Northridge Free Will Baptist: Recent Episodes
Stacy J Ross
The God who commands His people to be holy is the God who works to make His people holy.
s important for us to recognize this is the pattern for the church. I believe any disciple of Jesus can go to a sick person, lay hands on them, pray for God to heal them, and if God chooses, they can be healed. But sometimes there is a need for the church body to specifically minister to the sick among them. This passage gives us the pattern.
ll be worth it all when Jesus returns. To teach us how to do this James gives us two commands, two warnings, and three examples. All of which point us to the one Judge who is our Savior.
The Lord Jesus is coming as judge and will judge the world in righteousness. This, however, means different things for different people.
This passage is not about end times timelines, but about how disciples of Jesus live while we wait for Jesus to return.
Our goal tonight is to understand the joy of the Lord and see what we need to do to fight for it in our lives.
Part of the problem with fasting is many people have unanswered questions about fasting. Can I eat at all? Can I drink water? What does fasting do? What I want to do tonight is answer some of the common questions we may have about fasting.
t just saying nice words. They were expressing real faith God would do what He had said He would do.
God shows us two kinds of people, two ways of living, and two very different divine responses.
It takes intentional, disciplined, Spirit empowered effort to get out of a spiritual rut.
How can we speak a good word to sustain the weary and encourage and build one another up?
Solomon knows eternal realities impact here and now. He also wants us to live here and now knowing the eternal implications of our lives.
Solomon wants us to understand the primary discipline and correction we must respond to is the discipline and correction of God Himself.
Costly commitment to Jesus is formed by the Word, strengthened by the church, and proven in opposition.
when hearts are softer, conversations are deeper, and Jesus is already part of the cultural moment.
t Google your way to wisdom. The difference is simple: knowledge fills the mind; wisdom shapes the life.
s Word is about Jesus. While this is the case, and has always been the case, it takes help for us to see this.
The author of Hebrews tells us to remember those who are imprisoned for Jesus as though we are imprisoned with them. We are to remember those who are suffering for the sake of Jesus as though we are suffering with them. Today I want to give us three reasons why we remember the persecuted.
God’s wisdom is public, precious, and personal — calling us to listen, love, and live by His truth.
Every time you sin, you are doing something God hates. Every time I sin, I am doing something God hates. It is important to understand God hates sin impartially.
Tonight, I want to walk through a five-step prayer we can pray when we sit down to study God’s Word. The five steps are built on an acronym for FEAST. I found this acronym in an article I read a few weeks ago and wanted to share it. F — Focus my mind.E — Enlighten my eyes.A — Address my sin.S — Satisfy my soul.T — Train my hands.
Faithfulness in marriage is increasingly rare. Surveys show millions of men and women admit to affairs, and tragically the church is not immune. What’s worse, society often glamorizes adultery while still at least tacitly admitting it is wrong. Proverbs 5 speaks directly to this tension, calling us to guard our hearts, flee temptation, and consider the consequences.
Tonight, we are going to learn how to pray for the lost with purpose and passion using the acronym R.E.S.C.U.E. Each letter will guide our hearts into deeper, bolder intercession.
The trap of the devil is when someone has been taken captive by the devil to do his will. How do we escape if we have fallen into the snare of the devil? There are five actions we must take to escape the snare of the devil.
What I’m going to do the next few weeks is answer four questions. What is the trap of the devil? How do we end up in the trap of the devil? How do we escape the trap of the devil? How can we help others escape the trap of the devil?
Every disciple of Jesus should live continually experiencing Jesus’ work in them, through them, and for them.
When we pray what God is passionate about, we pray with power, purpose, and the heart of Heaven. What else is God passionate about?
God is the answer to our excuses about why we can’t join Him in His mission to rescue and redeem.
To persevere in the work of God, we need the Word of God to guide us, favor from God to sustain us, commitment to God to anchor us, and joy in God to strengthen us.
The call of Wisdom and the call of the Gospel make it clear we live our lives at a crossroads where we must choose which direction we go. But we’re not alone at the crossroads. There are a multitude of voices calling out for us to listen to them and choose their way.
Doing the work of God requires the people of God to work together for the glory of God.
The purpose of Proverbs is to make us wise so we can navigate life according to God’s designs.
How earnestly are we seeking God? Does our need for God drive us to seek Him with the same urgency a person in the desert seeks water? Just as noting but water can satisfy our physical thirst, only God can satisfy the deepest needs of our soul.
No one is good enough to go to Heaven on their own merits, but everyone can be saved through faith in Jesus
While we all likely have places we want to visit, there are also places we never hope to visit. One such place is a place called Gethsemane.
The wicked don't need our condemnation, and they don’t need our justification, they need our Jesus.
To come to Jesus, we must surrender our riches, our righteousness, and our rewards to Jesus.
One thing can often stand between us and receiving Jesus, the Kingdom, and everything else Jesus offers.
Jesus, the Kingdom, and everything else Jesus offers must be received as a gift given and not as a matter of entitlement, merit, right, or privilege.
As a mother, you will leave a legacy with your children. What kind of legacy will you leave?
The modern American church has a problem with memory loss. There are very important issues we as the modern American church have forgotten. There is, in my opinion, one area where this is most obvious. We have forgotten Church history.
What does God’s Word say about the subject of Holy Spirit and His importance in our lives?
Are you in a rut? The reason we need to ask and honestly answer these questions and see if we’re in a rut is because the situation in our culture is so grave and so dire that we, as disciples of Jesus, cannot be on autopilot. The world desperately needs us to be Spirit filled, Spirit led, Spirit empoweredd disciples of Jesus. The world desperately needs us as disciples of Jesus to be fired up and not stagnate. The world desperately needs us as disciples of Jesus to wake up and get out of our ruts. The world may not know it desperately needs this, but it does.
In the Gospels the way discipleship was accomplished was by physically following Jesus wherever He went, listening to what He said, and watching what He did. This poses a bit of a problem for us today since Jesus has ascended into Heaven and even if we wanted to, we cannot physically follow Him around to watch and listen to what He does. So what do we do? We study what He has said, what done, and then we seek to follow His example. This is what we’re going to do today.
God's perfect peace is always available to every disciple of Jesus. How do we access this peace?
Why Jesus? Because on the cross, Jesus died for our sins and gave us access to God. Jesus’ death paid the penalty for sin, yours, and mine. In doing so, He also opened the way for us to have access to and a relationship with God. You can’t do this for yourself. I can’t do this for myself. Jesus alone can do this.
There are two sides to sanctification. There is separation and consecration. Separation is what we are removing from our lives. Consecration is what we are adding to our lives. In separation we remove sin from our lives. In consecration we add greater levels of devotion to Christ to our lives. In consecration, we give ourselves to Jesus so completely, we do His will regardless of what His will may be, or what it may cost us. We prioritize Jesus’ will over our will, so every aspect of our lives is lived for Jesus. When we have consecrated ourselves to Jesus, we have abandoned ourselves to do the will of Jesus.
God cannot be known, and His Word cannot understood be apart from revelation and illumination.
Spiritual needs require spiritual solutions. Spiritual solutions require spiritual power. Spiritual power requires prayer.
We are surrounded by people with a wide variety of spiritual needs so we must look for spiritual needs in all its forms and do all we can to help.
We listen to God’s Word with eagerness and discernment, and then we respond appropriately.
When we see the glory of Jesus, our greatest treasure becomes Jesus, and we joyously give our lives in service to Jesus.
The Kingdom is still coming in power and you and I as disciples of Jesus are meant to be a part of the Kingdom coming in power.
A fortress is a reason or set of reasons someone can give to explain why a false belief system, sinful action, or sinful inaction is not only acceptable but correct.
A fortress is a reason or set of reasons someone can give to explain why a false belief system, sinful action, or sinful inaction is not only acceptable but correct.
Warfare praying is when we pray continually, passionately, aggressively, and powerfully for ourselves and others. We pray continually, passionately, aggressively, and powerfully for ourselves and others because we love God, we love prayer, we love people, and we love the church of Jesus Christ. We also pray continually, passionately, aggressively, and powerfully for ourselves and others because we hate the enemy and what he does to people.
The Biblical writes say “Thus says the Lord…” around 420 times in the O.T. They also use other phrases to show God is the source of their message. We also see the statement, “The word of the Lord came to me” about 58 times. The phrase “The Lord spoke to Moses…” is used 66 times in the book of Leviticus alone. The phrases are used so often because God doesn’t want us to have any doubts about the source of the message we have.
In this story, we see four men who show us what it looks like to act on our faith in Jesus. Their faith in Jesus is central to the story. Their faith in Jesus moved them to get their friend to Jesus. Their faith in Jesus moved Jesus to forgive and heal their friend. Their faith in Jesus made an eternal difference in their friend’s life. We can impact others for eternity when we act on our faith in Jesus. This passage gives us three characteristics of faith in Jesus when it is lived out.
Jesus was the perfect example of what it means to be a minister. As Jesus ministered to others, He set the example we are to follow as ministers. Jesus is our example for ministry. Four ways to follow Jesus’ example of ministry.
We need this vision of Jesus in our day because: How we see Jesus determines how we’ll live for Jesus.
Woe to those who reject the Word of God, and ignore the ways of God for they will one day face the judgment of God.
The reality of the absolute power of Jesus has a legitimate impact on the way that we live and serve. The absolute power of Jesus to deliver, heal, and save, frees us to live and serve in confidence.
Our hearts should be broken, and our eyes should leak as we see the lostness of the world around us.
There was, and is, nothing in all creation not under the absolute authority of Jesus. This includes us. The absolute authority of Jesus over all things extends to our lives. The reality of the absolute authority of Jesus has a legitimate impact on our lives.
God intends to be glorified in and through our lives. One of the ways this happens is through our bearing good fruit from His good work in our lives. What we learn from this is: God expects good fruit from His good work in our lives.
Spiritual growth happens on purpose and not accident. Being intentional about spiritual disciplines like prayer and studying God's Word help us grow.
Spiritual fitness requires intentional disciplined effort. In this passage we are given three ways to put forth the intentional disciplined effort required to become spiritually fit.
Jesus is the promised Messiah, and He was worth the wait. This passage shows us three reasons Jesus is the promised Messiah and why He was worth the wait.
The Word of the Lord gives us light from the Lord to walk in the paths of the Lord. This passage gives us three ways the Word of the Lord gives us light to walk in the paths of the Lord.
Sin is a universal problem. Sin is the reason Jesus came. Jesus came to save us from sin. This passage gives us three reasons Jesus came to save us from sin and why Jesus must save us from sin.
God’s final Words should produce faithful people. Three final Words and three ways to be faithful.
We are living in a time between Genesis and Revelation. Redemption has been purchased on the cross, but not completed in Heaven. The joys of Heaven will erase the pains of Earth. What joys await us in Heaven?
A prayer warrior is a disciple of Jesus who prays continually, passionately, aggressively, and powerfully for themselves and others. Prayer warriors understand prayer is the primary way they can engage in spiritual warfare. Prayer warriors love God, love prayer, love people, and they love the church of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they pray continually, passionately, aggressively, and powerfully for themselves and others. Every disciple of Jesus is meant to be a prayer warrior.
We are to remember those who are suffering for the sake of Jesus as though we are suffering with them. Today I want to give us three reasons why we remember the persecuted.
Hell is real. Hell is horrible. Hell is the final judgment of God against unbelieving rebels. From this passage I want to show you four facts about judgment day.
Through Isaiah, God reveals much about Himself, humanity, Jesus and how we ought to respond to such revelations. Tonight, we are doing a survey of what we can expect to see in our study.
The doctrine of the second coming of Jesus is firmly rooted in God’s Word. The idea of the second coming is not the dream of religious fanatics, nor is it the creation of speculative theologians. Instead, it is truth, divinely revealed, clearly stated, and prominently displayed in God’s Word.
A living faith enables us to push through the pain and remain faithful to the end. There are at least four ways a living faith enables us to push through the pain and remain faithful to the end.
Jesus will return in glory and power to execute justice and judgment on all who reject or oppose Him. There are three truths about the return of Jesus we need to know.
As the great multitude in Heaven worship, they say “Hallelujah!” Hallelujah means “Praise Yahweh” and was often used to express jubilant joy. Jubilant joy is the tone of this passage. There is jubilant joy at the salvation of Jesus. There is jubilant joy at the reign of Jesus. And there is jubilant joy at the invitation of Jesus. All three of these, salvation, reign, and invitation exist because Jesus has been victorious over the dragon, his beast, and the kingdom they founded. This victory has brought jubilant joy to the redeemed. The certainty of Jesus' victory should fill us with jubilant joy.
The way we are going to pray tonight is dangerous. It’s dangerous because these prayers require great faith in God to pray them. It’s dangerous because God’s answers to these prayers require us to change our lives. It’s dangerous because God always answers these prayers and His answers aren't always what we expect.
Psalm 32 is one of the two psalms David wrote after his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11-12). What we read in v1-2 is the key to the entire Psalm. Everything else in this Psalm flows out of v1-2. Every other blessing God pours into our lives flow out of the greatest blessing, salvation. Salvation is the greatest blessing we can experience. There are three essentials for experiencing the blessing of salvation.
A living faith enables us to push through the pain and remain faithful to the end. There are at least four ways a living faith enables us to push through the pain and remain faithful to the end.
If there is one key lesson we learn from these two chapters, it’s this: The danger and destiny of worldliness is judgment. The danger of our being worldly is it leads to judgment. This is why we are called to come out of Babylon in Revelation 18:4. The destiny of worldliness is judgment. There are three ways to respond to the fact the danger and destiny of worldliness is judgment.
God would offer a path for salvation for anyone who would hear His message, believe His message, and respond to His message in the prescribed ways. What were the prescribed ways?
God's wrath against those who reject His Son and rebel against His rule over their lives has been building since Adam and Eve first rebelled against God. God's grace and mercy have sorta served as a dam holding back the fullness of God's wrath all this time. When we get to Revelation 16 the dam is taken out of the way and the fullness of God's wrath is poured out on those who have rejected God’s Son and rebelled against God’s rule. Up to this point, God's wrath has always been tempered with mercy. But at this moment in history, there is nothing but wrath. The time for mercy has passed.
We all have choices to make throughout our lives and our faith, or lack thereof, will play a key part of what choices we make. To exemplify a living faith, we must realize A living faith chooses to follow Jesus no matter what. What does this look like?
As we look at the facts from God’s Word, we find that they don’t fit as neatly on a bumper sticker or coffee mug or summed up in a cliché as much as we may think.
Consecration is where we give ourselves to God so completely, we do God’s will regardless of what God’s will may be or what it may cost us. We prioritize God’s will over our will, so every aspect of our lives is lived for God.
God’s Word is clear there are two very real, and very different eternities waiting for every person who has ever lived and who ever will live. Not only is there a difference then, but actions we take now determine what happens to us then. Certain principles about this eternity are true now and will be true forever.
Guymon Is Where God Has Placed Us. We Are To Pursue The Shalom Of Guymon. When Guymon Thrives, The Church Thrives. Prayer Is One Way We Seek The Shalom Of Guymon.
Satan's desire to be worshipped is what has driven him since he first rebelled against Yahweh. You could almost say everything Satan has ever done was merely a dress rehearsal for what we are going to see in Revelation 13. Revelation 13 shows the rise of the Kingdom of Satan. What we will see in Revelation 13 is the greatest victory Satan ever has or ever will win. This kingdom will cover the entire earth. There will be a one world government, a one world economy, and a one world religion. While humans are the public face of the government and religion, Satan is the true power behind it and receives worship through it. Everyone who lives on the earth will be deceived into worshipping Satan as god and pledging their undying loyalty to him. How does he do this?
To our modern mind, the evil of slavery seems clear and unquestionable. Despite this, there are passages like this one in Ephesians which seem to condone slavery and tell people how to live as slaves. This has led some opponents of Christianity to assume and even state Christianity and God’s Word endorse slavery. Is this the case? No, it’s not.
Beware! The antichrist spirit who leads people astray then, is at work in the world now.
Personally, I’m not content to let the enemy keep what he's taken from me. I’m not content to give the enemy ground in my life. I want to take it back.
The antichrist is an interesting character and major player in the end times events. His main purpose is to acquire power in the world and turn people away from God by directing worship toward himself. He accomplishes all of this through what he creates. What does he create? First, the antichrist will create a one world government. Secondly, the antichrist will create a one world economy. Thirdly, the antichrist will create a one world religion.
The only way we can maintain our faithfulness to the end and gain our reward is to keep our eyes on the prize and persevere. We can never give up. We can never turn back. God’s Word is filled with examples of people to looked back, turned back, and went back.
We could be misled if we aren’t careful. Notice Jesus’ warnings aren’t for the lost, they’re for His disciples. If you think you are incapable of being misled, you may already be misled. How can we ensure we aren’t misled?
We can sum up what Jesus teaches about salvation with the phrase of "You must be born again". This is not only the title of the sermon, but also the key truth for us to know. Look carefully at this statement. You must be born again. You-You, me, everyone. We are all included in this teaching. Must be-Must be, not should be, would be best if. Not an option or an extra. Must be. Born again-This is what you must be. This is what I must be. This is what everyone must be. If this is what we all must be, then we need answers to three fundamental questions about being born again. Why must we be born again? What does it mean to be born again? How can we be born again? Today I’m going to answer these questions from this teaching of Jesus.
This powerful passage introduces us to the war of the ages. This war has been raging since the day Satan rebelled against God and became His archenemy. At various times this spiritual battle has made its way to the physical realm with people lining up on both sides of the battle. Ultimately, this long war is against God. While we are a part of the war, we are not the focus of the war. The war is waged against God by spiritual enemies who often use human beings to accomplish their will. So the main idea we need to understand is Satan's attacks on man flow from his rebellion against God.
This powerful passage introduces us to the war of the ages. This war has been raging since the day Satan rebelled against God and became His archenemy. At various times this spiritual battle has made its way to the physical realm with people lining up on both sides of the battle. Ultimately, this long war is against God. While we are a part of the war, we are not the focus of the war. The war is waged against God by spiritual enemies who often use human beings to accomplish their will. So the main idea we need to understand is Satan's attacks on man flow from his rebellion against God.
The key phrase in this passage is. "He considered that God is able…” Everything everyone did in this passage was done because they believed God was able. Abraham believed God was able and so he offered Isaac. Isaac believed God was able and so he blessed Jacob and Esau about things to come. Joseph believed God was able so he was faithful to the very end of his life. Our key truth is from this and is simple: God is able
Regardless of the uncertainties we see in this world, we can be certain Jesus will reign.
Jesus is greater. Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus is greater than the angels. Jesus is greater than the Law. Jesus’ sacrifice is greater than all the sacrifices of the Law. Jesus is the greatest there is and anything we suffer as we serve Jesus is worth it because in the end, we get Jesus.
1 John 5:19 says the entire world is under the power of the evil one. How do we fight back against this? Not with physical or worldly weapons, but with the spiritual weapon of the Gospel. God’s Witnesses push back against evil by boldly proclaiming the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Every disciple of Jesus is called to be witnesses of what God has done in Jesus, the Gospel, what God is going to do through Jesus, the events we see in Revelation, and then urge people to repent and believe in Jesus.
Revelation 9:4 is the key verse in this section. It teaches us God's judgment will certainly fall on humanity, but disciples Jesus will be safe from this judgment. Only disciples of Jesus are spared from the judgment of God. There are three truths we need to know considering the certainty of God's judgment.
If we want to see the lost saved, new spiritual births, then, like Sarah, We must believe in order to receive the power to conceive new spiritual births. Our belief in God must be centered around two areas.
The judgment of God is not something we like to think about much less teach about. Aversion to the judgment of God can cause us to minimize the judgment of God. When this happens, we almost never mention the judgment of God, and we do mention the judgment of God, we do it in almost an apologetic embarrassed sort of way. Despite this, there is no accurate way to talk about God without talking His judgment. The Word of God displays the judgment of God without embarrassment and without apology. The Word of God reveals the judgment of God just as surely as it reveals the love of God.
Jesus is always calling us to a life of faith. Jesus is always calling us to a living faith. We must answer this call. Jesus IS calling us, and we must answer.
Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have against these very real threats and issues. God seeks intercessors. The world needs intercessors. Our churches need intercessors. Our families need intercessors. You and I, we must be intercessors.
Today I’m going to ask, and answer, four questions about sin. What is sin? How does God’s Word describe sin? What are the consequences of sin? How can I be saved from sin? The answers to these questions will reveal the deadly danger of sin so we’ll never trivialize it again. Then I’m going to urge everyone to choose Jesus and receive His gracious eternal-life giving gift of salvation.
Jesus called this time, the beginning of sorrows. The end doesn't come suddenly, all at once. Instead, there is a progression where things go from bad to worse.
The first four seals release different guys on different colored horses. You've probably heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, this is them. Who are these horseman, and what do they do?
The scroll Jesus took in Revelation 5 is about to be opened and all Heaven will be unleashed on the earth. The seals will be broken, and the tribulation period will begin. Revelation 6 isn’t the end, but the beginning of the end.
The theme of this chapter is the redemptive power and great worthiness of Jesus Christ.
An Enduring Church Is A Faithful Church. There is no real faithfulness without endurance. Genuine faithfulness presses on when times are hard. How can we develop this kind of faithful endurance?
Every disciple of Jesus is meant to be a watchman on the wall interceding for others. Notice though, the watchmen in this case aren’t so much to cry out to the people about the impending danger, but they are to cry out to God on behalf of the people about the impending danger.
We live seeking the Son of God, believing the Word of God, so we remain passionate through the Spirit of God.
An overcoming church needs discernment to recognize and reject false doctrine. You can’t separate the need for discernment from the ability to overcome. An overcoming church is a discerning church.
The greatest threat to the church is for the people of God to abandon the Word of God as foundation of what we believe and how we live.
God sees all the grief and evil in the world and will, in His time, bring about justice. Nothing happens in this world without God knowing full well what is going on, and in His time, He will bring about justice.
The life of a disciple of Jesus should be marked by loving devotion to Jesus. It must be loving devotion. Devotion without love leads to dry religious duties and which is not acceptable to Jesus. Love without acts of devotion really isn’t love. What Jesus expects from us is loving devotion. What does loving devotion to Jesus look like?
Worship encourages us by focusing our attention on God instead of our circumstances. In this psalm we see four areas to focus on.
Today we begin a multiweek study in Revelation 2-3 of churches. Specifically, we’re going to look at what Jesus says to some specific churches. As we get into the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, we have to note some facts about the seven letters as a whole.
Revelation 1 is a picture of the greatness and glory of Jesus. It reaffirms His right, His authority, and His power to do everything described in the rest of Revelation. Revelation 1 reveals Jesus as One who is worthy of unwavering devotion.
Our integrity is motivated by our relationship and accountability to Jesus. Psalm 7 shows us there is power in integrity motivated by our relationship and accountability to Jesus. The power of integrity is demonstrated in three ways.
An Introduction to Revelation in order to answer four questions. What Is The Book Of Revelation? When Will These Prophecies Be Fulfilled? Why Was Revelation Written? How Does Revelation Help Us?
God chose to place you where He could best work in you, through you, and for you to accomplish His will in the world around you.
Each one of us in this room tonight is going through a hard time, just finished going through a hard time or is probably about to go through a hard time. We should cry out to God during the hard times
One of the most common metaphors in the Bible for a Christian is a soldier. This picture is never of a peacetime soldier but a wartime soldier. The life of being a disciple of Jesus and fulfilling the mission of making disciples of all nations is not the life of shiny brass buttons, spit-shined boots and marching in parades. Instead, it is the life of knowing there is a very real enemy who is ever seeking to steal, kill, and destroy in my life and in the lives of those around me.
These chapters in my daily Bible reading it seemed like there’s a contrast between the world of kings and the world of prophets or regular people. A mountain valley contrast. On the mountain there are kings going to war over sheep. But in the valley ordinary people are about to lose everything. As I was reading this it almost felt like the Lord was giving an invitation to choose which “world” we want to spend our time worrying about.
The Most High God rules the kingdoms of men and gives these kingdoms to whomsoever He wishes.
One of my great desires in life is to finish my race with Jesus well so at the end of my life I can hear “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord.” How can I finish well? That is what we are going to look at this morning.
The purpose of prayer is not primarily to get things from God, but to be with God. If we thought like David thought here, and saw the purpose of prayer more about spending time with God than getting stuff from God, what would we do?
Psalm 138:2 tells us God has magnified His Word even above His name. Part of what this means is we can trust God and we can trust His Word because God’s Word is backed by God’s character. God’s character is such we can trust, He will keep His promises.
Many people today are infected with a malady known as the frets. The frets is a malady causing those infected to stay in constant state of worry and filled with complaints. Are you infected with the frets? If so, how can the frets be cured?
A part of the allotment of land was assigned to cities of refuge. The cities of refuge were a part of God’s gracious provision for the people of this time, but they foreshadow something greater.
As individuals, as families, and as a church, we move forward following Jesus so we can experience more of Jesus.
No matter the circumstances of our lives, we can trust Jesus. This passage gives us ways we should trust Jesus regardless of the circumstances of our lives.
How can we have trials, tribulation and conflict if God is my shield and defender? Jesus protects us IN trials, not FROM trials. With this thought in our minds I want to quickly point out four truths from Psalm 3 to help us understand Jesus protecting us in trials but not from them.
When have we arrived? Or to put it another way, when do we stop moving forward following Jesus? Never. So long as God gives us breath, we move forward.
Our desire to move forward must be greater than the temptation to quit. Part of what we have to learn to do is fuel our desire to move forward, so our desire to move forward stays greater than the temptation to quit. This passage gives us four ways to fuel our desire to move forward.
There are certain principles for spiritual warfare. These principles are essentially the same whether we’re fighting to personally remain faithful to Jesus or whether we’re fighting for the souls of those we want to reach for Christ. We need to know these principles to fight the spiritual battles which will surely come into our lives as we seek to move forward following Jesus.
Consecration is where we give ourselves to God so completely we do God’s will regardless of what God’s will may be. We priorities God’s will over our will so every aspect of our lives is lived for God.
What do we do when the battles we face are more than we can handle and are at least partially our fault?
What happens when we can’t move forward? What happens when we try and fail to move forward? What do we do when we do what we think we’re supposed to do to move forward and we don’t go forward?
What does it mean to know God? I know God. This is a big statement is it not? What does it mean to know God? We know there is a difference between knowing ABOUT God and genuinely knowing God. What does it look like for us to truly know God?
We move forward in faith-fueled obedience because this is the path to victory for us and salvation for others.
Memorials of what God has done in the past can help us hope for what God will do in the future.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to move forward despite obstacles, but to trust and obey.
God basically lays out what He expected from Abraham in relation to his family. Abraham would be a good and godly dad by fulfilling these responsibilities. Here is the main idea we need to know today. Godly dads fulfill God's expectations.
We must be Spirit filled, Spirit led, and Spirit empowered to move forward in our lives, our families and our church. Moving us forward is part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives, our families, and our church. Everything the Spirit does in us, through us and for us is to help us move forward in the ways Jesus wants us to move forward.
We prepare to move forward so we can move forward. In some ways, this sounds overly simplistic, but it’s accurate. Whether it’s soldiers preparing for a deployment, Israel preparing to cross the Jordan River, us preparing to move forward individually, as families or as a church, the point of the preparations is to actually move forward.
A part of God calling us forward, is God calling us to be courageous and to live a courageous life. We must be strong and courageous to move forward.
With the world before us being different than the world behind us, we have a choice to make. We can stay where we are, but only for a limited time, we can try to go back, but there’s no going back, or we can move forward. God is always calling us forward, but we must choose to follow.
When we don't/won't move forward we miss God's plans, God's promises, God's power, and God's purposes in and for our lives.
Hope makes life an adventure instead of an ordeal. There are three reasons hope makes life an adventure instead of an ordeal.
While we all need hope, hope can’t be conjured up at will. Hope must be built on something. We find hope in God's Word. The Word of God is the foundation of our hope from God.
We aren’t ready for battle until we’ve prayed. We prepare for spiritual battles through periods of passionate prayer.
The helmet of salvation pictures a lifestyle of hope coming from an intentional focus on Jesus and our ultimate salvation
Easter is Sunday April 12th. Statistically, people are more open to accepting invitations to church on Easter Sunday than on any other Sunday of the year. So, as a general rule, more people will attend church on Easter Sunday than on any other Sunday of the year. Here are some ways to pray to maximize this opportunity.
In order to put on the breastplate of righteousness to guard our hearts, we must Be righteous through Christ and do righteous because of Christ.
People will not naturally come to an understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel must be revealed before it can be received. This is why we must explicitly proclaim the Gospel.
Truth holds everything together for us as disciples of Jesus while we fight spiritual battles. We must have an absolute commitment to the truth of Scripture. Without this commitment to truth everything sorta falls apart.
We all have problems, and at times we all feel overwhelmed by them. We need to know how to pray when we feel overwhelmed.
God doesn’t work powerfully and give great victories to those who set back and do nothing. God doesn’t work powerfully and give great victories to those who give up and don’t stand. The Lord gives victories to those who stand and fight.
In a world where there is a never ending supply of competing messages disciples of Jesus must remember the Gospel is the priority message.
Spiritual battles require intentional preparation. It is critically important that make intentional preparations for the spiritual battles we will certainly be involved in.
In Scripture we find God's plans for the family, the enemies of the family, what we can do to protect our family and ways to pray for families.
Godly parents, and godly children, fulfill their God given, Scripture revealed, responsibilities.
If we, as proclaimers of the Gospel, drift from the Gospel we lead people astray. This is why we must stand in the Gospel to be faithful with the Gospel and refuse to forget to the Gospel through practical universalism.
Scripture reveals what God expects of each and every wife. Godly wives fulfill their God given, Scripture revealed, responsibilities to their husbands.
If we, as proclaimers of the Gospel, drift from the Gospel we lead people astray. This is why we must stand in the Gospel to be faithful with the Gospel and refuse to add to the Gospel through legalism.
Scripture reveals what God expects of each and every husband. Godly husbands fulfill their God given, Scripture revealed, responsibilities to their wives.
If we, as proclaimers of the Gospel, drift from the Gospel we lead people astray. This is why we must stand in the Gospel to be faithful with the Gospel and refuse to take away from the Gospel through liberalism.
If we are meant to be Spirit filled, and Spirit led 24/7 then there must be some sort of “ordinary” evidence of being filled with the Spirit outside of being empowered to do something.
Once we have explicitly proclaimed the Gospel, those we have shared the Gospel with must respond to the Gospel.
Beginning the year praying through the ACTS of prayer. Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication
Just as Old Testament believers looked for the coming Christ, so New Testament believers look for the coming Christ. Our belief in the coming Christ should influence the way we live our lives.
Most of us would acknowledge waiting is hard. However, we would also acknowledge there are some things worth waiting for. Things so wonderful they made the wait worthwhile. Today we are going to look at something the entire world had to wait for and see why He was worth the wait.
The most effective way for the Gospel to spread in Guymon is for us, all of us, to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel as we go throughout our community. We cannot be faithful witnesses of the Gospel without explicitly proclaiming the Gospel.
The key to hope in all its forms is “Through Christ”. It is the life and death of Jesus that gives us hope. Jesus was always meant to be our source of hope
The Gospel is the greatest message the world has ever known. The Gospel meets the greatest need the people of the world have. The Gospel is and must always remain the primary message of the Church.
Christmas season is upon us and it’s the most wonderful time of the year. During Christmas we celebrate the coming of Jesus. This is the first message in a series focusing on prophecies about Jesus and what He came to do. We begin in the beginning to find out why Jesus came.
When we learn to pray the Bible our prayers will be deeply rooted in Scripture and the glory of God because we aren’t praying our words, our hopes, or our dreams. Instead, we are praying God’s Words back to Him and when God’s Words are performed God always get’s the glory.
Evangelism comes after revival, or perhaps as a result of revival. When Gods people are rejoicing in Him, it becomes very natural for them to seek to bring others to the Jesus who brings them such joy. Revival from Christ changes us into missionaries for Christ.
God revives us to renew or restore our relationship with Him so we will rejoice in Him. Now, here’s where we have to make a decision. How am I going to respond to God in this moment? We always respond in one of three ways.
The Gospel is the greatest message the world has ever known. The Gospel meets the greatest need the people of the world have. The Gospel is and must always remain the primary message of the Church.
Everything changes when we come to Jesus because Jesus changes our heart and this changes our life.
Prayer precedes revival, always. Long before revival ever came to a person, a church or a community, there was prayer. How do we pray, if we are going pray for revival? That's what this message is about.
Praying for Open DOORS is method of prayer is based on the acrostic D.O.O.R.S. Each letter stands for an area of our personal evangelism we can cover in prayer. It is based on D.O.O.R.S. because a “door” in Scripture sometimes referred to an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel.
Of all the character traits we see in the Fruit of the Spirit, self-control is probably the one that most applies to every area of our lives. There is probably not any area of life where self-control is not needed.
Do you need revival? This is the key question. Not does our church need revival. Not does Jack need revival. Not does the pastor need revival. The question is, “Do I need revival?”
Meekness is an attitude of quiet, reverent and humble submission to God that results in gentleness toward others. It is characterized by humility of mind and strong self control. When we are Spirit filled and Spirit led, we will be meek people.
Every disciple of Jesus is meant to experience the fullness of the Spirit. Experiencing the fullness of the Spirit requires us to be filled with the Spirit. There are three questions we must ask and honestly answer to experience the filling and fullness of the Spirit
Most people are faithful at something. Many people are even faithful at a couple of things. But few people are truly faithful at everything they do. Yet, the type of faithfulness the Holy Spirit will produce in our lives leads us to be faithful in every area of our lives.
As disciples of Jesus, we must be careful and deliberate to seize the day to do God’s will in every area of our lives. This messages gives some ways to do this.
Every disciple of Jesus Christ is meant to be an intercessor. I'm convinced whatever else the Church of Jesus Christ is meant to be, it is meant to be an interceding Church. This message explains what an intercessor is, gives some ways to intercede, and explains why intercessory prayer is so important.
The more God has given to us, the more God expects from us. God has given much to us and so God expects much from us. Are we living up to His expectations?
The Church must wake up to imitate God by walking in love, holiness, hatred of sin, and bold proclamation of truth.
The kind of goodness the Holy Spirit produces in our lives actively causes us to be filled with moral excellence, kindness and consideration for others. It is an active virtue leading us to do good for others. This is true even if they don’t deserve it. It moves us to treat others in the way God would have us to treat them.
Kindness is an attitude making us gracious and considerate resulting in our doing what we can to help those in need. Biblically speaking, kindness doesn’t wait on needs to be brought to it. Instead kindness sees the need and then takes the initiative to do what is necessary to meet the need. The Holy Spirit works to make us kind.
When the Holy Spirit produces longsuffering in us we will patiently put up with other, or difficult, people, we will be slow to act out in anger, and we will persevere in our faithfulness and devotion to Jesus without giving up or giving in no matter what kind of opposition we face.
Certain attitudes and actions common among Church leaders and church members are giant flashing, screaming neon signs revealing the church is asleep and needs to wake up. The Church must wake up to imitate God by walking in love, holiness, hatred of sin, and bold proclamation of truth.
When we let fear rule our lives it will affect the decisions we make and keep us from having any real peace. Spirit filled, Spirit led disciples of Jesus are meant to have a peace which passes all understanding.
Disciples of Jesus are meant to live like Jesus. This will not happen accidentally or automatically. We must take intentional steps to become more and more like Jesus.
If social media is any indicator of our culture, huge numbers of people live their lives angry, discouraged, fearful and just generally unhappy. This is not the way a Spirit filled, Spirit controlled disciple of Jesus is meant to live.
On the surface, the idea of love being part of the fruit of the Spirit seems pretty easy, after all we all love. We love our spouse, our kids, our friends and of course we all love our pastor. When we focus on love in this way it makes it easy for us to forget the love Jesus calls on us to have is so much more than this.
The way we think determines the way we live. So if I want to live like Jesus I must learn to think like Jesus. Disciples of Jesus must learn to think like Jesus.
There is no looking back AND remaining faithful to Jesus. It’s one or the other. Without remaining faithful and running the race God has set before us there is no receiving the enduring possession of Heaven or the great reward from Christ.
When every disciple does his or her part, it makes a difference in the church which in turns makes a difference in the community around them. This is what Jesus has gifted you and I to do. This is the kind of church Jesus died to create. The victorious Christ created a powerful Church
Spiritual neglect produces spiritual stagnation that hardens our hearts. Since Hebrews 3 warns us about the danger of a hard heart leading us away from God, we must be on guard against spiritual neglect, spiritual stagnation and the hardening of our hearts.
As the risen conqueror, Jesus gives gifts to those who are with Him. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then Jesus has equipped you to make a difference in your church and community for His glory.
In Jeremiah 23 God gives several characteristics of false prophets and then has some strong words for these false prophets.
You received God’s grace and mercy after He called you to salvation and now you are to live in a way that is worthy what God has done in us, through us, and for us. What does this look like?
Scripture calls on us to pray for the leaders of our government. The reason we pray for our leaders is so we can live quite and peaceable lives in godliness and reverence.
God is able to save you God is able to restore you God is able to gift you God is able to empower you God is able to heal you God is able to answer your prayer
While spiritual stagnation is common, it is not God’s will. We are always meant to be moving deeper in our relationship with Jesus and our experience of God.In fact, we are meant to experience all the fullness of God.
It can be difficult to spot a false prophet. Even Jesus said they would be wolves in sheep’s clothing indicating they would do all they could to appear Christian. Despite the appearance of being Christian, there are some recognizable characteristics of false prophets.
Just as there is a need for Christ centered missionaries to take the Gospel to places where they’ve never heard of Jesus, there is a need for Christ centered missionaries to take the Gospel to places where they’ve become bored with Jesus. What would it look like t o be aChrist centered missionaries in your community?
Throughout Scripture there is the very real idea that the Christian life should be characterized by joy. Where does this joy come from? That's what this message is about.
Paul told the Corinthian believers to examine themselves to see if there was evidence of Jesus being in them. What does this mean? What evidence would there be? Why would this be important?
What would it look like to have the Holy Spirit poured out on our lives and our church? Scripture has quite a bit to say about what the Holy Spirit can do/will do in us, through us, and for us. We can use these both as a guide for prayer and a way to examine our lives.
The divisions of the world have no place in the Church. Jesus has ended those divisions forever. The Church is one because of what Christ has done.
While the mercy and grace of God are the greatest wonders the world has ever known they are often misunderstood, marginalized and abused. We need to study to see what Scripture has to say about grace so that we can properly understand it and genuinely experience it in our lives.
The great need in every believer and every church is to know God better. Not only is this our need, it should be our desire. How do we do this?
One of the most difficult aspects of soulwinning is figuring out how to turn a “regular” conversation to spiritual things. Prayer is the main tool we have to to turn a regular conversation into a spiritual conversation.
The greatest sign that the Holy Spirit is working in a church is lives changed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the working of the Holy Spirit no souls are ever saved, and no lives are ever changed. This message shows how the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of redemption.
What is it that makes us so afraid of sharing the Gospel? While the fears given in articles about evangelism are all over the place, there are some reoccurring fears, and of these there were four that resonated most with me. The goal today is to address the fears and show Scriptural truth to overcome it
To redeem means to purchase and set free by paying a price. It carries with it the idea of deliverance or setting someone free after paying a ransom. What holds us captive making it necessary for us to be redeemed? What was the price of our redemption? Who paid this price? That's what this sermon is about.
One of the foundational principles of reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is we must pray for them. Yet, our responsibility does not end there. We must pray AND act. There are three words that will help us pray and then act.
Sadly some believers scrape by on spiritual breadcrumbs when God’s plans for us are much greater than this. There riches of redemption given to us in Christ. Believers should never settle for less.
Evangelism isn't a program or an event, it's a way of life. As we go through life we look for opportunities to tell people about Jesus. This is what it means to live an evangelistic lifestyle. This message gives us some principles needed to live an evangelistic lifestyle
The story of Jesus’ is one of the best-known stories in history. Why is this? Who is He? What did He do? Why is He important?
There is no real limit on what God can do through anyone who wants to make a difference and is willing to let God work in them, through them, and for them to make a difference. There are, however, some character traits we need to have.
God great, awesome, and worthy of our worship. He is so worthy of our worship that we devote our lives to declaring His glory. Psalm 96 teaches us how to to this.
The brokenness and pain in this world always eventually finds its way into our lives and we go through periods that have been aptly described as a dark night of the soul. What do we do when these times come? We learn to lament.
People have always made excuses to justify not serving Jesus. What may be surprising to know is Jesus’ view of these excuses.
Easter Sunday is April 21st. Statistically, people are more open to accepting invitations to church on Easter Sunday than on any other Sunday of the year. This is a guide on why and how to pray for the Easter service
We have a very real tendency to drift off the course of our lives. If we get careless, we can and will drift off course. The longer we allow ourselves to drift the further we get off course. Spiritual drifting is one of the most spiritually dangerous issues in our lives. The book of Hebrews tells us why.
When Nehemiah hears about the lousy conditions of Jerusalem his heart is heavy but hopeful because of God. His heavy hopeful heart drives him to his knees. Nehemiah’s prayer shows us four elements of prayer that flows from heavy and hopeful hearts.
There is one place I'm sure we'd rather not visit. It’s not really a place of joy and peace. It’s more of a place of anguish and suffering. It is the site of one of the greatest spiritual battles the world has ever known. It’s a place called Gethsemane.
What breaks your heart? Are our hearts broken over those things which break God’s heart? Nehemiah’s heart was. The opening verses of Nehemiah show us why this matters.
One of the greatest needs in the church today is an accurate view of God. Culture today, even much of the Christian culture, has a view of God based more on feelings and fantasy than on Scripture. What we need is a fresh vision of our God. Isaiah gives us such a vision.
The word revival comes from the root word revive which means to restore life or consciousness, to regain strength, or to be given new strength or energy. In the case of spiritual revival, the restoration of life and strength, and the giver of strength and energy is God. Revival isn’t something we work up, it’s something God does, and we work out. But when does revival come? Ezra gives us an answer to this.
As Jesus closes out His Sermon on the Mount, He teaches us how to build our lives so they are built to last regardless of the storms we face. Listen to learn what Jesus says about building our lives to last.
Give me Scotland, or I die.” This was the daily prayer of Scottish reformer John Knox. Knox labored through preaching the Gospel, prayer, and personal evangelism to bring revival and reformation to Scotland. Let's see why and how we can imitate John Knox example in praying for our community.
Nothing in Scripture teaches salvation is a prayer we prayed at some point in the past with no present impact on our day to day lives. In fact, Scripture leads teaches the opposite. The salvation Jesus Christ died to provide not only changes our eternal destiny but has a profound impact on our day to day lives. A salvation with no profound impact on our day to day lives does NOT change our eternal destiny
There are four basic truths about problems we face in our lives. We cannot keep problems from happening. We cannot run from our problems. We cannot ignore our problems. We cannot solve our problems. Thankfully, as disciples of Jesus we don’t have to handle our problems alone. We can seek help from the One who knows all things.
Jesus tells us to “Beware” of false teachers and their false teaching. The word “beware” tells us to sit up and pay attention to what Jesus is saying because it’s important. The word “beware” indicates there is danger present which will bring much harm to us if we aren’t careful. What's the danger and what's the harm of false teachers? Jesus explains.
Have you felt like you were stuck in a rut? I don’t mean a rut in the road, but I mean a spiritual rut where you can't break free of a particular sin, or you feel as though your relationship with Jesus has stagnated, or you just feel stuck spiritually. If so, this sermon will show some actions we can take to get unstuck.
Everyone that even remotely believes in an afterlife wants to go to heaven. Chances are even those who don’t believe in an afterlife would say if there is a Heaven they want to go there. But desire alone does not determine our destination. We must be going the right direction to reach our desired destination.
Jesus said we are to pray: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 (NKJV) What is the Kingdom of God? What does it mean for God's will to be done? How do we pray this way? That's what this message is about.
If we aren't careful our prayer lives fall into a routine and then this routine can become a rut. When this happens, prayer is something that we do to check our box. In this situation prayer becomes something of a burden in our lives. How do we move past this? This message shows us how to move into the kind of prayer life we long to have
Jesus said rather than spending their lives worrying, His disciples were to seek first the Kingdom of God. This message shows three ways to pursue Jesus and His Kingdom.
A determined devotion to God’s Word positions us where God will put His hand on our lives. This message shows three ways a determined devotion to God's Word is expressed.
A part of life is making choices. A part of being a responsible mature adult is making good choices. A part of being a disciple of Jesus is making choices that deepen our devotion to Jesus. So we must choose wisely
As disciples of Jesus we never arrive because there’s always more to learn and there's always more to do. Instead, we persevere in faithfully performing the work. There are certain necessities we need to faithfully perform the work. This message shows four of these necessities.
Most people know that prayer is important to have a thriving relationship with Jesus. But for many prayer seems strange, awkward and uncomfortable, and so it gets left undone, or not done consistently. Thankfully, Jesus teaches us how to pray.
There are times in our lives when the Lord seems distant and we can’t really sense His presence in our lives. Most of the time when this happens it is because we have drifted in some way. The easiest way for us to drift is through distraction that keeps us from Him and the work He’s called us to do. In those times we need to be revived.
God rewards righteous deeds done in righteous ways. In Scripture we find that rewards from God sometimes take the form of blessing in the here and now. Rewards also can refer to rewards that we will receive in glory. What righteous deeds? How are they done in righteous ways? That's what this sermon is about.
God works powerfully through the right people in the right place doing the right work for the right reasons. This message explains why this matters.
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro says, "Encouragement is God’s native tongue. But encouragement without change is like a bicycle with only one pedal. Our participation is required. Encouragement turns into hope when His instructions find our ready acceptance and application." In this passage God sent a message to encourage His discouraged people and shows us how to respond to receive hope.
Reckless consumerism, and Christless spiritualism make it difficult to focus on the real meaning of Christmas. How can we make Christmas meaningful by focusing on the meaning of Christmas? This message gives three ways.
As the people of God set out to do the work of God, they run into opposition almost immediately. When this opposition arose, they didn’t give up. They stood against it and kept doing the work of God. There are many lessons for us here.
For those of us who believe in Jesus and have committed ourselves to being disciples Jesus, we are to be like Jesus in our attitudes, actions, reactions, values, priorities, speech, love and in every other way. We are to pattern the way we live our lives after the way Jesus lived His life, and obey all of His teachings. And this is where things get complicated.
In His book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby gives seven realities to experiencing God. Two of those are that God is always at work around us and He invites us to join Him in the work. Ezra 3 gives us four ways we can work with God to accomplish His mission in the world.
While there is a lack of integrity in our world today, Scripture teaches us “He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.” Proverbs 10:9 (NKJV) It. But how do we live with integrity in a world that is really so comfortable with a lack of integrity? That's what this message is about.
Jesus says our righteousness much exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees or we’ll never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees is both received and lived. It is received by faith in Jesus. Having received righteousness from Jesus, disciples begin to live righteously through Jesus. One of the ways this righteousness is seen is in how we deal with our anger.
Disciples of Jesus are to be men and women of purity. Genuine purity is something that is in short supply in our world today. If we want to live a life of purity then there is a specific set of choices we will need to make.
God has a standard that He expects from His people. This standard is unchanging. This standard is unwavering. Jesus teaches that those who do not meet this standard will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This standard is a standard for righteousness. What is the standard for righteousness that God demands? That's what this message is about.
An easily overlooked passage in Ezra gives us three important lessons about doing the work of God.
Our prayer focus for the month of November is Praying For Our Church. To guide our prayers we'll look at what Jesus wants our church to be, how Jesus views the church, and we'll have a prayer list. (there are spaces of "dead air" as we pray)
Disciples should have a righteous influence on the world. Our world is bombarded with negative influences. From music to television, movies, peers, and the news. All of these at times draw out our baser impulses. Disciples of Jesus are to counteract this. How do we do this?
At various times God works in people’s life and stirs their spirit to do something, to change something, to fan into flames devotion and service to Him. Those who are stirred are compelled to action. That’s what will happen in us. When God stirs our spirit we are compelled to act.
One of the greatest facets of Jesus’ teaching is His brutal honesty. Jesus says those who follow Him will be persecuted, reviled, and blessed.
Peacemakers work to make peace out of conflict. Genuine peacemakers don’t fake peace by avoiding conflict. They face the conflict and bring peace out of the midst of it. As great is it is to know what a peacemaker does. That knowledge is useless unless we do what a peacemaker does. What does a peacemaker do?
To be merciful is have a forgiving spirit and a compassionate heart. It is being compassionate and benevolent towards others because God has been compassionate and benevolent towards you. This is the key truth we have to understand. Merciful people give to others what they've received from God. We are merciful because we have received mercy.
In the devotional classic My Utmost For His Highest Oswald Chambers once wrote, “Thank God He gives us difficult things to do!" Warren Wiersbe said about this, “I've lived long enough to understand the wisdom of Chambers' statement. I've learned that when God tells us to do difficult things, it's because He wants us to grow.” This beginning study in Ezra and Nehemiah prepare us to do what's hard so we can grow.
Most people have a desire for a measure of righteousness. Some have a desire to be righteous but not do righteous. Others have a desire to do righteous but not really be righteous. The attitude that Jesus says is blessed is an attitude that desires all righteousness. It is those people who desire to be righteous and to do righteous. It is important that we understand this because the promise of a filled life is conditional. Jesus does not promise that everyone will be filled. Jesus promises Those who desire all righteousness will be filled.
Do we believe God can still do what He has done? Personally, I do. I believe God still does what He has done. I believe all Christians should believe this and pray for God to do it again. There are five common reasons people give for not believing God still does what He has done. This message looks at them in light of Scripture.
Meekness is not really seen as a virtue anywhere in the western world. In fact, meek people are often ridiculed as weak, wimpy or in need of counseling to overcome their low self-esteem. Yet as we look at the life of Jesus we see that He possessed and exemplified meekness and yet was not weak, wimpy or suffering from low self-esteem.
Reading Biblical accounts of God’s power, plus reading stories about revivals in history has stirred within me a desire to see God do those things again and do them in Guymon. Do them in our church, and the other churches in our community. Why can’t God do again what He’s done in the past? Why can’t He do those things in Guymon? I think He can, so I pray, Do it again Lord! In my Scripture reading earlier this year I realized I wasn’t the first person to pray this way.
Those that come to the place where they understand the seriousness of their sin and their spiritual poverty, mourn. First they mourn for their own sin. Then they mourn over the sins of others. Then the mourn over the general brokenness of the world around them.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “It’s never a waste of time to pray.” Is it true? What if it’s not true? What if praying can be a waste of time? What if something could happen to cause a believer's prayers to go nowhere and accomplish nothing? What would be the cause of such idle prayers? What would be the cure? That’s what this message is about.
What Jesus refers to as being poor in spirit would be evidenced in people’s lives. I want to give you three facts that are true of all people but are only recognized and accepted by those who are poor in spirit.
All believers in Jesus are called to serve Jesus.This call isn’t always going to be easy. This message covers four steps we need to take to serve Jesus.
The Sermon On The Mount is the longest recorded sermon of Jesus. In this sermon, Jesus explains the values, priorities, attitudes, actions, and reactions He intends for those who follow Him to have. It lays out the way of Jesus. This message is an intro into the way of Jesus.
When people get caught in the snare of the devil, they get stuck and they can’t get out. They may struggle. They may fight. They may scream. And they may cry. But they just can’t get themselves out. In those times, what they need is someone to come along and help them escape Satan’s share. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are meant to be the people who help them escape.
Scripture frequently uses the word fruit to describe something that should be in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ. Fruit is evidence of the work of Christ in a person’s life. It would be easy for us to wonder, “Does it really matter if I live a fruitful life as long as I don’t live a wicked, immoral life?” The answer is yes it does matter.
Satan takes people into his snare, to do his will so he can steal, kill, and destroy in their lives. He he uses deception to lure people into his snare. Part of Satan’s deception is to convince us we cannot escape his snare. But this is a lie. While it may be difficult to escape Satan’s snare, it is not impossible.
Organizations spend millions of dollars developing a logo that is immediately recognizable and makes people think about their products. What would we think if companies used instruments of death for their logo’s? Yet this is exactly what Christianity did with choosing the cross. Why would Christianity make the cross it’s symbol or logo? It's because they understood the meaning of the cross.
The snare of the devil is when someone has been taken captive begins to do the devil’s will. That sounds extreme and yet Scripture clearly bears this truth out. When we read through Scripture we repeatedly find ways Satan works in the world. Given the opportunity, Satan would no doubt lead believers and unbelievers alike to live and believe certain ways.
We make choices every day. Some choices really don’t matter very much. This morning I had to choose what to eat for breakfast, what clothes to wear, and which tie to put on. None of these were really life changing decisions. Other choices are very significant and can have long term affect on our lives. Do I go to college, if so where? What career do I choose? Who will I marry? Where will we live? These can be life-changing choices. Then there are choices we make that matter for eternity. This passage calls us to make just such a decision.
What is sin? How does Scripture describe sin? What are the effects of sin? How can I be saved from sin? Scripture answers these questions.
A false conversion is what it sounds like. It’s when a person goes through the motions of getting saved, but doesn’t actually get saved. I’m fairly convinced false conversion describes much of the problem in the American church and the experience of thousands if not millions of people around the world.
For those who believe the Bible, statements that trivialize the judgment to come should grieve our hearts. Today we are going to look at a passage showing us the certainty and severity of judgment day so we will be sure never to trivialize it.
The Holy Spirit is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Christianity. As believers, we understand and embrace God the Father. We understand and embrace God the Son. But we often misunderstand and, in some ways, reject God the Holy Spirit. Wrong ideas about the Holy Spirit tend to run in polar extremes. However, as Bible believing Christians, running to an extreme should not be an option for us. Instead we should seek to find what Scripture says on a subject and follow the path laid out by Scripture.
Isaiah says that some people are like the troubled sea that cannot rest. This describes what you might call troubled soul. Today I’m going to give you four causes and one cure for the troubled soul.
We live in a culture where one of the worst things you can do is tell someone something they did was their fault. We’ve come up with reasons why no one is to blame for anything they do. Rather than help people, what we’ve done is made them perpetual victims. Those with the victim mentality say, “I can’t help it. There is nothing I can do. It’s not my fault.” The reason given for why they can’t help but do whatever it is they’re doing may differ from person to person. But it’s the same victim mentality that is humorously expressed in the bumper sticker saying, “The devil made me do it.” But, is that true? Are we victims and slaves of our sinful nature? Scripture gives an answer to this.
The majority of the American population now believes it is possible to be good without any sort of religious belief. This idea is embraced by roughly 30% of American evangelical Christians. But, is it true that a person can be good without God? If not, why not? This sermon examines a passage that answers these questions.
Jesus is preeminent. Preeminent essentially means superior or surpassing all others. Paul’s focus on this passage, and our key truth is, Nothing or no one compares to Jesus. This passage gives us eight reasons nothing or no one compares to Jesus.
Imagine a scenario where you were physically and financially able to do all you wanted to do, acquire all you saw and desired, be all that you wanted to be. How valuable would that be to you? What if you already possess something infinitely more valuable than all you can do, desire and acquire, and be.
The idea of the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker is God is with the person and has a say in their life. But is that really what Jesus is meant to be? Is He with us and has a say in our lives? Is He second in command and only takes over in the case of our incapacitation? Let’s see what Jesus has to say about this.
Jesus clearly says “Judge not”, but does Jesus mean we are never to make any sort of judgment call at all about whether something is right or wrong? If not, what does He mean? That's what this message is about.
The ideological relativism behind the coexist bumper sticker says all religions should accept one another as equal paths for life, morality, guidance, light, spirituality, and connection to “the eternal”. Is this true? If not why not?
I want to answer three questions today. How does God speak? How can I be sure it's God speaking? How can I position myself to hear God speak? So let's dive into these questions and answer them.
Scripture teaches that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). That's exciting stuff to preach about, and think about. It should be. We ought to be excited at the thought of God's power working in us, through us, and for us. I wonder though, if sometimes we affirm the exceedingly abundant power of God but then live as though God's power was not exceedingly abundant? How often does fear control our lives? How often does the fear of man keep us from doing what we know God wants us to do? How often do we choose safety and comfort over "risky" and uncomfortable obedience? I'm sure we would all say we want to experience God's power working in us, through us, and for us, but do we want it enough to DO what is required to experience God's power? How do we experience the power of God?
Sadly, many genuine believers in Jesus never come to the place where they experience the freedom of God. As a result their Christian lives are spent in misery and defeat. Rather than their relationship with Jesus providing them with abundant life, it is a source of frustration and discouragement. If this is you today, I have good news for you. God's plans for you are far greater than misery, defeat, frustration, and discouragement. God intends for you to live an abundant life and experience true freedom in Christ.
When we talk about peace we often think of peace as a lack of conflict. Peace is when everything in my world is working just as it should. There is no conflict, no pain, no hardship, no struggling, there is nothing bad going on in my world at all. While this may be a type of peace, it is not the kind of peace that the Bible promises us we can have. Instead of there being peace because nothing is wrong in my world. There is peace in spite of the fact things are wrong in my world. So how do we do this? How can we have peace when everything around us conspires to steal this peace? That's what this message is about.
One day we will stand face to face with God and have to give an account for our lives. What will we say? What will we do? More importantly, what will He say? What will He do? What can we do to prepare ourselves for that day? How can we be sure that fate doesn’t await us? How can we overcome the fact that we have sinned and are guilty in the courts of Heaven? That’s what this message is about.
Genuinely knowing God involves experiencing God. We are meant to know God by experience and we shouldn’t settle for anything less.
Love as an attribute of God is foundational to our understanding of who God is and why God does what He does. Love is a motive that tempers and fuels all that God does in His interaction with humanity. We cannot understand God without understanding God's love. We cannot understand the Gospel without understanding God's love.
The main theme of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is greater. Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus is greater than the angels. Jesus is greater than the Law. Jesus’ sacrifice is greater than all the sacrifices of the Law. Jesus is the greatest there is and anything we suffer as we serve Jesus is worth it because in the end, we get Jesus. What I want to do today is gives some reasons why salvation is so great.
To worship something is to consider it worthy of our admiration and respect. What we worship reveals what is really important to us. How do we worship God in a way that demonstrates He is important to us? That's what this message is about.
God has made an amazing investment in us. Does it make sense that God would make such a hefty investment in us only to have us drift through life and never really know what it is to live a life of meaning and purpose? It doesn’t to me and it shouldn’t to you. We all need to understand the investment God has made in our lives and the way that has equipped us to make a difference in our church and community. That's what we talk as we study 1 Corinthians 12.
Of all the things that a church should be, it should be a place of prayer. Rick Warren has said that a prayer-less ministry is a powerless ministry. If our church is to be a church that is used by God to do great things, then it must be a praying church. Great things happen when people pray. Great things will happen in this church when we are a praying church. What does it look like to be a praying Church?
One of the greatest dangers for any organization, like the Church, is for it to lose sight of its mission. This lost focus will be seen in many ways. It's seen when churches continue to do what they've always done, regardless of if it's effective anymore, because they've always done it. It's seen when a church refuses to try to do anything new because, "We've never done that before." It's seen when a church assigns something primary importance when it's really only of secondary importance. It's seen when a church only does what is comfortable instead of what is commanded. That's why it's important to answer and then keep coming back to the question, “What is the church’s mission?
People around us need hope. God is a God of hope who fills us with all joy and peace in believing so that we can abound in hope (Rom 15:13). God intends for us to be a people of hope. God intends for His Church to be a place of hope.
What has your pursuit of Jesus been like? Would you say that while you're pursuing Jesus, you'd love to go deeper with Jesus? Many want to go deeper with Jesus but many just don't seem to be able to accomplish this. The deeper life seems almost mythical. Yet in Scripture the deeper life is a reality. Not only is it a reality, it is God's will. What does deeper look like? How do we get there? That's what this sermon is about.
The truths of Discipleship 101 are the very basics about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. These are truths we will use every day of our lives as disciples of Jesus. It is doing these basic truths over and over again that enable us to go deeper with Jesus.
By and large we don't expect Christians who have been Christians a while to be able to take a newer Christian and give tips and pointers on how to be a successful Christian. The reason for this lack of expectation is that we have settled for shallow, low expectation Christianity. To go deeper with Jesus we need to move beyond shallow Christianity to deep discipleship. That's what this message is about.
There are certain basics in Christianity that we need to get right from the very beginning of our journey with Jesus. Despite the fact that these are basic things, we never outgrow them. If we want to go deeper with Jesus, we must get these basic things right.
We all make choices every day of our lives. Each choice leaves a lasting impact on our lives. None so much as our choice about Jesus. What does choosing Jesus look like? That's what this message is about
Today we are going to talk about the One who has a name above all names, Jesus. I want to show you from Scripture why Jesus' name is the name above all names. When we finish, I hope we will be in awe of the greatness and majesty of Jesus.
Have you ever really looked forward to getting to see something or someone? I have, but my greatest desire is to see Jesus. Scripture promises that we can see Him but there is a qualifier, and it's a heart issue.
Baptist Pastor Charles Spurgeon that illustrates this truth. “The same sun which melts wax, hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance, hardens others in their sins” This is very true. You respond to God's Word every time you hear it or read it. This response either hardens your heart and pushes you away from God, or tenderizes your heart and brings you closer to God. Is there anything we can do to help our hearts be tender?
How is your heart today? Is it beating with strong regular intervals? Does it deliver an adequate supply of oxygen throughout your body? No matter how healthy our hearts are, Scripture tells us that we all need heart transplants. Receiving this heart transplant is so important that it's a matter of eternal life, and eternal death.
Have you ever lost hope? If so, then you know the deep the hole of discouragement can get and how difficult it can be to climb out. Take heart! God is a God of Hope who wants you to abound in hope and you can regain hope. That's what this message is all about.
In times of discouragement we need help, and we need hope. The hope that we need is often something we have to fight for and today's message will give us some ways to do this.
A temptation that we can face as we wait on God is to lower Scripture to our circumstances. We start trying to find reasons why God doesn't fully do what this promise we've been holding on to says He does. We lower Scripture till it fits with our circumstances and experiences and then say, "Hooray!" But what if we're not supposed to do that? What if, despite the wait, we are meant to maintain the high bar of what God has actually said? How do we do that? How do we maintain a big faith, and an expecting hope as we wait? That's what this message is about.
Our world desperately needs hope, and hopeful people. Today we are going to start a series called Hope that I believe will help us be the hopeful people that the world needs.
God has given us everything we need so that we can finish our race. He has given us the Holy Spirit. There is grace to help in our time of need. He places within us the desire to finish and the power to finish (Philippians 2:12-13). Through all of this, God has, in essence, said to us “Stay in the race”.However before any of this can really benefit us, we must determine that we are going to finish no matter what
One of metaphors used in Scripture to describe the Christian life is that of a race. There are times when the running is easy and there are times when the running hurts. When the pain starts the greatest temptation is to quit to ease the pain. However, we have to recognize that quitting when it hurts will always prevent us from finishing the race. We have to be able to deal with the problem of pain if we want to finish the race set before us. How do we do that since this is easier said than done? That's what we're going to talk about today.
Chances are we all know what is to be discouraged. But imagine for a second that you were a part of a group of people that were there to pick you up when you were feeling down. Imagine being a part of a group of people that remind you of what God has said about you when you've listened to what the enemy has said about you. Imagine being a part of a group of people where everyone went out of their way to encourage one another. What would that look like? That's what we're going to talk about today.
It's rare for someone in our culture to go to believers who are wondering from the truth and try to bring them back. We just aren't that involved in one another's personal or spiritual lives. The very thought of this makes most of us uncomfortable. We are afraid of coming across as judgmental. We are afraid of coming across as unloving. Really, we kinda think it's not really any of our business. But what if we were wrong? What if going to someone who was straying in their relationship with Jesus was NOT judgmental? What if going to someone who was straying in their relationship was one of the most loving things we could do? What if going to someone who was straying in their relationship was part our responsibility to one another? Let's see what Scripture has to say
Many today read what Scripture says about Jesus setting us free and conclude that freedom means that we really don't have to do anything we don't want to do. If someone says there are things we are to do, or are not to do, they are told they are infringing on the freedom Christ has given us. But is this sort of absolute, personal autonomy what Jesus meant when said that those the Son sets free are free indeed? Scripture gives us an answer for this.
There are so many times as Christians we seek to be an army of one. Americans are a very individualistic culture. In this culture of individuality, we have developed a sort of rugged individualistic mindset about Christianity. This mindset gives the idea that we really don't need one another, and that we have no real responsibility to one another. This mindset is terribly wrong. Believers are all important members of something that is bigger than just us.
Families are intended to be places of encouragement, acceptance and love. This should be the way the church functions as well. What would it look like for the church to function as family that loved one another and was devoted to one another?
When we are first saved, it is right and necessary for the focus to be on ourselves. We focus on our salvation. Improving our relationship with Jesus. Our spiritual growth. All of that is good, and right. However, if we are truly improving our relationship with Jesus, and growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, there will come a time in our relationship with Jesus when the focus goes from merely being me and Jesus to we and Jesus. Just as it is right, and good to focus on ourselves in the early stages of our relationship with Jesus, it is also right, and good to focus on others as we grow closer to Jesus. The closer I get to Jesus, the more I'll care about others, their salvation, their relationship with Jesus, and their spiritual growth. Christianity was never meant to be me and Jesus have our own thing and we don't need anyone else. Christianity was always meant to lived out as we and Jesus.
We are all capable, and likely experts, at convincing ourselves that something untrue is true. Today we'll see why this is such a dangerous thing to do.
Would you rather have Jesus right next to you, or have the Holy Spirit within you? We often wish Jesus was still here today. We envy the disciples who lived in the presence of Jesus. They could be with Him, see Him, and talk with Him physically. But what if the Holy Spirit within us was better than Jesus beside us? Let’s see what Scripture says.
The events of the day of Pentecost were the fulfillment of Jesus' promises to the disciples. In obedience to Jesus, the disciples had gathered, prayed, and waited until the promise of the Father came (Acts 1:5). As the disciples waited, and prayed, Jesus kept His word and poured out the Holy Spirit on those who were gathered (v33). The pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 is merely the first demonstration of the Holy Spirit's work in and for the Church of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts continually points out to us the many works the Holy Spirit does on behalf of the Church.
What if Scripture was supposed to be a blessing instead of a burden? What if Scripture was supposed to bring us joy and not discourage us? What if Scripture wasn't supposed to be the "pie in the sky" ideal, but the reality of the way we were supposed to live? What if instead of saying "I can't" we started believing "I can"? If you have learned to live with a defeatist mindset, I have good news. There is more! If you view Scripture as a "pie in the sky" ideal of how believers can live, then I have good news. There is more!
Once we stop taking Scripture at face value, we begin to trust more in what people can do in the natural world, than in what God can do through prayer. If prayer has become routine for you. If you've lost confidence in the power of prayer to make a difference, I have good news for you. There is more!
Poor pitiful Christians barely scrape by. Poor pitiful Christians survive but rarely thrive in their spiritual lives. Poor pitiful Christians live defeated, discouraged lives. If you believe a poor pitiful Jesus Gospel, and live a poor pitiful Christian life, then I have good news for you. There is more!
I have good news if your life is an ordeal instead of an adventure. There is more! I have good news if you've resigned to hopelessness. There is more. Today we are going to see that we can have hope.
If you understand Jesus to be information to be learned instead of a person to have a relationship with, then this morning I have good news for you. There is more. Jesus is a real person that you can really know and have a real relationship with. And when you have a relationship with Jesus, that changes everything.
My friends, if you view Christianity as a self-help philosophy, or a harsh religious system, then I have good news for you today. There is more! Christianity is about a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ who came to give us life, and life more abundantly (John 10:10).
The mindset of the older brother prevents him from being able to enjoy being his father's son. He never seemed to have enjoyed serving his father, or working with his father. In the older brother's mind, his life was one of bondage and not freedom, duty and not joy. The reaction of the other brother is pretty terrible but I wonder if his reaction/mindset is really all that unique. I'm fairly convinced that one thing that keeps people bound up and unable to experience the freedom Jesus came to give is that they have the same mindset that the other brother had.
As followers of Jesus, you and I play an essential role in God’s plan for the lost to be found. We must be active and faithful in trying to bring the lost to Christ. Before we will be active in seeking to bring the lost to Christ, we must be convinced of the power of the Gospel to lead people to Jesus. We must be convinced of Jesus' desire and power to save the lost and restore the backslider. Today we'll look at a story that will reaffirm to us Jesus' desire to save the lost and restore the backslider.
Everything about Jesus is good news. Everything Jesus teaches is good news. Everything Jesus does is good news. Everything Jesus calls on us to do is good news. Today we are going to look at a passage that lays out for us what this good news means for those who don't know Jesus.
I believe it is possible for Christians to have such a godly influence on the people around them that it literally changes their community. In fact, I believe we are supposed to be this kind of influence. However, I don’t believe it can be done through protests, politics or boycotts. It can only be done through the Gospel. and the power of the Holy Spirit. Today we are going to look at a parable where Jesus explains the influence believers should have in the world
Anytime Jesus starts a sentence with "Beware…" we ought to pay attention. We ought to pay careful attention.
If David’s past was any indication of what his future would be like, then David is certain that the blessings he's experienced in his past will continue with him forever. The overall picture is that David never expected the blessings from his Shepherd to end. When I follow Jesus the blessings never end.
Fear is one of the most common issues people deal with. It has been said that there are 365 commands in Scripture telling us not to be afraid. I haven't counted to confirm this, but if it's true that means there is a Biblical exhortation not to let fear control us for every day of the year. Scripture teaches that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7) so I can confidently say that living in fear is never part God's plan for our lives. Living in a constant state of fear is a miserable existence. A book I'm reading says that two of the words associated with fear in the N.T. carry with it the idea of choking or strangling. The conclusion he draws is that when we are controlled by fear it feels like we are being choked out or strangled. I think you can also say that fear can choke the joy out of our lives if we aren't careful. How do we overcome this? How do we keep from letting fear control us? That is what we are going to talk about today.
John 10 reveals Jesus as the Good Shepherd who leads His sheep. Jesus knows what's best. He knows the best way to do what needs to be done. He pretty much knows everything there is to know about what needs to be done. Our job isn't to question His leadership. Our job isn't to assist His leadership. Our job is very simple, we are to follow His leadership. This passage gives us three characteristics of Jesus' leadership.
It is hard to stay satisfied with anything for very long. There seems to be something in all of us that says there is more to life than what I’m currently experiencing. So what we do is we set out find what will satisfy this longing within us. Sadly, what we seek doesn't provide the lasting satisfaction that we desire. Where we can find lasting satisfaction for longing in our soul?
God has always intended that His people would be different than the world around them. Typically, we think of this difference as it relates to morality. To be sure, morality is included in what it means to be different because we are God's people. However, this difference isn't limited to morality. This difference is meant to be seen in every area of our lives. It's meant to be seen in our morality, in our attitudes, in our words, in our priorities, in our values, in our actions, and in our reactions. The best way to learn how the people of God are to be different from the world is to study the Son of God, Jesus. Jesus is our model in all things. Jesus perfectly reveals the Father, and the Father's will. Today we are going to look at the example of Jesus in one area of life and from this we'll see our second gut check question.
A gut check is a test of our character, courage, or determination. We face gut checks in every area of our lives, even in our devotion to Jesus. Our first gut check question is: Am I giving God my best or what's left?
Jesus said the church is to be a house of prayer (Mark 11:17). One of the main things you have to do to be a house of prayer is to pray. When you read the book of Acts, you find that the church gathered together and prayed together often. If our church is to be a house of prayer as Jesus said, and as the early church modeled, then we must have times where we gather together and pray.
For Christians this time of year should be the most hopeful time of all. For it is at this time of year that we remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. What would it look like for us to live in the hope Jesus gives? That's what we're going to talk about today.
Can you imagine Joseph's dilemma when he found out Mary was pregnant? Presumably Mary told Joseph the entire story. The angel visit, the Holy Spirit coming upon her, the power of the Most High was going to overshadow her, everything. What was Joseph to do with such a fantastic story? The dilemma Joseph faces is regarding what to do with this story. What should he do? That's what we'll see today.
Many people struggle with feelings of inadequacy. While they would love to serve Jesus, they just don’t feel as though they can. Despite our feelings of inadequacy, we know that the Bible clearly teaches that we are to live for Jesus and serve Jesus that keeps them from serving Jesus. What do we do when these feelings attack us? Do we simply suck it up and move on? Do we accept these feelings as true and give up? The passage we are going to study today should help us know how to answer these questions.
Chances are we all have long standing prayer requests that God has yet to answer. For years you’ve prayed but nothing seems to be happening on the spiritual front. How do we keep from giving up during these times? How do we keep from allowing the wait to erode our hope and our faith? This morning we are going to look at a passage that will encourage and help us with this.
Chances are all of us have circumstances in our lives that make us wonder, "what if".While we may never know what would have happened if, we certainly know what has happened since. Many times these circumstances have had negative consequences in our lives. Sometimes the result of these circumstances has messed up our lives so severely that we assume that our lives are just messed up for good. Maybe we’ve tried to fix them and no matter how many times we tried, the fix just didn’t take. Or maybe the mess is so bad that we just figure it can’t possibly be straightened out. But let me put another "what if" before you today. What if God was so great that He could accomplish His purposes for your life regardless of the "what if" you wrestle with? Today we are going to study a passage that shows God is indeed that great.
I want to use the remaining two Sunday's in November to remind us of reasons we can and should be thankful to God for regardless of the circumstances in our lives. We are starting this by looking at reasons to be thankful for the church. I feel this is really important because we live in a day when so many question why the church is needed. It's not uncommon for people today to say that they have their own personal relationship with God, therefore they don't really need the church. We also live in a day where so many are critical of the church. The church today is blamed for everything from poverty to global warming. Very often the idea in these sorts of comments is that the church is a hindrance, a nuisance, and just an overall drain. This is certainly not the way Jesus intends anyone, particularly those who have committed their lives to Him, to see the church. The church is one of Jesus' good gifts to us and should be a reason we are thankful
I don’t know of anywhere in the Bible where we are taught how to make the storms go away, or how to avoid them. What the Bible does teach us however, is how to survive the storms. How to keep on going and pass through the storms. That's what we are going to learn about in this passage. In this passage we see how to make it through the storm without our lives or our faith being destroyed.
Satan isn't nearly powerful enough to overcome God and thwart His plan but what he can do, and does do, is play his mind games with us to thwart God's plans for our lives. How does he do this? That's what this sermon is about.
A part of the unseen world is a battle for the hearts and minds of all people. Satan knows that if he can control what people think then he'll control what people embrace in their hearts. And if he controls what people embrace in their hearts then he controls the way they live their lives. His great desire in this is that their beliefs, behavior, and bearings would be built on something, anything, other than God's will and want as revealed in Scripture. How does the world wage this battle against us? That's what this message is about.
The reality of the unseen world leaves us with two choices. Accept it and prepare for it or deny it and suffer the consequences. I don't want to suffer any more negative consequences that I have to, and I don't want you to either. I must intentionally prepare for the realities of the unseen world. This passage gives us three ways to intentionally prepare
Do good people go to Heaven? If so, how good do you have to be? Is there an absolute standard of goodness? This message answers these questions.
For most of my life I lived under the general impression that the only reason I'd ever experience suffering was because God was mad at me and He was punishing me for something I’d done wrong. After all, Galatians says that we reap what we sow (Gal 6:7-8). Therefore any hardship or suffering that comes into my life must be because I've lived contrary to God's will. Right? Or is it possible that we can be dead center in the middle of God's will, doing exactly what He wants us to do, the way He wants us to do it, when He wants it done, and still experience suffering?
If any of the myths I talk about in this series will anger someone it will be this one. All I ask is that you hear me out and listen to the entire message before you shut me down. If you are still mad at the end of the message, ask yourself if you are mad because I’ve contradicted Scripture or because your pride has been wounded.
God Never Gives Me More Than I Can Handle. How many of you have heard this statement before? Is this truth or myth?
Jesus can completely, and perfectly save anyone. Let's explore what it means that Jesus can completely, and perfectly save anyone by seeing how this answers our two questions.
Living in fear filled anxiety has never been the way God wanted His people to live. He wants us to know that He cares for us, He will protect us, and we can have a perfect peace despite whatever circumstance we find in our world. God's perfect peace is always available to every believer.
God knew that the people would be tempted to be afraid and then let that fear keep them from taking the Promised Land. They wanted to take the Promised Land. They knew God wanted them to take the Promised Land. But as it always does, fear threatened to keep them from doing what they wanted and receiving what God had promised. Knowing this, God tells them not to be afraid. God telling them not to be afraid is not empty encouragement. God doesn’t tell them not to be afraid because they are big and strong and they can do it. God doesn’t' tell them not to be afraid because the enemy isn't all that strong. No, God tells them not to be afraid because He is great, awesome, and He is with them. This is why they were not to be afraid. This is why we are not to be afraid. The power and presence of God frees me from fear. This passage gives us two reasons that the power and presence of God frees us from fear.
The main audience for the Sermon On The Mount are those have committed their lives to Jesus. The Sermon On The Mount teaches us how those who believe in Jesus and are devoted to Jesus are to live. What is written in this passage is the way believers in Jesus Christ are supposed to live. Even a cursory examination of the passage reveals that believers in Jesus aren’t to let worry consume us because we know God will take care of us. So the central truth to understand today is this: Faith overcomes worry. This passage shows us three ways faith overcomes worry.
I’m pretty convinced it was a lack of prayer prior to this event that led to the disciples inability to meet this spiritual need. This leads us to the key principle for today's message. I must be prayed up to meet spiritual needs. I absolutely believe that we need to pray as we try to meet spiritual needs. But I am also convinced that if we haven’t prayed before that moment when we are trying to meet a spiritual need, we will often have the same experience as the disciples in this story. We will not have the spiritual power necessary to meet the spiritual need. Spiritual needs require spiritual help. Spiritual help requires spiritual power. Spiritual power requires prayer. As much as lies with us, we should be prayed up before we tackle the spiritual need. That’s all well and good but how do we pray so that we can be prayed up and ready to meet spiritual needs? Today I'm going to give some practical tips on how to be prayed up so we can meet spiritual needs.
Prejudice is the opposite of how believers in Jesus are supposed to live. So how are we supposed to live? That's what this message is about. The central truth we see in this passage is that Faith in Jesus leads me to fulfill the Law of Jesus. The Law of love. This passage teaches us three ways to fulfill the law of Jesus.
A little faith can accomplish great things. What we have to recognize from this is that it is not the amount or size of faith, or the enthusiasm that a person has that causes the results, but the object of his faith. Human faith is not the key. God is the key. Faith accomplishes things because that faith is in God! This is why a little faith, the size of a mustard seed, can accomplish great things, like move a mountain. So the key principle to understand today is this. A little faith in a big God enables me to meet great spiritual needs. We don’t have to have a great faith because we serve a great God. We don’t have to have a big faith because we serve a big God. The power of faith is always bound up in the greatness of God and not in the size or amount of our faith. Faith is powerful because God is powerful. Faith can accomplish great things because God can accomplish great things.
The man had a great spiritual need and He knew Jesus could take care of it so he took his son to Jesus’ disciples. This man expected that those who followed Jesus could and would help with this spiritual need. The father says in v16 that he came to the disciples with the expectation that they could help. The lesson we should learn in this is that the world around us often believes that Jesus can help and they expect that those who follow Jesus can secure Jesus’ help. When people come to us for help with spiritual needs they aren’t asking for our help as much as they are asking for Jesus’ help. They come to us because we know Jesus and they don’t.
People with spiritual needs are everywhere. Jesus focused His life on seeing and meeting these spiritual needs. The disciples in Acts followed Jesus' example. You and I must carry on this example of seeing and meeting the spiritual needs of those around us. Here’s a key principle for us to get. I am surrounded by people with a wide variety of spiritual needs. Now we may not run into as many people that are demon possessed as Jesus and the early disciples did, but this doesn’t mean that we aren’t surrounded by people with serious spiritual needs. What we have to do is train ourselves to see people in light of the spiritual needs they have.
The lesson of Nehemiah 6 is a hard one but an important one. The main lesson we learn from this part of Nehemiah is, I need wisdom and devotion to continue to the work of God. Throughout these verses the enemies of God attack Nehemiah in very personal ways. Despite these very personal attacks Nehemiah endures and his endurance is rewarded as the wall is completed. In this passage we see three types of attacks we will have to persevere through
Something significant and powerful happens as each believer does their part. When every believer does their part, it makes a difference in the church which in turns makes a difference in the community around them. This is what Jesus has equipped you and I to do. Jesus equipped us to make a difference in our church and community.
How sovereign would you say that God is? Would you say that God is completely sovereign or just kinda-sorta sovereign? What I mean is, do you believe that God is sovereign all the time regardless of the situation or does God’s sovereignty only extend to the times when the idea of God being in control comforts and encourages us? I’ve come to understand that believers are where we are not by chance and circumstance, but by the will of God. From what I see in Scripture, God orchestrates events to place His people where He wants them to be so that they can accomplish His will in the world.
If you get a hold of what it means that you are justified by faith, and secure in Christ it will bring such joy and freedom into your life and you will never be the same. You get a hold of this you will never again walk around beat up and beat down over your sins. You get a hold of this you will never again live like you are walking a tightrope over the mouth of hell fearing that the slightest misstep will send you spiraling into eternal damnation. If you get a hold of this you will rejoice in the glory of the Gospel.
Paul says that God chose the Thessalonians from the beginning. In my mind, it is such a powerful thought to know that God chose me. This is something that I remind myself of when I feel discouraged, disillusioned or defeated in my faith. The central truth we need to know, embrace, and let inform our identity in Christ today is that The God who chose me will not give up on me. I'm going to spend the rest of our time this morning driving this home to us.
We cannot properly understand God, without understanding His love for humanity. God's love for us is important to understand because it is not uncommon for people to wonder if God truly loves them. There are some who have lived lives filled with sin and wonder if God can love them despite their sin. Does God love sinners or does He only love the morally upright? At the same time, there are those who aren’t really astounded by the idea that God loves them. I mean, why wouldn’t He love them? They’re Americans. They’re basically good people. They’re good enough. They’re smart enough, and doggone it people like them. What’s not to love? Before we can truly appreciate the greatness of God’s love, and live in the truth of that love, we must understand the nature of those He has chosen to love
The idea of an abundant life is an interesting one. Different translations try to capture the idea Jesus was expressing here. "… My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." John 10:10 (NLT) "… I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." John 10:10 (AMP) "…I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10 (MSG)All in all, that sounds pretty good but what exactly does it mean?
According to Jesus the main priority in our lives should be the Kingdom of God and we should seek it first. There is a lot that goes into the meaning of the Kingdom of God. The most basic understanding of the Kingdom of God is the place of God’s rule. It is the place where God’s will is always done. It’s always done the way He wants it done and when He wants it done. So our first priority as followers of Jesus is to seek His will to be done in our lives. So the central truth for us to know today is: My first priority is to seek and surrender to Jesus rule in my life. As we look at this passage there three actions we must take if seeking and surrendering to Jesus rule in our lives is our first priority.
Jesus tells the disciples what is about to happen to Him. He is being very honest and very blunt about what is coming. Then in v26, He tells them—and us—that serving Him means following Him. In my mind, this is where the rubber meets the road. Jesus is telling us that following Him means going where He goes, living as He lived, and experiencing what He experience. In other words, it means following His example. In telling us about what's going to happen to Him, Jesus tells us what it means to follow Him. Following Jesus requires a wholehearted commitment to Jesus. This passage shows us four characteristics of a wholehearted commitment to Jesus. These four characteristics will be true of us as followers of Jesus when we are wholeheartedly committed to Jesus
At the start of Jesus' earthly ministry, He begins to call those that would be His disciples. At this point they had a choice to make. They could stay where they were, as they were, or they could follow Jesus. They couldn't stay AND follow Jesus at the same time. They also couldn't accidentally follow Jesus. They had to intentionally, and decisively answer when Jesus called. What was true for them is true for us. I must intentionally, and decisively answer when Jesus calls. How do I intentionally, and decisively answer when Jesus calls?
Jesus starts this part of the Sermon On The Mount off in a most disturbing way. He says that not everyone who expects to go to Heaven will. Given that roughly 80% of Americans believe there is a heaven and that the majority of them believe they will go to Heaven, this is no surprise. What is a surprise is the way these people address Jesus. They call Him “Lord, Lord”. We have to see from this that Jesus isn’t talking about irreligious people. He isn’t talking about the anti-God-good moral person crowd. He isn’t talking about those trapped in the kingdom of cults. These are people who would tell you they believe in Jesus and were saved. To put it in our context, these are people who probably go to Evangelical Christian Churches. In other words these are people just like us. Despite the fact that these people profess Jesus, they have never truly been saved, and therefore will not go to Heaven. The central truth this teaches us is: Fans profess Jesus without possessing salvation.
The mighty swelling Jordan stood between the people of God and the promises of God. Yet God had promised to do wonders among them. Surely whatever wonders God was going to do included doing something to enable them to cross the river. Indeed it did. However, God was only going to do wonders among them as they obeyed Him. The wonders described in verses 14-17 would not happen without the faith filled obedience of verse 13. The central truth we need to understand from this is: Obeying the will of God enables me to experience the promises of God. In this passage we see three aspects of obeying the will of God that enables us to experience the promises of God.
Everyone we know will have different responses to the Gospel. Despite this, the one main mission of the church is to lead people to follow Jesus. That is one of the main reasons Jesus established the church and it is the main reason Jesus sent His Spirit to empower the church. This can sound like an overwhelming task for us to accomplish on our own. The good news I have for you today is that we are not attempting to accomplish this on our own
The word survivor means, “To remain alive or in existence.” Of course we all realize that its better to survive than to die. But are those really our only two choices? I don’t think so. In fact I know that is not that case. Did you know that the Bible never says that believers will “survive”? Instead, the words the Bible uses to describe the life believers are supposed to live are overcome, and victory. That is significantly different than just remaining alive. If you have adapted and accepted regarding spiritual struggles and defeat, then let me encourage you not to be content to merely survive. God’s desire and design for the believer is that not that they will merely survive but that they will have victory in their lives
In the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 15 Paul plainly and clearly explains the Gospel itself. Paul starts with the Gospel because Paul knows that the Gospel is of primary importance. If they got the Gospel wrong then it wouldn't matter what else they may get right. The Gospel is and must be the primary message of the church. The central truth we need to understand today is: The Gospel must always be our primary message. In world where there are many competing messages, we as believers must ensure that the Gospel is our primary message. If we want to be the light of Jesus in a darkened culture, we cannot waver on this. While this is easy to say, it's much more difficult to do. This passage shows us three ways to ensure that the Gospel is always our primary message
If I love right I'll live right. That may sound like an awfully big statement so let me take just a second and prove that this is true all throughout Scripture. What is the first and great commandment? It is to LOVE the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. What is the second greatest commandment? It is to LOVE others as we love our selves. Jesus said that everything else written in Scripture hangs on these two commandments (Matt 22:37-40). What Jesus meant by that last statement is that if we love as we are supposed to love, we will live as we are supposed to live. When I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I will do everything that God wants me to do and His commands will not be a burden (1 John 5:3). At the same time, if I love other people as I love myself, I will do everything that Scripture commands me to do for others, and I will refrain from doing to others what Scripture forbids. Love is the most excellent way. When I love right I'll live right. This passage shows us three reasons loving right leads to living right.
You and I share a common problem. There is no one in here this morning that is free from this problem. Our common problem is temptation. While we are probably not all tempted by the same things, we are all tempted by something. Scripture equips me to tame my temptations
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NKJV)
The immorality of Corinth had seeped into the church. Some of the Christians in Corinth had either reverted to the way they lived before they were saved, or some had not been saved at all. Paul's words here were meant to be a wakeup call for them. His goal is to remind them of what Jesus had done in their lives so they would turn back to Jesus. Despite saying that the unrighteous won't inherit the KoG, this passage is not a hopeless passage. In fact, this is an incredibly hopeful passage. In this passage we see that Jesus turns sinners into saints. How does this happen? Or perhaps a better question is, what do I do so that I can go from being a sinner to a saint?
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are supposed to be imitating Jesus Christ. We should imitate His actions, reactions, priorities, attitudes, and values. This is what the world around us expects to happen. They expect that if Jesus really is God who came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for the sins of the world, and rose again, then those who believe that will live like Jesus lived. The world expects believers to imitate Jesus. More importantly though, Jesus expects those who believe in Him to imitate Him.
Paul reminds the Corinthians of their individual accountability to God. He reminds them that what they do in this life carries over into the next. He’s reminding them of these things because he wants them to “take heed” to what they do and focus now on doing those things that prepare them for eternity. He explains that they prepare for eternity by choosing the right materials to build with. The materials we build with are the actions, reactions, priorities, and attitudes we devote our little bit to accomplishing. This means we are constantly preparing ourselves for eternity. The central truth we need to understand is that: We prepare for eternity every moment of our lives. This passage shows us three ways to ensure we are doing the right things to prepare ourselves for eternity
Reading these verses you immediately notice that Paul makes a distinction between three types of people. In v2:14 he talks about the natural man. In v2:15-16 he talks about the spiritual man. Then in v3:1-4 he talks about the carnal man. What we see in these verses are different spiritual stages that a human beings can go through. All people start off as natural. Those who trust in Christ as their Lord and Savior receive the Holy Spirit and then become spiritual. Unfortunately many Christians allow their sinful nature to take control in their lives and they go from being spiritual to being carnal. Everyone in here will fall into one of these three categories. In fact, that is the central truth we need to know. Right now, I am a natural, spiritual, or a carnal person. The question each one of us needs to answer is, who am I?
Sharing the Gospel is important and urgent. It's important because Jesus commanded His disciples to do it. Anything Jesus has commanded us to do IS important. It's urgent because heaven and hell are determined by our connection to Jesus. Everything about our eternal destination rises and falls on our connection with Jesus. This message gives us practical ways to live out this important and urgent task.
God doesn’t pick His team the way humans do. When we pick our teams we pick those who have the greatest abilities that will be the greatest asset in getting our team to victory. God on the other hand didn’t pick His team like this. As the old saying says, God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. God's greatness isn't limited or hindered because we aren't great. So the central truth we should see from this is: The greatness of God ensures my life can glorify God.
The division in Corinth was severe so Paul calls them back to what is of primary importance. Paul deals with the division by pointing the people to Jesus and calls them to unify around the Gospel. This leads to Paul’s exposition on the power of the Gospel. One of the things to note as you read this passage is Paul’s comparison of the world and God. Paul explains that God’s wisdom and power is greater than the world’s power and wisdom. He explains that since God doesn’t necessarily do things in the way that we expect, then we see His wisdom and power in an unlikely place, the Gospel. So from this, the central truth I want you to remember is this: The Gospel exposes me to the power of God. There are three ways the power of the Gospel affects us.
One of the things I’m convinced about is that we lose ground bit by bit. Personally I’m not content to let the enemy keep what he's taken from me. I’m not content to give the enemy ground in my life. I want to take it back. We cannot be the light of Christ in a spiritually darkened culture while letting the enemy keep the ground he's taken in our lives. We must do what we can to take it back. This message will give us some practical steps to doing this.
Despite all the problems the church has, Paul is still thankful for the church. Paul is still committed to helping this church. Paul understood that the perfect church was a myth and chose to be thankful and committed to the church while working to improve the church. When you look through this passage and see all that Paul is thankful for in this church, you can't help but notice a repeated theme. There is grace given by Jesus. They had been enriched by Jesus. They were hoping in Jesus. They were called to Jesus. Paul was thankful for the church because of Jesus work in the church. This is why we can be thankful for the church as well. We are thankful for the church because of Jesus' work in the church. This passage shows us four ways Jesus has worked in the church that make us thankful for the church.
Corinth was a wicked place bound in deep spiritual darkness. The deep spiritual darkness in this city could not stop the power of the Gospel and the light of Christ. The main idea I want us to know today is: Spiritual darkness is no match for the light of Christ. From this passage I'm going to give you three ways to engage our spiritually darkened culture with the light of Christ
As Paul began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Corinth he experience opposition. Opposition was nothing new to Paul. He faced opposition to Gospel preaching everywhere he went. Paul knew something that we must know and that is Satan doesn't give up ground without a fight. Scripture teaches that Satan has influence and power over those who are bound in spiritual darkness
Acts 18 gives us a summary of Paul's work in Corinth. As I studied this passage I was really encouraged about the power of the Gospel to save souls and change lives. The deep spiritual darkness in this city could not stop the power of the Gospel and the light of Christ. The main idea I want us to know today is: Spiritual darkness is no match for the light of Christ. From this passage I'm going to give you seven ways to engage our spiritually darkened culture with the light of Christ.
The reason that it is so important that we grow is because we are either growing spiritually or we are becoming stagnant and indifferent. Generally we are moving one-way or the other. It doesn’t seem that we can stay still in our Christian lives for very long. If we are not careful we get comfortable and complacent in our spiritual lives and stop seeking to grow spiritually. When this happens we become stagnant in our relationship with Christ and indifferent to the things of God. As we look at Paul's prayer in this passage we see that God works in me so that I can love deeper, understand more, live purely, and be fruitful for His glory.
While Paul wasn't perfect, he hadn't plateaued either. What we see in this passage is what Paul did to ensure that he never plateaued. Plateaus are prevented and broken through focus, forgetting and faithfulness.
Billy Graham described peace this way, “In Christ we are relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life. The storm rages, but our hearts are at rest. We have found peace-at last!” This really describes the peace that the Bible promises us we can have.
Transformation occurs when sinful habits, attitudes and actions are replaced with Christ-like habits, attitudes and actions
Believers are not poor, pitiful and powerless. Through Christ we can and should experience victory.
The Bible teaches that we have three main enemies that I'm calling The Axis Of Evil. They are, the world, the flesh and the devil. Let's look at who are enemies are, what they are capable of and how we can fight them.
We make Christmas meaningful by focusing on the God of Christmas and embrace the purpose of Christmas
There really is no question as to whether a wife or mother is an influence. The question is what kind of an influence are you?
When a person trusts in Jesus for his or her salvation, they are doing more than expressing a desire to change their eternal destiny. They are surrendering their lives to Jesus and becoming His disciple and this brings continual change into our lives.
Three necessities for clearly, accurately and truthfully testifying about Jesus so people can believe in Him.
John's introduction to Jesus lays the foundation for the rest of his Gospel and reveals three compelling reasons why we should pay attention to the words, life, ministry and death of Jesus
We need to see a picture of who Jesus is and what He does. This will make our minds race and our hearts soar
The difference between those who are victims to their sinful nature and those who are victors over it is that victors have what victims lack.
There is a choice we have to make if we want to live in the freedom that the Gospel provides
This message is a look at Stephen's act of costly devotion and see why Jesus is worthy of a costly devotion.