- Jul 10, 2018Mother’s Day 2018 Sermon
Mother’s Day 2018 Sermon"Mother's Day 2018 Sermon".
- 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".
- May 27, 2018Memorial Day Sermon 5-27-18
Memorial Day Sermon 5-27-18"Memorial Day Sermon 5-27-18".
- Apr 29, 2018Be Different- Make a Difference Sermon
Be Different- Make a Difference Sermon"Be Different- Make a Difference Sermon".
- 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
- 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 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
- 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.
