daniel was not impressed with Belshazzar’s offer. The gifts and calling of God are not for sale at any price.
Daniel was faithful to preach the Word of the Lord, even though it was an unpopular message.
He didn’t preach what the king wanted to hear. He preached what the king needed to hear.
Can you read the writing on the wall?
John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only son.”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Don’t mess with God!
- Jul 15, 2018Conversion Sermon 7-15-18
Conversion Sermon 7-15-18"Conversion Sermon 7-15-18"
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree
4 [a]King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:
May you prosper greatly!
2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3 How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6 So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers[b] and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. 8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)
9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10 These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger,[c] coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.
“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times[d] pass by for him.
17 “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’
18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
19 Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! 20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
23 “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
24 “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”
The Dream Is Fulfilled
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
31 Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
- Jul 8, 2018Charmed But Not Changed Sermon
Charmed But Not Changed Sermon
Charmed but Not Changed
How to Stay Cool When it’s SO HOT!
- THEY WOULDN’T BOW (1-6, 12): THAT’S DEVOTION
Let’s begin reading in verse 1-6:
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials (VIP’s) to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the…[VIP’s] assembled for the dedication of the image the King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
Then the herald proclaimed, ‘This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language; As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.’”
So the band started to play and everybody fell down to worship this image–all except three young men. Skip down to verse 12. Some of the advisors are tattle tales and they report to the king.
Verse 12, “There are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon–Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego–who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Let’s think about that statue for a moment. Notice three things about it. First, it was an effort to:
- Glorify Self
- Deify Man
- Falsify Worship
- THEY WOULDN’T BEND! (15-17): THAT’S DETERMINATION
“Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made good. [Second chance] But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?’
Good question. Let’s see how these three boys replied to the most powerful man in the world
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter (we don’t need to think about what to say, our minds are made up beforehand). If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
- FAULTY FAITH: “I’ll trust God IF He delivers me”
- REAL FAITH: “Even if I die: I’ll trust God”
Let’s read verses 19 –27:
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace was so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” 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.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the [VIP’s] crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”
III. THEY WOULDN’T BURN! (19-27): THAT’S DELIVERANCE
FOUR LIFE LESSONS LEARNED IN THE FURNACE
1) PERSECUTION: Facing the fire deepens your commitment
2) PERSEVERANCE: Don’t give in to peer pressure
I Peter 2:20 says, “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.”
3) PRESENCE: Jesus will be with you in the fire
(Isaiah 43: 2-3), “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Next verse, “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.”
4) PURIFICATION: God uses the fire to purify you
(Malachi 3:3) “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites [priests] and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.”
- Jul 1, 2018Independence Day Declared Through Prophesy Sermon
Independence Day Declared Through Prophesy Sermon"Independence Day Declared Through Prophesy Sermon".
BE DIFFERENT
- Jul 10, 2018Mother’s Day 2018 Sermon
Mother’s Day 2018 Sermon"Mother's Day 2018 Sermon".
- May 27, 2018Memorial Day Sermon 5-27-18
Memorial Day Sermon 5-27-18"Memorial Day Sermon 5-27-18".
- May 20, 2018Be a Different Graduate Sermon
Be a Different Graduate Sermon"Be a Different Graduate Sermon".
- May 6, 2018Be Different- Senior Adult Sermon 2018
Be Different- Senior Adult Sermon 2018"Be Different- Senior Adult Sermon 2018".
- Apr 29, 2018Be Different- Make a Difference Sermon
Be Different- Make a Difference Sermon"Be Different- Make a Difference Sermon".
- Apr 22, 2018Be a Different Servant Sermon
Be a Different Servant Sermon
Be Different Servant
A cartoon showed a picture of a woman lying on her bed sick, obviously in misery. In the sink were stacked piles of dirty dishes. A huge basket of clothes to be ironed sat nearby. Two dirty children were fighting in one corner, and in the other a cat sat licking spilled milk. A smiling woman stood in the doorway and the caption had her saying, “Well, Florence, if there is anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
What a picture of the local church! Pastors and church staff are overwhelmed with work. More needy people cry out for their attention than they have time for. Sunday school and other youth programs lack workers. Visitors need a personal call. New people need someone to make them feel welcomed. The missions program needs dedicated workers to reach out to the lost of our community. Facilities need maintenance and improvements. Even some who are involved seem to be committed only when it’s convenient. And yet people often say, “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know!”
Have you ever just said something because you were “supposed to” but deep down inside you were hoping that no one would take you up on the offer?
Romans 12:1-2 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
So often when it comes to service everyone begins to think, “Great what are they gonna ask me to do now?”
The New Sermon series is entitled BE DIFFERENT. There is something that happens when Jesus moves in, though not automatic, the more you walk with Him you begin to see others more important than yourself. You begin to see the gospel and your “sacrifice” “service” as a proper act of worship.
This leads to a transformed life. A different life.
“The ministry of serving may be as public as preaching or teaching, but more often it will be as isolated as nursery duty.
It may be as visible as singing a solo, but usually it will be as unnoticed as operating the sound equipment to amplify the solo.
Serving may be as appreciated as a good testimony in a worship service, but typically it’s as thankless as washing dishes after a church social.
Most service, even that which seems the most glamorous, is like an iceberg. Only the eye of God ever sees the larger, hidden part.” – Whitney
Christ Expects Us To Serve
To serve we must be clean.
Hebrews 9:13-15 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds[f] so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
Never try to hide in ministry…… In order to serve you must be close and clean. “Holy and Pleasing” is the only service God sees and accepts.
When you serve in order to hide under the title of ministry you are only fooling yourself, making yourself feel good……. But God sees through the masquerade.
To serve we must be cheerful
Psalm 100:2 (NIV) 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.[1]
Nobody will want the God you claim if the Goods you produce are Rotten.
It not only is a turn off but it is false advertizing. Jesus put a new song in your mouth, stop singing the old one. Saved People Serve People.
I can’t speak for you but there are times in my life that I need to be Motivated. There are many motivators in life. I want us this morning to see what Gods word says about why we should be motivatied to BE DIFFERENT.
Motivated by Obedience
Deuteronomy 13:4 (NIV) 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. [2]
We should serve the Lord because we want to. We should want to be obedient to his commands, even though that is difficult at times.
Motivated by Gratitude
1 Samuel 12:24 (NIV) 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. [3]
Anytime that we begin to feel as if serving Christ is difficult, just think of where you would be if it was not for his sacrifice.
“Suppose God put ten million dollars in your back account every morning for the rest of your life, but didn’t save you?
Suppose he gave you the most beautiful body and face of anyone who ever lived, a body that never aged for a thousand years, but then at death shut you out of Heaven and into hell for eternity?
What has God ever given anyone that could compare with the salvation He has given to you as a believer?– Whitney
BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE HAS MADE YOU DIFFERENT
Motivated by Gladness
Psalm 100:2 (NIV) 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. [4]
Have you ever served the Lord or worshiped the Lord because you felt like you had to, or you kinda did it because you felt like that’s what you were supposed to do?
Again God looks at the heart, not at the outside expressions. To BE DIFFERENT serving God is not a burden, it’s a privilege.
Motivated by Humility
In John 13:12-16 we see our Savior washing the disciples feet, not because he had to, but because he was showing them that it was not about fame and power but it was about having a servants heart.
I’m smart enough to know that I’m not the greatest communicator, or pastor that you guys have ever met, I’m just humbled to be able to Serve Jesus and watch Him use me through all my weaknesses. You see He created me, He knows me, and He can do with me what he chooses.
Anybody in the same boat as me this morning? You are just humbled at the thought that Jesus lets you be on His team.
Motivated by Love
Galatians 5:13 (NIV) 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. [5]
There is no better fuel or service that burns longer and provides more energy than love.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.[6]
Service comes from the Lord, for the Lord. It might be directed to others but it is so that He might be praised, not us.
If you simply Go through the motions of what you should do, rather than it being a response of what you Want to do, this morning have this conversation with HOLY GOD……
- Have you Made me a New Creation?
- Am I the Hold up?
- Will you make me different this morning?
Allow Him To Make You Different
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
[5] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
[6] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
COUNTDOWN TO THE CROSS
EASTER 2018
John 20
John 20:1-2
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
John 20:10-18
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ “ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Three Questions This Easter:
- “Why are you crying?” (verse 15)
“Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
- “Who/what are you looking for?” (verse 15 )
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12
- Will you fall before Jesus as your Lord? (verse 18)
“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped Him.” Matthew 28:8-9
“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” John 20:26-28
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
- Apr 1, 2018Easter Sunday 4-1-18
Easter Sunday 4-1-18
EASTER 2018
John 20
John 20:1-2
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
John 20:10-18
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ “ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Three Questions This Easter:
- “Why are you crying?” (verse 15)
“Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
- “Who/what are you looking for?” (verse 15 )
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12
- Will you fall before Jesus as your Lord? (verse 18)
“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped Him.” Matthew 28:8-9
“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” John 20:26-28
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
- Mar 25, 2018Looking Through the Palms to the Cross 3-25-18
Looking Through the Palms to the Cross 3-25-18
Looking Through the Palms to the Cross
TEXT: John 19:25-27; Matthew 27:40-42
Today we as Christians observe what we call "Palm Sunday" when, on that day nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus made what is called His "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem.
The people were so excited in welcoming Him that crowds lined the streets, throwing flowers, & spreading their cloaks on the road as a carpet for Him. And like many other kings they welcomed Him by cutting palm branches & waved them in the air before Him.
The Pharisees who had been plotting against Jesus cried out in despair, "Look how the whole world has gone after Him!" (John 12:19)
But we all know how quickly things can change. In just a few days the shouts of "Hosanna!" turned into "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"
Luke 19:28-40 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30?Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”34They replied, “The Lord needs it.”35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:38?Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”40?I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Everything Is Not Always What It Seems
With Jesus’ instructions to the disciples to go and find the colt in the village, Jesus seems to be doing exactly what his disciples expect him to do — take charge, make a bold statement, enter Jerusalem as the Messiah that he is.
The crowds in Jerusalem have now grown to several hundred thousand, as they prepare for The Feast of Passover.
The Passover Feast is a time of remembering how God delivered the nation from the slavery of Egypt.
And so when Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on the first day of Passover week, the crowds are looking for someone to rally around, someone to carry the banner of freedom for the Jewish people.
But Jesus is not traveling the road to revolution; he is traveling the countdown to the cross.
When You Look Through The Palms, The Cross Separates Disciples From Admirers
Of course, not even the disciples comprehend that Jesus is heading toward his death by the end of the week. Every time Jesus mentions the possibility that he will be mistreated, the disciples protest that he is even speaking of such a thing. Each vows to defend and stay with Jesus regardless of the outcome.
Where are you in your commitment from the day of salvation? Do You Still vow to defend Jesus regardless of the outcome?
And so as Jesus rides into Jerusalem that Sunday?? morning, the disciples are joyous, the crowd is energized, and shouts of “Hosanna” ring out as he rides slowly and carefully through the crowds.
These are the crowds longing for freedom, the residents of Jerusalem, and Jews from all over the Mediterranean area who have arrived for the Passover, yearning for freedom.
They despise the presence of Roman centurions in their city, the City of David. They are revolted that Antonio’s Fortress, built by their former King Herod the Great, is attached to the north wall of the Temple compound and houses the Roman garrison.
So, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem that morning, the crowds that sing and shout and follow him are admirers. They like that Jesus stands up to their own corrupt political leaders and religious figures.
They are looking for someone to rescue them from their situation. But Jesus was looking to not change the situation but change eternity.
What the crowds saw in Jesus was the son of Joseph, not the Son of God. They saw him as a revolutionary, not as Redeemer. They wanted another Maccabee, not a new Messiah. In short, they admired Jesus because they thought he was the answer to all their problems.
When Clarence Jordan founded Koinonia Farms in Americus, Georgia in the mid-1950s, he founded an interracial community that he thought was an authentic expression of the Kingdom of God. It was an experiment in both agriculture and the Gospel, in which whites and blacks worked side-by-side, tilling the fields, harvesting the crops, and sharing life together.
Not everyone in southwest Georgia 60 years ago shared Clarence Jordan’s vision of the Kingdom of God. And, so Koinonia Farms attracted trouble. The farm was shot at by passing cars. Signs and buildings were vandalized. Crosses were burned and Koinonia community members were beaten. Merchants refused to sell supplies to the farm, and eventually, legal troubles mounted for the struggling experiment in Christian love.
Clarence Jordan approached his brother, Robert Jordan, a local Georgia attorney, for help with their legal problems. Robert was an up-and-coming young attorney with political ambitions of his own. He would later serve as a Georgia state senator, and as a Justice on the Georgia State Supreme Court.
David Augsburger in his book, Dissident Discipleship, captures the scene as the two brothers talked.
Robert had declined to represent Koinonia Farms with this explanation:
Bob: “Clarence, I can’t do that. You know my political aspirations. Why if I represented you, I might lose my job, my house, everything I’ve got.”
Clarence: “We might lose everything, too, Bob.”
Bob: “It’s different for you.”
Clarence: “Why is it different? I remember, it seems to me, that you and I joined the church the same Sunday as boys. I expect when we came forward the preacher asked me about the same question he did you. He asked me, ‘Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ What did you say?”
Bob: “I follow Jesus, Clarence, up to a point.”
Clarence: “Could that point by any chance be — the cross?”
Bob: “That’s right. I follow him to the cross, but not on the cross. I’m not getting myself crucified.”
Clarence: “Then I don’t believe you’re a disciple. You’re an admirer of Jesus, but not a disciple of his. I think you ought to go back to that church you belong to, and tell them you’re an admirer not a disciple.”
Bob: “Well now, if everyone who felt like I do did that, we wouldn’t have a church, would we?”
Clarence: “The question is, do you have a church?”
It’s not a surprise that by the end of the week, those who admired Jesus on Sunday were shouting “Crucify him!” on Friday.
Why would Jesus endure the cross knowing all the sacrifice it would take?
Those who had seen his power wondered why he seemed powerless at his greatest need. Those who saw his intelligence wondered how someone so smart could miscalculate so badly.
Both sides missed what Jesus and his Father were saying: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone, but if it dies, it produces many” (John 12:24). Not just his words, his very life is a parable.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Why The Cross?
- His Character: He had no sin.
Paul begins with the fact that Christ “had no sin. There was no sin outwardly because there was no sin inwardly.
This is crucial because if Christ had sinned, he could not be our Savior. A sinner could not pay for the sins of another sinner.
Pilate examined him, he declared, “I find no fault in him” (John 19:4 KJV).
When Herod and the Jewish leaders put him on trial, they could find no witnesses against him so they rounded up false witnesses who lied under oath (Matthew 26:59-60).
When Christ hung on the Cross, the Roman centurion cried out, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).
His Cost: He became sin for us.
- He took our Place — “For us”
When Christ died on the Cross, he took my place–and he took yours. He died in the place of Us, guilty sinners. Every hit of the hammer on the nails were intended for you. The crown of thorns that was smashed on his brow was intended for you, the spear should have pierced your side, every defaming word and spit to the face was meant for you. It should have been you hanging on a tree–but it wasn’t. It was Jesus dying in your place.
- He took our Penalty–"He became sin”
On the cross Jesus, the sinless savior, became sin. He paid the price we owed to God, the debt we could never pay. His death satisfied God’s righteous judgment that sin must always be punished.
From the world’s point of view, we cannot understand how one man could die in the place of another, bearing his penalty, and thus providing him a right standing with God.
I get it, it doesn’t make sense. The issue is not does it make sense but, the issue is whether it is true and do you believe it?
III. His Contribution: We might become the righteousness of God.
His Gift helps us become the righteousness of God. We all want to be made right with God, to have our record cleared, to know that all is well between us and our Heavenly Father.
Jesus Gives us a Great Exchange:He was convicted that we might be found blameless.
He placed our sin on his back that we might be set free.
He died that we might live.
He suffered that we might be redeemed.
He was made sin that we might be made righteous.“Once you’ve been to the Cross, everything changes.” Stumbling blocks and foolishness turn into power and wisdom.
The Cross changes everything. If sin is pursuing you, then perhaps the event that will change everything for you is for you to look THROUGH the Palms TO the Cross
If nothing is changing, maybe you haven’t been to the Cross.
- Mar 19, 2018The Facts Demand a Retrial 3-18-18
The Facts Demand a Retrial 3-18-18
THE FACTS DEMAND A RETRIAL
the retrial of Jesus
The more I prepare my heart for Easter 2018 the more the facts demand a retrial!
- An innocent man falsely accused
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7
- A guilty man graciously excused
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
- A strong man shamefully abused
“There were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” Isaiah 52:14
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3
What’s Your Verdict?
“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Matthew 27:22
- Liar?
- Lunatic?
- Legend?
- Lord?
Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” John 8:24
- Mar 11, 2018A Crushing Challenge 3-11-18
A Crushing Challenge 3-11-18
A CRUSHING CHALLENGE...GETHSEMANE
What crushing challenge are you facing?
Is it your marriage? Your health? Your job? A temptation? You name it.
Mark 14:32-42
“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.’ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Simon,’ he said to Peter, ‘Are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.’
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
Returning the third time, he said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’”
- JESUS WAS CRUSHED AS AN OLIVE IN A PRESS THE NIGHT BEFORE THE CROSS
Gethsemane in the Aramaic language means “olive oil press”
- JESUS CRINGED AT THE CUP HE FACED
- A cup of isolation
- A cup of physical pain
- A cup of sinful shame
III. JESUS FOUND PEACE BY SURRENDERING TO GOD
What to do when you face a crushing experience:
(1) Pray
(2) Surrender your will to God
(3) Trust God’s perfect plan
UNDER THE RADAR
(Psalm 51)
David tells us how sin makes you feel:
Dirty- Sin makes us feel stained. David needed something no religion, ritual, or determination could do. Only God can do this type of cleansing.
Deaf- David had become deaf to the voice of the Lord. (It’s not someone else’s fault that you are deaf to God) His soft heart and spiritual tenderness toward the Lord had been overruled by his sin
Disgraced - Sin shames us. When sin is present in your life and its exposed, you feel ashamed to show your face.
Destitute - David needed a heart only God could give. He knew that his inner person, the heart, was the source of his trouble, and he was incapable of changing it on his own. David needed the Creator to create a miracle on his behalf.
Distant- David had known the Lord’s Special touch, His Anointing. David was not dealing with salvation but with God’s spiritual wisdom and hand of guidance. Now it all felt so far away.
David did this...to himself.
If you are there tonight, listen because there is hope. There is a way to restoration, and freedom.
David shows us that we don’t have to believe that lie. We all mess up at times, but God will forgive us and use us again. David’s life shows us:
Three Ways to Conquer Our Iniquity.
- Come Completely Clean
Psalm 51:2-6 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Sin shuts the lips, but grace opens the lips to praise. Have you ever just not felt like singing? Often the reason is from the guilt of sin. I have never met someone who is right with Christ and fails to worship him.
- David acknowledged that God was the only One who could take away his sin.
(vs.2) “Wash me...and cleanse me from my sin.”
- David didn’t try to hide his sin any longer.
(vs.3) “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”
- David admitted that he deserved God’s discipline.
(vs.4) “...I have... done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified...when You judge.”
- David realized he had been a sinner from birth.
(vs.5) “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.”
- God already knows everything we’ve said, thought and done. He simply wants us to be honest about it.
(vs.6) “...You desire truth in the innermost being...”
- Call Christ For Help
Psalm 51:7 Purify me...and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Once David was honest enough to admit his sin, he was also humble enough to know that God was his only hope to be clean!?Look how God blesses the humble:
- God listens to the humble:
Psalm 10:17 O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear.
- God leads the humble:
Psalm 25:9 He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.
- God looks toward the humble:
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of?the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
- God lifts the humble:
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.
- Come Colliding Back
Psalm 51:8-12 Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones, which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.
The only way to have peace, joy and true happiness as a Christian is to be right with God.
(vs.8) “Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice.”
It is such a beautiful collision when we submit our lives to Christ. As the crash of Sin takes you down the Collision of Repentance and Grace restores you.
Ask God to strengthen you so you don’t mess up in that area again. Become unwavering.
(vs.10) “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
God will never abandon you just because you mess up.
(vs.11-12) “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
Notice that David didn’t say, “Restore to me Your salvation.” He said, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” A true believer cannot lose their salvation.
So what about the people who claim to be saved but just walk away from God and the church? The Apostle John described them this way:
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
When a person can just walk away from God with no shame or remorse; they prove they were never really saved to begin with.
When David messed up with God, he realized the way back to Him was by being honest, humble and in a hurry to get things right with Him! Verse 13 shows how God used David again when he did this:
Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.
David destroyed so much when he sinned, but when he crashed back into the Lord and served him faithfully God placed David on His Radar used him in Mighty Ways.
- Feb 18, 2018Conquering the Iniquity 2-18-18
Conquering the Iniquity 2-18-18Conquering The Iniquity 2-18-18
(Psalm 51)
I have met many Christians who love to tell how God used them in the past. When I ask them what God is doing in their life right now, they drop their head and tell me regretfully about something they’ve said or done. They simply feel like God will never use them again.David tells us how sin makes you feel:
Dirty- Sin makes us feel stained. David needed something no religion, ritual, or determination could do. Only God can do this type of cleansing.
Deaf- David had become deaf to the voice of the Lord. (It’s not someone else’s fault that you are deaf to God) His soft heart and spiritual tenderness toward the Lord had been overruled by his sin
Disgraced - Sin shames us. When sin is present in your life and its exposed, you feel ashamed to show your face.
Destitute - David needed a heart only God could give. He knew that his inner person, the heart, was the source of his trouble, and he was incapable of changing it on his own. David needed the Creator to create a miracle on his behalf.
Distant- David had known the Lord’s Special touch, His Anointing. David was not dealing with salvation but with God’s spiritual wisdom and hand of guidance. Now it all felt so far away.
David did this...to himself.
If you are there tonight, listen because there is hope. There is a way to restoration, and freedom.
David shows us that we don’t have to believe that lie. We all mess up at times, but God will forgive us and use us again. David’s life shows us:
Three Ways to Conquer Our Iniquity.
- Come Completely Clean
Psalm 51:2-6 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Sin shuts the lips, but grace opens the lips to praise. Have you ever just not felt like singing? Often the reason is from the guilt of sin. I have never met someone who is right with Christ and fails to worship him.
- David acknowledged that God was the only One who could take away his sin.
(vs.2) “Wash me...and cleanse me from my sin.”
- David didn’t try to hide his sin any longer.
(vs.3) “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”
- David admitted that he deserved God’s discipline.
(vs.4) “...I have... done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified...when You judge.”
- David realized he had been a sinner from birth.
(vs.5) “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.”
- God already knows everything we’ve said, thought and done. He simply wants us to be honest about it.
(vs.6) “...You desire truth in the innermost being...”
- Call Christ For Help
Psalm 51:7 Purify me...and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Once David was honest enough to admit his sin, he was also humble enough to know that God was his only hope to be clean!?Look how God blesses the humble:
- God listens to the humble:
Psalm 10:17 O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear.
- God leads the humble:
Psalm 25:9 He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.
- God looks toward the humble:
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of?the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
- God lifts the humble:
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.
- Come Colliding Back
Psalm 51:8-12 Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones, which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.
The only way to have peace, joy and true happiness as a Christian is to be right with God.
(vs.8) “Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice.”
It is such a beautiful collision when we submit our lives to Christ. As the crash of Sin takes you down the Collision of Repentance and Grace restores you.
Ask God to strengthen you so you don’t mess up in that area again. Become unwavering.
(vs.10) “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
God will never abandon you just because you mess up.
(vs.11-12) “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
Notice that David didn’t say, “Restore to me Your salvation.” He said, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” A true believer cannot lose their salvation.
So what about the people who claim to be saved but just walk away from God and the church? The Apostle John described them this way:
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
When a person can just walk away from God with no shame or remorse; they prove they were never really saved to begin with.
When David messed up with God, he realized the way back to Him was by being honest, humble and in a hurry to get things right with Him! Verse 13 shows how God used David again when he did this:
Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.
David destroyed so much when he sinned, but when he crashed back into the Lord and served him faithfully God placed David on His Radar used him in Mighty Ways.
- Feb 11, 2018The Confrontation Implored 2-11-18
The Confrontation Implored 2-11-18THE CONFRONTATION IMPLORED 2-11-18
GUILTY AS CHARGED
2 SAM 12:1-25
Often, punishment comes not because of the offence but to stop the offence from being repeated. HUGE LESSON!!!!
“When someone gets something for nothing, someone else gets nothing for something.”
OUR SIN ALWAYS COMES AT A HIGH COST FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
David slipped and failed big time when he allowed success to get to his head.
He didn’t even resemble his former self.
The shepherd boy, the prayer warrior, and the fearless leader had given way to a monster, a whormonger, and a murderer.
His moral courage, able leadership and godly principles were gone, and he paid dearly for failing to uphold truth, justice, and mercy.
- VICTIMS MAY BE SILENT BUT GOD BREAKS THE SILENCE
12:1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
After Davids sin everything changed... truth was compromised, rumors were circulating, heads were shaking, but for many months, no one dared to confront the king, no one pulled him aside, and questioned his defiance of God’s commandments, his decision to execute Uriah, or his determination to marry Bathsheba,
until Nathan’s unexpected visit.
As Nathan tells this story to David; verse 5 records David’s reaction.
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
- WE MAY HAVE SECRETS, BUT GOD EXPOSES WHATS REALLY IN OUR HEART
David judged himself. David dug his own grave, and hanged himself on his own rope when he took the words right out of Nathan’s mouth and said, “The man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity” (vs 5-6).
David was rebuked had no grace or compassion.
Nathan indirectly accused David of having no sympathy, sorrow, or shame in his heart.
David felt nothing.
He had developed a heart of a stone, the skin of an ox, and the venom of a snake.
***Uriah died of premeditated murder, far from home, and without a fight, a burial, or a clue.
Through it all, he did not feel a thing, blink an eye, or lose any sleep.
David thought only of himself.
He thought that people would forget eventually, that the “thing” was already done, and that Uriah was collateral damage.
God couldn’t stand David’s act.
When David was told this story he blew up!
At the moment when David blew his top, he was exposed as the world’s biggest hypocrite, playing God with much drama...an Oscar winning performance.
- GOD IS STERN IN JUDGMENT BUT FAST TO OFFER FORGIVENESS
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the LORD says: ’Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’“ 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”
People may treat David with kid’s gloves and regard his behavior as child’s play or kingly perks; but not God.
God slapped David with the worst possible charge
To “despise the word of the Lord.” Worse than Murder or Adultery
God wasn’t going to let David get away with what he did.
He charged David with despising the Lord’s word (v 9).
David’s sin was against Uriah and Bathsheba, but ultimately his actions and attitude were nothing short of despising the Lord and His word.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT SIN IS...
a slap to and a spit in the face of God, and a slur to and a stain to the name of God, a scandal and a shock among God’s people.
David’s sin was intentional, willful, and defiant and he should be executed!
GOD didn’t sentence David to death, He gave him what was worse than experiencing his own death, which was to see some of his loved ones suffer and die.
Deceit, denial and destruction would consume, characterize, and collapse the king, his children, and his throne.
History repeated itself, lie would beget lies, and children imitated parents.
David deserved death, but the Lord had mercy on him.
Divine judgment is redemptive, not repulsive; it is compassionate, not cruel; and it is unpleasant, but not unbearable.
It is not nice, but it is not ugly.
God was more interested to make David a better person and king than a powerful or popular person and king.
God does not care if you are rich or poor, for your track record and past history, or for your superiority or success in people’s eyes.
He observes, searches and judges the heart.
God disciplines us, not demeans us. Man’s discipline can be vindictive. Man’s judgment may be condemning and destructive, but
God’s judgment is corrective and constructive.
- Feb 4, 2018The Crashes Impact 2-4-18 AM
The Crashes Impact 2-4-18 AM
THE CRASH’S IMPACT
There is Pleasure in Sin, then what?
2 Samuel 11
David’s nose dive and ultimate Crash began when he had nothing better to do with his time. At the time when kings were off to war, David was hanging out.
The king and his men’s struggles were so different.
The same two struggles are represented here today.
His men’s struggle was whether they could get out alive...
David’s struggle was whether he should get out of bed...
The soldiers wondered how long they could go on fighting...
The king wondered how long he could go on sleeping...
The men fought against fierce defenders
The king flirted with beautiful women.
Why did David nose dive when he was in his prime and at his peak?
- LOSING YOUR SELF-CONTROL LEADS TO DISTORTED PERCEPTION
11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanliness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
Lust... a... restless heart, untamed passions, and loose morals.
“lust with attraction; it turns quickly to dissatisfaction; it results in fixation.”
Lust is “to use another person for my excitement.”
David’s glance became a gaze, his gaze became a gamble.
David staked and risked all he had on a short fling, a sexual encounter, or a one-night stand with a married woman. He went up, looked down, and sought out.
He already had 6 wives and multiple concubines but lust desires more.
Bathsheba was attractive, cute, striking, shapely and stunning, but her beauty was in the eye of the beholder, while Abigail was truly the fairest of her era. If that was not enough, David could summon any sweet young thing from near and far to be his wife or concubine.
God gave David everything and more except one, because Bathsheba was married to Uriah.
David’s disobedience was compared to man’s disobedience in the garden when he picked from the one forbidden tree. In fact, the only other time the two words for Bathsheba’s beauty – “good” and “looking” – appear together in the Bible matched the description of the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God had made that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (Gen 2:9)
Stagnation, boredom, and listlessness were dangerous to David.
David should be somewhere else, somewhere far, somewhere needed.
The battlefield was not as dangerous as the palace, the roof, or the bed.
It’s been said, “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.”
David forcibly took Bathsheba although she was no angel or blameless herself.
- LOSING YOUR SANITY LEADS TO DEVIOUS PRACTICES
6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, “Uriah did not go home,” he asked him, “Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
David was blinded in his eyes, cruel in his heart and ruthless in his actions to cover his tracks.
Uriah’s passion was for king and country, but David’s passion was for women and sex.
David had lost his mind, head, and marbles.
He was cold, calculated, and cunning.
David slept with another man’s wife (v 4), but Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants (v 9), turned down sleeping or lying with his wife (v 11) in such times, and slept on his mat among his master’s servants (v 13).
Finally comes the crash. The crash always comes.
- LOSING YOUR SOUL LEADS TO DUE PUNISHMENT
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ’Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ’Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’“ 22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” 25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ’Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. (2 Sam 11:1-27)
True Love is a tricky emotion!
Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) said, “Lord, before I commit a sin, it seems to me so shallow that I may wade through it dry-shod from any guiltiness; but when I have committed it, it often seems so deep that I cannot escape without drowning.”
The last sentence of the chapter and the first word of the sentence in Hebrew sought justice for Uriah: “But evil the thing David had done in the eyes of the Lord.”
Oliver Stone observed at the height of the O.J trial: “The line between thinking murder and doing murder isn’t that major.” (8/2/94)
Do not satisfy your passions, silence your conscience, or sell your soul.
1 John 2:16 “For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world,”
James 1:13-14 says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
God is not looking for perfection in a man, but He cannot tolerate pretension and perversion.
- Jan 28, 2018The Caution Ignored 1-28-18 AM
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The Caution Ignored
In the world that we live in we often look at sin as just another action that “just happens.” I have learned in my life that Sin never just happens but that God in his Grace and Mercy gives you and I warning signs. Warning signs are great if we obey them, but they are mere happenings when we don’t.David had many warnings before he crashed into sin. You and I will always have many warnings before we find ourselves in the rubble.We are so accustomed to sin in this world that we are desensitized to it. We ought to be shocked and horrified, but the sins of this world are just too common.Before we begin to look at the story of David spiraling out of control, it would be wise for us to go ahead and make this statement, “I too am capable of committing the sins of David, or ones just as evil.” As long as we know that we are one step away from committing these sins we will be cautious of where we step.Sin often brings along a certain atmosphere with it. There are certain things in life that caution us for problems in the future. When we neglect certain things, it usually comes back to bite us.
I want to set up David Ignoring the Warning signs by reading Proverbs 7:
Proverbs 7:6–27 (NLT) 6 While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, 7 I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense. 8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house. 9 It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell. 10 The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. 11 She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home. 12 She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner. 13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said, 14 “I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. 15 You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! 16 My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen. 17 I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses, 19 for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. 20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month.” 21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. 22 He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, 23 awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life. 24 So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. 25 Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path. 26 For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims. 27 Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.
As we read this story everyone wants to run after the woman and say how could she do that to that young man? But the reality is that the young man blew it long before the woman came out. He began to make unwise choices early on.
He Ignored the many Cautions that were present.
I like to sum up Proverbs 7 with just 4 words, “ Don’t Even Go There.”
3 WARNINGS DAVID IGNORES
1st WARNING: HUMBLE YOURSELF
James 4:10 (NKJV) 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
David was not a teenager anymore. He had begun to have success as the king. He had won many battles and he was self-confident, after enjoying victories and prosperity[1]
Note: The moment you think you have full control over sin is the moment you will begin to take your guard down.
Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Make sure you have people who love you enough to hold you accountable and keep you humble. Because if we just listen to our heart it will puff us up to think that we deserve to have what we want.
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
David began to think that he could have and do what he wanted to do with no regard to Holy God who placed him in the position of prominence.
2nd WARNING: HELP IN BATTLE
In a time of war, a solider was not to indulge himself in the normal comforts of life, including sexual relations with his wife, (yet alone someone else’s wife.)
2 Samuel 11:1 (NLT) In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Most of the time we never try and keep sin to where it affects only us. We often try and include someone else. David tried to persuade Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba while the battle was still going on.
2 Samuel 11:7–11 (NLT) 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.”David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. 10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?” 11 Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
In the first part of verse 7 David is simply diverting attention away from the real matter. He asks all about the leadership, the war, and his people but in reality he simply wants Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba.
When people are living in open sin, they will often divert attention to everything other than the real issue that is at hand.
By David not going to the battlefield with his men, it gave room for idle time.
3rd WARNING: IDLE HANDS HURT
In this idle time David let his mind wonder, which opened the workshop up to devise a sinful plan.
Proverbs 16:27-29L (TLB) 27 Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.28 An evil man sows strife; gossip separates the best of friends.29 Wickedness loves company—and leads others into sin.
2 Samuel 11:2 (ESV) 2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
It is late afternoon and David has been lounging all day. He finally gets up to take a walk on the roof and something catches his eye. Lets stop right there.
You think that David didn’t know what was about to happen? You see when someone has a relationship with Christ there is no way to escape the convictions from the Spirit.
But when we become idle, we devise plans that suppress the sprit and allow the flesh to take over.
James 1:14–15 (The Message) The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
What Warnings are you ignoring? As the instruments begin to scream “pull up, pull up,” will you simply continue on the path of destruction or will you repent, and listen to the instruments?
You may be flirting with sin right now, but soon that sin will conceive and give birth, and grow into an adult, and will ultimately lead to death.
CULTIVATE SERIES
- Dec 17, 2017Cultivate #6 12-17-17
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- Dec 10, 2017Cultivate #5 12-10-17
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- Dec 3, 2017Cultivate #4 12-3-17
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- Nov 29, 2017Cultivate #3 11-29-17
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- Nov 26, 201711-26-17 Cultivate #2
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- Nov 19, 2017Cultivate #1 11-19-17
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