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Devotional Blog January 25, 2010 One Message – The Gospel of our Salvation! Why are we saved? What is the real Gospel? Does it have to do with our goodness, our good deeds, do we deserve it? Or is there something deeper involved? Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. We are saved ONLY because of God’s great love for us – AMEN! Not because we are good or holy or deserving, we are not – but because of His love! John the Apostle writes in 1 John “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”, and in John he writes that he wants us to know HOW LONG – HOW HIGH – HOW DEEP – and HOW WIDE is the Love of God! Jesus Himself tells us that God so LOVED the world (us) that HE sent His one and only Son – so that whoever believes on Him (Jesus) will be saved. That is THE Gospel – The ONE MESSAGE – God loves us! When we are saved, the Gospel says that God takes us who were DEAD and brings us to LIFE (spiritually – Born again!) Born again is NOT new Flesh, or a new face, hair, or mind – but your spirit comes to life. Remember, we are 3-parts – Our Body, our Mind/Will/Emotions (Soul) and our Spirits. We are born into sin and are spirits are dead because of sin. It is by our spirit that we communicate with God – who is a spirit - and sin cannot exist in His presence. When we are saved, according to the Gospel – our spirit is brought to life, by God and we are able to have a relationship with God! This transaction is a free gift from God – by His grace – it has nothing to do with what we have or have not done! IT IS BY GOD’S GRACE, ALONE, YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED! THAT IS THE GOSPEL – THE ONE MESSAGE! January 19, 2010 Inner Me Paul prays in Ephesians 3:16 that you would be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being. The Apostle Paul is the most important person in the history of Christianity (not including Jesus). His calling was to take the gospel message of Jesus and write it into theology and also to make it practical. In the Book of Ephesians Paul is writing to mature Christians. And in the middle of this letter Paul prays a prayer (Eph. 3:14:21) on what Christians should become. It is a significant prayer. Considering the status of the Apostle Paul … his prayer on what a Christian should be … is a manifesto on spiritual maturity. And central to this prayer is Paul’s request that all of us would be strengthened with power in our inner being. I believe our “inner being” is a specific place. We can go there. Paul also says in Ephesians 2:21 that we are a temple. Where is this temple, this inner being? Can we find it inside of ourselves, perhaps right next to our heart? Can we locate in on Google Maps? To understand the location of our inner being we have to add another dimension to space and time. As Christians we live in space and time and spirit. We live in the spirit by faith not sight. And we know our inner being is maturing by the fruit it produces in our lives. I believe the fruit that Paul summarizes in Ephesians 3, when he mentions a strong/mature inner being, is expressed in three concepts – Biblical power, perspective, and presence. As I mentioned over the weekend in my messages – I am developing the discipline of evening prayers. In my evening prayers I take the day’s thoughts, actions, sins, defeats, victories, and fears into my “inner being” and let them be examined by Biblical power, perspective, and presence. Doing this I find peace instead of fear when I realize God’s power; I find hope instead of despair when I understand the perspective that God will work all things to the good; and I find encouragement by experiencing God’s presence on a daily basis. December 24, 2009 Testimony! Testimony. As Christians, we hear a lot about having a testimony. In other words - being able to tell others what God has done in our lives – that’s our testimony! Your testimony is powerful, because while people can argue all day with you about the Bible, they cannot really argue about your own testimony. When you tell others what God has done – FOR YOU – people listen. I encourage you in 2010 to share your testimony with others! A testimony usually includes what our life was like BEFORE we met Jesus, how we met Jesus (got saved), and how our life has changed SINCE we met Jesus. So, looking back to the things that we did in our past is a big part of our testimony. Many of us are now looking back on 2009, on the things we did, so this is a timely message for all of us. When you look at your past, always remember the promise! Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Yes, God can heal and use even your past, even your failures and sins, for good – if you walk with Him That is part of your testimony, part of God’s promise – part of the miracle of being a child of God! You see, as believers we will know pain, but it will always pass if we are in right relationship with God. God PROMISES that? The joy of knowing Jesus, however, remains forever. For us, the pain passes, but the beauty remains! This is all part of our own Testimony! Praise the Lord! December 13, 2009 Luke Chapter 2 Luke 2:6, “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.” We adopted a cat last summer. It was a big deal for us because of my son’s allergies and asthma. We prayed almost nightly for healing so we could have a cat or dog. Ten years later, his allergies were healed enough for a garage cat. It was such a big deal for us to bring him home from the Koehler’s barn. His name is Ezekiel but we call him Zeek! He has been such a joy. If a pet added to a family can be a big deal, it is mind boggling what a big deal it is for Jesus to be born. The supernatural conception of Jesus in the womb becoming a newborn child placed in the arms of young Mary and Joseph. It is important to realize that God chose to come in the flesh. He loves us that much...to expose himself to earthly infant vulnerabilities. Luke 2:11, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” The physical birth of Jesus points us to spiritual birth. If you ever tried to be perfect, you quickly see how fallen we humans are. Other words for “Christ” are “Savior” and “Messiah.” Jesus comes to earth to deal finally with the human dilemma. His birth and eventually his death bring new life…eternal life to those who believe in him. God loves you so much that he sent his son to be born of a virgin and to die on a tree for you and me. Love like that changes me. It compels me to love God back and to love everyone I meet. How about you? December 6, 2009 Luke, Chapter 1 When you read Luke 1:26-38, you “overhear” the angel Gabriel and the young virgin Mary having what I call An Amazing Conversation. Part of that conversation is really amazing… ’ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph… 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son,…” Mary was a virgin, and she was pledged to be married. To begin with, we see here a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy made hundreds of years earlier by Isaiah: Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Immanuel means God with us – that’s Jesus!) The word virgin here means a young maiden, an unmarried daughter, and by implication one who has had no intimate relations with a man. To be Pledged to be married (espoused, betrothed) is similar to being “engaged”, but it is also quite different. Mary and Joseph were pledged to one another, meaning no alone time, no opportunity for physical temptations. They lived separately with their families and spent their days busily getting ready for life together. Often the man would be building a home, the woman sewing clothes and blankets, etc. Any time together was regulated and monitored by parents so that on the wedding night they would be intimate for first time. Mary was a young girl, maybe as young as early teens (normal in that culture), she was a virgin, and she was preparing to marry Joseph. So what? The “virgin-birth” is a tremendous miracle and a clear sign of the deity of Jesus! Remember, in those days there was no invitro-fertilization or artificial insemination – Mary became pregnant and gave birth to a child TOTALLY MIRACULOUSLY. This never happened before, never since, and never will again. We celebrate this Christmas a one time only miraculous, supernatural, wonderful and true event! Jesus came in the flesh to be with us, and He will come again for us – soon! November 30, 2009 Greed Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5) I have been a pastor for 37 years. In that 37 years I have heard almost everything confessed – adultery, pornography, theft, addiction, betrayal, and many others. But no one has ever confessed to greed. A very high percentage of the teaching of Jesus in the gospels is on giving and stewardship and Jesus warns in Luke 12:15 to avoid all kinds of greed. I believe greed is a hidden sin to most Christians. One reason would be that we consider ourselves rich or poor in comparison to those we live around. And since we live around those of similar socio-economic status – we don’t consider ourselves rich. But when we realize that all Americans are in the top 10% of the world’s population as to wealth – we are all wealthy, and therefore we are susceptible to greed. Another reason that greed is a hidden sin is that you don’t have to be wealthy to be greedy. When we think of greed, someone like Bernie Madoff comes to mind, or the President of Enron, or some Wall Street banker who helped created the current economic crises. We just don’t think that running up credit cards, having mortgages that eliminate the possibility of tithing, or taking expensive vacations have anything to do with greed. The danger of greed is that it too quickly becomes an idol which Paul calls it in Colossians 3:5 listed above. Idols take more than they give. The idol of greed can control unnoticed causing arguments in marriages, bankruptcies, and selfishness. Only Jesus should be worshipped and He can provide all things – the idol of greed can only be cast down when Jesus convicts you and you love Him more than anything else. November 25, 2009 Hidden Idols There are two kinds of idols – surface and hidden. Surface idols are easy to spot, consider drunkenness (at least to those observing it), adultery, pornography, robbing a bank, etc. Hidden idols are not so easy to see. I have never had anyone in 37 years of ministry come into my office to confess greed. While drunkenness, adultery, pornography have been confessed many times. (But no bank robbery!) Let’s think about greed as a hidden idol. A high percentage of the teaching of Jesus was on money. Jesus even said, “Be on guard against all kinds of greed” (Luke 12:15) It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to surmise that many Americans deal with greed – but do they know it? The same could be said for the hidden idols of bitterness, pride, and even sports. I gave three ways that you can discover hidden idols in your life in last week’s sermon. They are …
No one has ever told me that they wake up at night worrying that Jesus will forsake them. I do hear a lot of people discuss losing sleep over money, relational, or even job issues. Healthy concern is okay but when we look to something other than God to give us meaning, it becomes an idol. November 17, 2009 Walking in the Power of God Last weekend Pastor Mark Stafford was here ministering to us about God’s power and how we can walk in it. Mark spoke much on faith, and how we often do not understand faith. Take faith for healing, for example. In the Bible, sometimes people who had no faith, even people who were dead, were miraculously healed by God. Other times people were told they had been healed because they did have faith. So what’s the recipe? There is no recipe! God is God, and He sets the conditions for everything He does. He miraculously heals some, others are healed by doctors, diet, exercise, medicines. Some, seemingly, do not get healed. God is God. One of the great things about God being God is He has no limitations on Him, including no time constraints. God has already seen your future – and if you are His child it is a future of healing, joy, love, peace, prosperity, purpose. Much of this may manifest in this world, all will be manifested in eternity. But you can call on God today – ask to be healed, ask to be delivered, ask to be built up in your faith. For God, these things are done, they are sure, He has already seen them. In Hebrews, the Holy Spirit writes about the great faith of Old Testament saints who believed without seeing, and how we today are receiving what the believed in: Heb 11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. By faith, you are being perfected, healed, and matured in Christ. Let that fill you with joy today! October 18, 2009 The Hour Has Come Jesus said, “The hour has come.” (John 12:23) I think it is important to understand the relational and historical tension behind this comment. Consider this comment in the relational context of Jesus with His disciples. Several times in the ministry of Jesus he said “it isn’t the time” or “my hour hasn’t come.” When Jesus’ mother asked him to help with the lack of wine, He told her, “My time has not yet come.” He told the woman at the well, “A time is coming.” Some people tried to seize him in John 7 but no one was able to lay a hand on Him because, “His time had not yet come.” Now in John 12, when some Greeks approach the disciples of Jesus and ask, “We would like to see Jesus.” Jesus says, “The hour has come.” I bet the apostles paid close attention to what Jesus said next! Consider the historical context in this comment. Galatians 4:4 mentions that Jesus came in the fullness of time. Five thousand years of Biblical history pointed toward this hour – all 39 Old Testament books stand in unified prophecy that a messiah would come. My college philosophy professor once said, “All that could be said about philosophy was said between Plato and Aristotle and everything said since that time has been endless repetition.” Plato and Aristotle lived hundreds of years before Jesus and the philosophy of man had become despairing and bankrupt by the time of Jesus. Also, consider that just a few years before Jesus there wasn’t peace, common language, similar culture, and the ability to travel – all necessary for spreading the gospel! Jesus came in the fullness of time and so when He says, “My hour has come.” We should listen carefully to what He says next! Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” This seems odd to me … why not something more lengthy and eloquent like the Sermon on the Mount Part Two? Because the message of the Kingdom is die! Jesus died so that all men could come to Him, and if we want to follow Him we must die to self as well.Jesus was victorious because He was willing to die. We will be victorious in our Christian life if we are willing to die! September 28, 2009 Healing the Wounds of Spiritual Warfare! 1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. We live surrounded by an invisible but very real war – a spiritual war. God is Spirit, the angels are spirit, the demons and Satan are spirit, and in fact we are most importantly spirit-beings. We are spirits, who have a soul (mind, will, emotions), who live in a body. The spirit world around us is even more real than the world we see, and it is a world of war. When Satan attacks you (and he does) – he has weapons - doubt, anxiety, addiction, lust, sickness, etc. So what do you do? Do you fight and win or do you get depressed, discouraged, and beaten up? Are you Armed and Dangerous – an Overcomer, more than a conqueror? You can be – and you must be in these end times! For you, your family – you must be Armed and Dangerous! God has given us all His Spirit in us, His Word which is powerful, and He has given us a personal testimony we can speak to the forces of Hell. His presence, His Word! Powerful weapons, more powerful than anything Satan has. In the spiritual war raging around us , Satan goes about as a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. – When Satan sees you, does he see a Christian to avoid, because he knows you are aware of Him, you are praying, you are close to God; or does Satan see a Christian who is skeptical, defenseless, someone he can devour – discredit – embarrass – humiliate – cause to stumble? You can deny or ignore reality of the spiritual war around us, but that reality will impact you anyway! Always remember you are designed to win! 1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. September 15, 2009 Hard-Headed Vs. Hard-Hearted Relationships The blessings that God intends to bring into our lives take time. The longer the relationship the greater the blessing – what a great blessing there is in growing closer to someone for 30, 40, or 50 years in marriage! Culture comes at long-term relationships – seeking to destroy – with both barrels blazing! Our philosophy of the age is “self”; the goal of life presented on most TV shows is “pleasure now and don’t worry about the future”; and our prophets of the age – celebrities and pundits – often promote a self-reliant religion. All of this undermines the self-sacrificing and deferred gratification love that the Bible teaches is essential to long-term relationships. Relationships are difficult, since they force us to live with someone who doesn’t buy into our personal con-games of self-promotion and denial. Long-term relationships intensify the honesty with the resultant self-awareness and humility needed for spiritual and emotional health. There is nothing more honorable than a man and a woman living together for decades and growing in love the entire time. This type of relationship takes a hard-headed person who won’t quit. Too often we have hard-hearted people who quit too easily and their souls become hardened to love.
September 1, 2009 Crisis! 1 Sam 30:1-4 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire & their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. What would you do? What a terrible crisis David and his men came home to. What do you do when something really bad happens to you or to a loved one? Notice here that David and his men wept until they had no more strength left to weep. Grieving is healthy. Notice how passionate these men were in their grief and mourning. They wept out loud, they wept for a long time (hours). Friends, we should not try to stifle our emotions. Real men do cry – Jesus did. Holding in emotions always results in stress which can often turn into real illnesses. God gave us emotions; we should use them, even in grief. Doctors and scientists tell us that the release of tears is a healthy thing for humans. And friends, give room for people to grieve. When a parent loses a child, or a spouse loses their partner, don’t think a simple remark like “Well, they’re with the Lord now” is going to cause their grief to cease. Grieving and mourning is a process, and God intends for it to be a healthy process. Let the person cry on your shoulder, let them vent their frustration, be a listening ear and a caring hand. But also notice that the mourning, as intense and real as it was, did not go on forever. They mourned for an appropriate time, and then stopped. They wept until …., and then they were ready to take some kind of action. Sometimes people mourn over a crisis for years and years – I believe this is unhealthy. Extended mourning can often turn into a bad attitude and a spirit of bitterness and even depression. Godly grieving is healthy, and helps us get ready to face a new day! A good friend recently said to me that “Grieving is the overlooked experience in life that if allowed to will open our hearts to a reservoir of compassion that God has prepared for us.” Amen! August 17, 2009 Brad Pitt and Other False Teachers In a recent issue of Parade Magazine Brad Pitt said, “Man, I resent people telling others how to live! It drives me mental!” he declares loudly. “Just the other night, I heard this TV reverend say that Angie and I were setting a bad example because we were living out of wedlock, and people should not be duped by us! It made me laugh … How many times do you think real love comes to someone in a lifetime? If you’re lucky, maybe two or three.” I guess my question would be, “Can you imagine being married to someone with that philosophy of love and you are the first person?” So much for the longevity of love in Brad Pitt’s philosophy. Brad Pitt also said, “Do you know how you tell real love?” he asks. “It’s when someone else’s interest trumps your own.” When Brad began his relationship with Angelina Jolie he was married to number one (Jennifer Aniston) or perhaps Jennifer was number two! Brad Pitt’s philosophy seems to be that you can do whatever you want and you have no right saying someone else’s actions are wrong … as long as those actions aren’t hurting someone. Unfortunately he falls short of his own philosophy. The false prophets of our modern age, including Brad Pitt and other celebrities, teach a relative view of truth that is inconsistent, unlivable, and often just their own shallow philosophy meant to justify illicit behavior. Unfortunately, the Bible teaches that many will follow end time false teachings to their own destruction. Come next weekend to Fellowship and find out what else the Bible says about truth. August 16, 2009 Are there shortcuts with God? (part 2) First you can be Irreligious – no way obey. This is just living for oneself. It results in depravity, insanity, depression, and nothingness. Second you can be Religious – I must obey so God will accept me. Religion is a shortcut! You figure if you do enough or popular or are nice or never charged with a major crime, God accepts you. Thirdly is to live Relationally – I am accepted therefore I obey. This life is markedly different because of the Good News of Jesus Christ. That news is that Jesus loves you fully before you lift a finger. 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” Jesus’ uncommon love compels you to obey. Your behavior as a Christ Follower is in response to God’s love that precedes any of your efforts. Any effort outside the grace of God is stupid arrogant pride! Who do you think you are anyhow? Do you really think you can impress God? You are nothing in comparison and yet God loves you. August 12, 2009 Are there shortcuts with God? (part 1)by John Essig Shortcuts are very popular today because of computers. Images are placed upon shortcuts that help you quickly navigate to programs and files. Imagine being close to Jesus…maybe you just finished praying or reading the Bible, or just left a great time of fellowship. The devil wants to turn your conversation or experience with God into dead ritual. He does that by tempting you to think in terms of results verses process. Have you ever spontaneously entertained a small child? Maybe you tossed them in the air or made a silly face only to have them say what? … “AGAIN.” Soon you tire of the repetition and say “okay no more.” Then the child cries or sulks off. This temptation is there for you every time God does something in your life. The instant you grow in Jesus or have a moment with God you think or say “AGAIN”. What you are really saying is “shortcut.” Moreover, when that does not work out you get mad at God. What is so wrong with wanting a moment to last? Why is hanging onto a good time dangerous? Because as soon as you say, “again,” you ignore what got you to that precious place. Because you are asking for the end-product of your relationship with God without the relationship. Shortcuts lead to lifeless religion. There are no shortcuts with God. I am talking about something very subtle…almost imperceptible. August 4, 2009 Praying in the Name of Jesus Jesus promises in John 14:14, “You may ask for anything in my name and I will do it.” This verse has always been a source of both wonder and bewilderment for me. Wonder because it is a promise without fine print, no exceptions, Jesus is actually saying, “ask for anything and I will do it.” But I also experience bewilderment when thinking about this verse because I don’t pray this effectively and most everyone I know is “ask” deficient as well. I don’t think Jesus was lying, exaggerating, or playing a practical joke when He made this promise. I believe it possible to pray for “anything” and have Jesus “do it”. Contextually the key is – ask for anything “in my name”. To fully experience prayer, we have to learn to pray in the name of Jesus. The phrase “in the name of Jesus” is sort of a throw off line we use at the end of praying. Kind of like, “well we have to close this prayer somehow, and the dinner is getting cold.” When we pray in the name of Jesus, sometimes it is ritual without real meaning. But mostly, even though we use the name of Jesus at the end of a prayer, we are actually praying in our name. It is so easy to make up our own religion, a stew of what we will accept from the Bible, what we want to believe, compromise, and what Oprah says. And then we pray according to our lusts, pride, materialism and arrogance using the name of Jesus at the end -- no wonder most of us don’t receive a lot of answers to our prayers. Praying in the name of Jesus means to be submitted to Jesus, know His will for our lives, understand that Jesus is Lord, and pray with practice faith. Those prayers get answered – anything and Jesus will do it. July 7, 2009 For such a time as this! Actually my message Sunday was only secondarily about the times in which we live. The more important point is that God has been working on you, preparing you, equipping you, and using the experiences in your life so that you will be ready to minister in these times. None of this has caught Him by surprise! But it sure has caught many of us off guard. Queen Esther in the Bible never dreamed she would be the person to save her nation. That’s basically what most heroes say. They were just doing what they knew to be right at the time, even though it was scary or dangerous. The Call2Fall observance this past weekend was about asking God to forgive us for individual, family, church and state and national sins. We followed 2 Chronicles 7:14 and humbled ourselves and prayed and sought God face and turned from our wicked ways. According to the next verse, God then heard us and responded with forgiveness and healing for our land. We concluded committing ourselves to be the church – to go and be courageous and loving. If we actually do this, we will indeed Change the World! June 8, 2009 Running the Race Having been a Quarter Horse Jockey, I always enjoy lively conversations with people regarding the Triple Crown…the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. I loved to ride racehorses because of the speed, excitement and racing competition. This year has been especially exciting with the high drama around jockey Calvin Borel and two very special horses. The final race on Saturday to brought the final chapter to light. It should be no surprise to you that I have often thought about the strong parallels between life and a racing. The Apostle Paul helps me make those connections with the verses that follow. The Start (Preparing to Run and Getting out of the Gates)· 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” The Race (Establishing position, Covering Ground, and Coming from Behind) · Galatians 5:7, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?”· Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” The Finish (Setting up for the Finish and Finishing Strong)· 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Life is a series of races strung together end to end. Sometimes we even find ourselves in what appears to be more than one race. The challenge of course, is to run the right race, with the right motives, with the right outcome. To that end, I pray each day. Join me in that prayer if you will. This message is meant to encourage you wherever you are .... whether it be just starting a new journey, running down the stretch, or finishing strong. June 1, 2009 Listen to Last Weekend’s Message For some time I have wondered and been concerned about depression and even acts of suicide with youth today. My thoughts and those of our college pastor Chris Skinner were shared in this past weekend’s message. I think that you should download and listen to it or pick up a copy at the Fellowship Bookstore. My parents worked when they were young; they didn’t think much about pleasure. My generation added another option; we played; not seeing the meaning in our parents “work ethic”, we turned on a dropped out. At least for a while and then we rejoined “the system”, had our families, and built even larger homes. Chris Skinner shared yesterday that today’s youth feel the tension of wanting to work and also wanting to play. They also are special … at least they have been told that since childhood … and it is difficult for them to consider that they might fail. Of course, Chris shared a lot more but he concluded by saying that whereas my parent’s generation worked, and my generation played, today’s generation has added the option of quitting. There is a positive and negative “quiting”. Positive in the sense that many young people today are quitting the rat race of materialism and pursuing more constructive careers like missions, and negative in that some deal with depression and even suicide. What can be done and what should we know? Listen to the message. May 27, 2009 New Life! Gal 2:19-20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Our old life with all its junk can be DEAD, we do not need to walk in it anymore. We can make a choice because Christ has given us freedom to choose. Remember, FREEDOM is the ability to do the right thing. So often I hear sermons about giving our old lives to God. I understand the sentiment, but think for a moment. What would God want with our old life? What would He do with it? God does not run garage sales, He does not just patch up things and put them back into the race. Patches are temporary, they do not make the thing being patched new or stronger or better. Eventually the thing patched (i.e. you and I) will be weakened beyond repair. When it comes to broken things, it is always better to replace it with something new! On the cross, Jesus gave us a New Life – His life, when He took away our old sin-riddled like. Christ did away with our OLD LIFE, including Rejection, Punishment, Poverty, Sin, Curses, Death (addictions, unforgiveness, sin nature). Christ in exchange gave us, from His own nature …Acceptance, Perfection, Wealth, Unstained Nature, Blessings, New Life with Freedom, Joy, Peace, Power, and the ability to change the world! If you walk in your new life, then yes, you can change the world! May 19, 2009 God Uses the Insignificant When I founded the ministry that has become Fellowship, I was nobody (and continue that trend even today). I was eighteen years old, had recently been doing drugs, had become a Christian just two weeks earlier and believed that God told me to start a ministry to reach the young people of Springfield. Not your typical pastoral start and most people would have quickly speculated failure or perhaps insanity. And yet 37 years later Fellowship Christian Church is thriving and sponsoring ministry all over the world. In 1992, I thought I heard God again. He wanted me to go to Russia and visit a young missionary couple name Rick and Heather Ives. A pastor of a small church in Springfield, Ohio, being called to visit Russia? Again there didn’t seem to be much chance of success. Today with over 40 churches planted, tens of thousands won to the Lord, and with many other ministries around St. Petersburg, Russia, influenced, who would have guessed? It is not wealth, fame, noble birth, or even political power that are requirements for God. Humility and obedience work better. God has all the resources He needs and gets great satisfaction out of using the insignificant to do something significant. May 12, 2009 Grace I get a word … a direct word … sometimes on what I am to teach those attending Fellowship. Recently it was a word … one word. And that word was grace. If I am to preach about grace, I must learn to live in grace. For a long time I have believed that the primary mark of a mature believer was the ability to receive grace and then extend it to others. Receiving grace means forgiveness, no self condemnation, power, joy, peace, and fulfilling God’s purposes in your life. Extending grace eliminates bitterness and fear, along with releasing power and integrity in ministry. I find that I grow in grace through experiences (often on a daily basis) that give me opportunities to give and to forgive. Giving and forgiving keeps the grace from getting clogged within me – it allows Gods’ grace to flow through me to others. Receiving and giving grace; that is what I am trying to do. By God’s grace that is. April 28, 2009 Multiply – Our Reason to Exist! In the Old Testament, God commanded first Adam and Eve and later Noah and his family to, above all else, MULTIPLY. To make babies, raise them, care for them, and cover the earth with people. WOW – we have done well. Today there are 7 billion people on the earth and the population goes up 180 people pre minute! In the New Testament, in what would be seen as His farewell address, Jesus again commands that His people multiply – but not physically – but rather spiritually. Jesus said to go into all the world and make disciples. In other words – make new Christians, raise them up (discipleship), teach them to obey me and to make more new disciples. If we had done as well spiritually as we have physically, all of the world would know the Gospel and the Lord today. The fact is, while we have covered the world with people, the Church has not effectively gone and made disciples, yet. So our marching orders are the same today as they were 2000 years ago; reach out to someone with the love of Christ, help someone, care for someone – go and make disciples.
April 20, 2009 Facts & Faith I hear the following statement frequently, “Evolution is facts while creationism or intelligent design is faith.” In other words evolution has all the facts. Recently the world’s most influential atheist became a theist. His name is Antony Flew. In his recent book “There is a God”, Antony Flew writes that the reason he became a theist is that he followed the evidence. Four of his chapters are entitled as follows … Who wrote the laws of nature? Did the universe know we were coming? How did life go live? Did something come from nothing? Please note that all of these chapters concern creation. And the reason why Antony Flew … the world’s most influential atheist … became a theist is that he believes “the evidence” in nature, the universe, life, and our origins points towards God. So Christians can have their cake and eat it too. We can have a faith in God based upon the facts. I believe that more evidence for God, the bible, and Christianity has been discovered and posited by scientists and philosophers in the last forty years than in the previous 2,000 years of the church. April 14, 2009 God Isn’t Dead After All In 1966 Time Magazine ran a story with a cover that said “God is Dead.” At that exact time there was a quiet revolution going on within philosophy as many university students, majoring in philosophy, were actually re-considering and beginning to think perhaps God wasn’t actually dead. Sort of like Mark Twain’s letter to the editor of a newspaper that had published his obituary, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Now there are many philosophers who believe in God. In fact some report that a sizable percentage of new university philosophers have a theistic worldview. Why the change? Atheistic philosophy had its rooted in what is called “The Verification Principle.” In other words if you can’t see and test it then it can be true. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately … the philosophers themselves began to see that the Verification Principle couldn’t be verified. Can you really verify scientifically that what you can’t see and test doesn’t exist? Not only have the philosophers reached this conclusion but physicists have as well. All sorts of recent thinking in the foundations of physics involve such concepts as closed space-times, event-horizons, EPR correlations, and bootstrap models. All of these concepts are accepted in physics but can’t be empirically verified. And so the same scientific philosophy that was used to declare “God is Dead” is now dealt a death blow by recent scientific thinking. This re-affirms in my mind the Biblical statement that, “God made foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Cor. 1:20) April 1, 2009 Faith is better than Sight I think it is better to live by faith than by sight. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that Christians should live by faith. Why? Because sight means limitation. If you live by sight then you only have the resources that this world offers. And all of us will sooner or later will be overwhelmed by life’s circumstances. Faith opens other possibilities. God has limitless resources. By faith we can overcome sickness when doctors are befuddled, have prosperity when the world’s economies collapse, find forgiveness from sin, and even have hope in the midst of death. I’m well aware of the thinking of some who propose a “scientific” viewpoint – that if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist – a rather mechanistic viewpoint that if it can’t be witnessed in observable demonstration, then it should be doubted. When in fact most of science itself would be eliminated if this tenet was actually followed – nobody has seen evolution and no one has seen the core principles of physics. And what do we do with history, especially the historic resurrection of Jesus. I believe God exists. That is my starting point. I believe that He has proven His existences in the design aspects of creation. I think even the science of physics has inferred the existence of God by necessitating a primal cause. Finally, let me say, that God walks with me and talks to me. My faith is more than blind believe; I experience God. March 16, 2009 If I don’t do it, who will? I asked this question at our services this past weekend – if I don’t do it, who will? This question has guided so much of my life. When I first began this ministry it was in answer to this question – if I didn’t stay and help my peers who were long-haired hippies who would? I went to Russia for the first time to visit Rick and Heather Ives because – if my wife and I didn’t do it, who would? It was the same for our ministry of feeding the poor in the Philippines – if our church didn’t do it, who would? There has been no strategic planning for the life changing decisions of my life. I found myself in a situation where I had to say “yes” or “no” and my life changed and I was blessed as a result. I’m not against planning and in all of the ministries that I have been involved with, after I took that first step of obedience, there was and has been a lot of planning. When I first began our ministry, someone asked, “Why do you need to reach the young people in our community, aren’t there many youth in our church?” When I first went to Russia, I was asked, “Why go to Russia, there are many others going there to preach the gospel?” And since our church has been involved in the Philippines, I still get people asking, “Why go to the Philippines when there are poor in our city?” My answer: I’m really not in charge of my life. I see something, that I don’t know who else will respond if I don’t, and I have to obey. That is how God leads me. March 3, 2009 Praying Together Consistently the New Testament teaches that Christians should pray together. Why? Power, boldness, and spiritual warfare are released. (Mt. 18:19-20, Acts 4:23-31 & Acts 12:1-19) It isn’t easy to pray alone and praying corporately has its difficulties as well. Consider a soloist and a symphony – both require talent and effort. But what happens with a soloist is entirely different than what happens in a symphony. The power and majesty of symphony can’t be matched by a soloist. The same happens with corporate prayer. Where two or three are united in the name of Jesus what is bound in heaven is bound on earth and what is loosed in heaven is loosed on earth. Power, boldness, and spiritual warfare – is released more powerfully when Christian pray together. February 4, 2009 Latter Day Rain For the past two weeks I’ve said in my messages that, “there is an autumn and spring rain, with the activities of the Spirit with the spring rain coming in the Book of Acts and the autumn rain in the days just previous to the return of Jesus.” (James 5:7) I believe in the words of Charles Dickens (in his book A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…” In other words, while the Bible speaks of increasing latter day trials, it also indicates that the Kingdom of God will witness great revival and an unequaled release of God’s power. The best of times and the worst of times. January 27, 2009 The Christian Comfort Bubble I mentioned the “Christian Comfort Bubble” in this past weekend’s sermon (Jan. 24&25). I believe that most Christians have suffered little for being a Christian in America in the last 100 years. We haven’t had or needed much faith for healing or provision because of our prosperity and there has been no persecution for proclaiming Christ. This “comfort bubble” doesn’t exist for many Christians today. If you live in the Sudan, Russia, Cuba, China, Iran, and many other countries there will be a price to be paid for proclaiming Christ. Unfortunately the American “comfort bubble” isn’t our right – it is a privilege bestowed by God. Will this “comfort bubble” continue as our country moves away from Biblical moorings? I doubt it. And those who proclaim a truth, a savior, and a morality will be increasingly marginalized, criticized, and demonized. Losing the “comfort bubble” won’t mean losing the church. In fact, the church thrives more in difficulty than it does in comfort. January 19, 2009 Monday Thoughts after Weekend Message As I have mentioned before, I often learn as much from my weekend messages as those listening. Many of my thoughts come to me as I speak. This past weekend one of the ideas that I presented was that we get into trouble when we follow our own will. But we also get into trouble when we follow God’s will, though a different kind of trouble. When I was growing up my best friends were Wilson, Baker, and Stottlemyer – and they often led me astray. Now I am friends with Barnes, Essig, and Ives – and they get me into trouble as well. I believe that you see the point. God’s troubles are because He is changing and stretching and will ultimately provide. There is fellowship with thieves and also brothers in the Lord – one type gets you in prison and the other into heaven – though you might have to go through prison first. January 14, 2009 Defending Our Territory I began a new message series entitled “Watch and Pray” this past weekend. Last week’s title was “Watch” and next week will be “Help” and the week after that “Prepare.” My central passage from scripture for “Watch” was the “Watchman” passage from Ezekiel 33. I explained that God gave Israel territory and that they set watchmen to alert the populace of approaching danger. This “watchman” approach in the church today is so important. Our country is in the midst of end time trial with the signs of the times indicating that difficulties will increase with intensity and frequency. We need to “watch and pray” as watchmen being alert to the dangers approaching our territory. When I arrived at church on Monday morning, I had an unusual amount of e-mail in response to my weekend message. I think the idea that God has given us territory that is our responsibility to watch over and defend had special significance. This territory includes our family, our mission, our job, our neighborhoods, and the other spheres of influence that God has given us. We need to watch for attacks and danger and be prepared to defend our territory Also I continue to get comments from younger families with children wondering about their children and what is in store for them. My answer is that in the end times the largesse, favor, material prosperity, and comfort in our Christian faith that American Christians have come to treat as normal – might not be guaranteed in the future. But at the same time we will have an edged faith that is real faith; a latter day generation of our children becoming true soldiers for Christ, and in the end we are all going home. Hope for victory today and our ultimate homecoming makes present difficulties worthwhile. As Paul says in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Let me add a person note: you can’t speak a series on warfare without engaging in warfare and so my preparation and being emotionally charged for last weekend’s message was unusually difficult. Please pray for me this week. I am looking forward to next week’s sermon … “Help!” October 12, 2008 Confidence during Troubled Times. I am almost afraid to look at my retirement savings for fear of how much money I may have lost, already, due to the economic woes we are all facing. My dad always told me that saving for retirement was a long term deal and I should not freak out when the market went down. That has been true up until now, but I am starting to wonder – is this the beginning of a total economic collapse in America? So we see a downward spiraling economy which touches us all. We also see what a farce it is to proclaim world peace, the world is getting better, etc. There are many wars raging now, entire people-groups being exterminated, Iran threatening to destroy Israel. Friends, apart from having a real God to rely on, I don’t know how people make it at all these days But we do have a real God, and He is not shaken at all by what is going on. In fact, our God is using what is going on to SHAKE US! God is shaking the world – believers and unbelievers alike. He is shaking governments, economic systems, traditions, denominations, militaries – He is shaking it all. And according to His word – those things that are of Him cannot be shaken and destroyed! Heb 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire." As we approach the end of times, friends, what and/or who have you placed your confidence in? If you are trusting fully in the Lord, He can then establish His Kingdom in your heart and that Kingdom will not be shaken. If, however, your trust is in your money, your investments, in the next president, in the USA, in your church – then everything you hold dear is being shaken, will be further shaken, and will not stand up for long under God’s mighty arm. Confidence during troubled times comes only by placing full trust in Jesus Christ as not only your Savior, but also as your Lord! See you this weekend – be blessed! Pastor Rick. October 8, 2008 Finances & Fear I have to admit fear. I’ve caught myself watching the DOW and getting this sinking feeling concerning my 401k. I even caught myself clicking the refresh button on MSN.COM money page as the DOW plunged hoping to see it come back up. When that proved too tiring I just loaded the DOW average on a minute-by-minute update through Google.
Again fear. The Bible speaks of Mammon in a very personal way. We think of money as inanimate but the Bible speaks of Mammon as a god – something we can worship. I believe the personal references that you see in the Bible through the tenses used in Greek is indicative of the demonic personalities that work through Mammon.
It is something you can serve. There is a big difference between a good steward and someone who worships Mammon. A good steward places allegiance in God while a servant of Mammon trusts money. Faith in God yields peace even when the DOW tumbles because God never lacks resources. Serving Mammon brings fear because our 401k’s represent our very limited resources.
Serving Mammon yields fear while serving God and being a good steward brings peace. I think it is easy to see which God is better. Times of financial difficulty allow us to choose who we will serve and also reveals who we actually have been serving.
September 16, 2008 Garbage Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26, “to not let the sun do down on your anger.” I noticed in the paper this week instructions for dealing with food left in the refrigerator after a power-outage. Since many of us experienced a power outage this week, it was something that peeked my interest. I guess that food left in a refrigerator longer than four hours should be thrown out. I was talking to nurse who works for the county health department and she said her job the day after the storm was calling grocery stores and restaurants to tell them that all refrigerated food left for more than four hours must be disposed of. For good reason, no one wants to get sick. And yet, we allow bitterness and anger to accumulate. Often I talk to people who experience problems that are really just unresolved anger. They didn’t forgive, they didn’t seek peace and now they have a divorce, a rebellious teenager, even an addiction, or act of violence confronting them. It would have been better to not let the sun go down on their anger. Why do we allow garbage to accumulate? Pride, perhaps. Revenge, the flesh often demands it. Redress, we lose something and want it back or at least for the offender to suffer. We don’t deal with the garbage of offences because we want something to be restored and someone else to pay. Of course, most of the time it is impossible to get back what was lost and even more difficult to make the other person pay. And so our bitterness festers – sometimes for years – often causing more distress than the original offense. It would be best to clean it all out with forgiveness. But forgiveness is hard, actually impossible. We need help, supernatural help. Jesus forgave us and so we must and can forgive others!
September 9, 2008 Celebration of Outreach. I think that if we look at all of the commands Jesus gives to us, they can be summed up into 2 simple words; Follow Me! Jesus calls us to be saved by Him as savior, and then to follow Him as Lord.
Jesus is all about outreach, and He calls us to be all about outreach also. Jesus when on the earth was always reaching out to people so they could be saved, and He always went beyond the initial connection to give the person something to do – to follow Jesus. Outreach, that which we are to be all about, is in part helping people to know Jesus but also in part helping those who believe to then Follow Jesus!
Jesus said to His first disciples – follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Three times Jesus told Peter – follow me! To the rich young man Jesus said – go sell your possessions and then come and follow me! To Matthew the tax collector Jesus said - Follow Me! To people He met along the road Jesus said – Follow Me! Do you see a pattern here? If you confess Jesus as savior, then you must follow Him as Lord.
Those who confess Jesus as savior but refuse to follow Him as lord are spiritually timid (in a bad sense) and are in fact spiritual wimps. My definition of a spiritual wimp is a person who says he/she is a Christian but who usually follows his/her own desires, takes the easy way in all situations, and refuses to sacrifice in any way in order to serve God. When you were saved, Jesus called you to follow Him, in simple obedience, all the remaining days of your life. That is how Jesus reaches out – in love He saves us, then He calls us to a new life of serving and sacrifice. Anything else is sin and the lifestyle of a wimp.
Are you a worker, a warrior, or a wimp? When we reach out, we celebrate our new life in Jesus; we know real joy and contentment. There is no greater feeling in all the world than knowing that God has work posted by the Leadership on 04/10/2008 |
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