Ps Darin Browne @ Ignite Christian Church

Poisons 4- The Poison of Prosperity

OUR 4th poison is a surprising one… Prosperity.

 

How in the world can being prosperous become a poison to your soul? Don't we all want to be prosperous, financially and every other way? Don't we work hard and strive and study and take risks investing to become prosperous?

 

Please understand, I am not about to suggest that being successful, rich or being prosperous is a sin, because clearly it is not. There are very godly rich people, also some very godly poor people, and there are some very ungodly rich and poor people as well.

 

But this poison is pretty important to God, and He knows how sinister it really is.  In fact, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 1 out of every 6 verses deals with money. Of the 29 parables Christ told, 16 deal with a person and his money.

 

W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he'd promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor got on his knees and began to pray. The man asked, “"Are you releasing me from my tithing debt?” The pastor replied, "I don't see how you can be released from your promise, but I can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you'd have no problem tithing $4.00."

 

Many people stay faithful when things are tough, they pray and ask God for their needs, they even trust God to bless them, but forget God when things start to go well.

 

ABASE OR ABOUND

 

Philippians 4:11-13

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

 

Now if things are going badly for you right now, you probably won't relate to this at all. Here you are, struggling away, wishing you had more money than the next guy, right? I mean, if things went well and you were given a pile of money, your world would be sunshine and unicorns and roses, wouldn't it? And you would be the most godly, generous soul around, correct?

 

Not so! 

 

Charles Spurgeon had some great teaching on this very subject. He said, 

 

“There are many who know "how to be abased" who have not learned "how to abound." When they are set upon the top of a pinnacle their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall. 

 

The Christian far oftener disgraces his profession in prosperity than in adversity. It is a dangerous thing to be prosperous. The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to the Christian than the fining-pot of prosperity. Oh, what leanness of soul and neglect of spiritual things have been brought on through the very mercies and bounties of God!”

 

Paul tells us he was content to abase and to abound. His eyes were set so firmly on Jesus, whatever circumstances he faced was of no consequence to his disposition. How can you be happy when you are in need? The answer lies in the heart of Paul, not the flesh.

 

Are you in need right Now?  Many have asked for mercies that they might satisfy their own hearts' lust and desires.  Sometimes  when we have much of God's providential mercies, it often happens that we have little of God's grace, and little gratitude for the blessings we have received and are enjoying. This is when prosperity begins to become a poison in your life!

 

You can be full and forget God: satisfied with earth, so much so that you are content to do without heaven. It is harder to be full on for Jesus when you are full than it is to know how to be hungry- so desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God.

 

It's like God blesses us and we say, “"Thanks, Lord, I'll take it from here. Call you if I ever need you.”

 

 Don't let God’s gifts drag you away from Him!

 

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

 

An often misquoted verse is that money is the root of all evil. That's not true, and it's not what the Bible says. It says…

1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

 

Money is not evil, it is simple an object. The love of money is what is evil, and when money does come your way, it can be as destructive a poison as any in your life.  Consider these people…

 

Michael Carroll was a garbage man in England when, at age 19, he won £9.7 million in the lottery in 2002. A mansion, drugs and gold jewelry ate up the money quickly. Within ten years Carroll was broke and living off unemployment checks. Now he works on an assembly line in a cookie factory, making £204 per week.

 

Gerald Muswagon, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, won $10 million in 1998. He bought cars for friends and family, and made his new house into a “party pad.” Within a few years he’d spent all his $10 million and he took a minimum-wage job to support his six children and his girlfriend. In 2005, just seven years after his big win, he took his own life.

 

Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993. 8 years later she filed for bankruptcy.

 

Willie Hurt won $3.1 million in the Michigan lottery in 1989. Within two years he wrecked his marriage, lost custody of his kids and was charged with attempted murder. He spent his winnings on his divorce and drugs, according to his attorney.

 

Billie Bob Harrell Jr. won $31 million in the Lotto Texas game in 1997, and he no longer had to stock shelves at Home Depot.  He bought a ranch and a few homes, gave money away.  Soon his marriage was in trouble as he lent and spent all of his winnings. In 1999, less than two years after his big win, Harrell took his own life.

 

Sharon Tirabassi, of Hamilton, Ontario, won $10.5 million in 2004. She treated friends to vacations, bought houses and cars and within 4 years, with her husband in jail for a DUI, she lost their home. Now, to pay the rent and support her kids, she takes the bus to her part-time job.

 

These stories are sad, and they graphically illustrate the lure of prosperity, and the root of evil that loving money can provide. If you face financially challenging times, rejoice! Trust God, rejoice and listen to this message so you don't face what those folks faced.

 

THE OLD STORY, ON STEROIDS…

 

People wanting stuff is not a new story, it's an old, old story.Jesus said, 

 

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

 

So the tendency for God’s good gifts to poison our lives is very, very real!

 

And the pressure is now more intense than ever! We are as a society caught up in addictions to the simplest things—food, drink, fashion, beauty, culture, products?

 

Throughout history, people have always had the desire to get more stuff. But in our culture today, the media allows us to see how much we don’t have. Because we are exposed to people in different social standings in a way we never could have been before, we are more easily able to compare ourselves to others. 

 

In previous generations, people compared what they had with their family or neighbors (who probably had similar things); today we have TV shows that portray the lifestyles and toys of the rich and famous. And we still envy our friends and neighbours. TV and the Internet scream at us every day about what we haven't got, and what we need to really be satisfied, everything from new cars to viagra.

 

When we begin to focus on what others have, we become tempted to live beyond our means. We become obsessed with material things. We become stressed as we work harder and longer in order to buy more stuff. We start to serve the wrong master!

 

In many Western societies, consumerism calls out to us to follow a path of insatiable pursuit for more or the next “better” of what we already have. In fact, Marketers use dissatisfaction with what people already have to drive them to want more. Media messages continually remind us of our mediocrity if we fail to strive for “the best” in food, fashion, fitness or electronics.

 

Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) said, “It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed toward ‘having’ rather than ‘being,’ and which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an end in itself.”

 

Is it wrong to have nice things? No, of course not! But it is wrong to pursue good things if your motive is not aligning with God. Are you content without a new home, without a new iPhone, without the latest fashion or toy?

 

As one writer joked, “The trouble is that too many people are spending money they haven't yet earned for things they don't need to impress people they don't like.”

 

And you cannot serve two masters, especially when one is as poisonous and deceptive as prosperity can be!

 

SOMETHING’S GOT A HOLD ON ME!

 

Everybody hold your wallet or purse up, and wave it in the air. Have you got a hold of it? Good. But the real question is, do you have a hold of your money, or has your money got a hold of you?

 

Jesus was approached by a young, rich man, who genuinely asked what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus looked right into his heart, and diagnosed the poison. He asked if he had kept the commandments. The young man replied yes, then Jesus said this…

 

Luke 18:22

“One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

 

Look at the next few verses…

Luke 18:23-25

But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

 

Jesus is not saying this because He wants you to be poor. He says this because He knows that for many wealthy people, they don't have money so much as their money has them. Money is not the problem, the love of it is.

 

And it's a seductive love! It's a subtle poison that, before you know it, steals your love of God, your devotion and very often your joy. One rich man was asked how much money is enough, and he replied “"Just a little bit more.” 

 

Money will buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion but not salvation; a passport to everywhere but heaven. (Discipleship Journal)

 

WHERE’S YOUR TREASURE?

 

As a child I remember reading stories of pirates, and they were all looking for buried treasure.

 

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Prosperity and all the good things it brings is always transient….it comes, it goes, it never lasts…

James 1:9-11

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

 

We need to recognise that what we have comes from God: our spouses, children, families, friends and jobs. Our houses, property, furnishings, cars, clothes, family heirlooms and all other personal belongings. God gives them to us because He loves us, and they are for our use and enjoyment. There is nothing wrong with these things… They are gifts, but they're not even really ours, we are just stewards of them. 

 

Yet sometimes our attitudes toward our things can cause problems for us, and become the poison we are looking at here. What's more, the poison of prosperity can even afflict those who don't have very much, because ultimately it isn't about what you have or haven't got, it's about the love of money and it's place in your heart!

 

How bad is that… You're not rich, but still afflicted with the same poison!

 

Our entire nation us afflicted by the notion that you deserve things without working for them. People believe that Centrelink money, rent assistance, government handouts are our God given right. I'm happy we have social security in our country, but we must never be so arrogant as to take it for granted. Be blessed you have it, and be thankful! 

 

If you are struggling to pay your debts, it's easy to say, “Other people are just like us, but they seem to have so much more than we do. It’s not fair! Why doesn’t God bless us like he does them? Why should we always have money problems?”

 

Jealousy, anger and ambition can eat away at your life, your health and your relationships. And remember, prosperity is not just about money, it's about your soul and your health also…

 

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

 

If I gave you a choice today of which prosperity you want, what would you choose? Financial prosperity? Health? Your soul prospering?

 

PROFIT AND LOSS

 

Jesus said to accumulate treasure where it will not be destroyed or stolen, where the exchange rate is never against you, and where your return on investment is infinite!

 

So what's really important to you? Is it money, stuff, getting stuff for you and your family? Is it success? 

 

Here's the litmus test… What do you think about most throughout the day? What causes your heart to beat fast in wonder and anticipation? What do you think you couldn’t live without? 

 

Whatever has your attention is your treasure, whatever fills your mind is what you value, but in the end, only God is truly worthy of your heart.

 

Jesus said,

Mark 8:36-37

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?

 

The answer… Nothing!  Have you ever visited the local city dump? You’ll see everything from appliances to stuffed toys to the most precious family heirlooms. All discarded, all thrown away, all considered worthless.

 

Jesus wants us to seek real profits—not material ones that pad our wallets, but spiritual ones that benefit our souls. These heavenly treasures represent an investment opportunity too good to pass up. When Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” He means that we naturally worship our first love. If we love money and worldly treasures, we offer God no higher than second place in our lives.

 

The poison of prosperity will tell you it's all about things, it will scream at you like Tom Cruise, “"Show me the money!”  But Jesus reminds us to invest in true profit by giving God first place in our lives. Heaven’s treasures won’t ever decay, decline, deteriorate or decompose. Heaven has no city dump.

 

THE ANTIDOTE TO THE POISON OF PROSPERITY

 

Like all the other poisons, there is an antidote. Jesus touched on it with the rich young ruler, but it requires more than an single action, it requires an entire change of heart!

 

The antidote is giving. I'm not saying this to pad our church coffers, I'm saying this because a generous spirit is the total opposite spirit to the poison of prosperity.

 

Proverbs 11:24-25

 

One person gives freely, yet gains even more;

another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

A generous person will prosper;

whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

 

I've had missionary trips when they've counted out every last penny, and no one has had enough money. I've had other thrips where everyone rushes to be the first to pay, and money has abounded. I've kept a generous spirit in times of great lack, and seen God work miracles in my life, turning things around financially to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. 

 

A generous attitude is something you can apply right now, whether you currently have money or not! If you have no money to give, give your time, cook a meal, visit a housebound friend… It's not just money, it's everything!

 

We live in the most self centred culture in history. Yesterday on Facebook I read, “Never before has a generation so diligently recorded themselves accomplishing so little!” It's the I generation… iPhone, iPad, iPod, I come first!

 

If we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all these things are added to us. We will have everything we need, much of what we want, and if we don't get it we are content anyway, because when you put Christ first, and His Kingdom, you are content whether you abase or abound!

 

If you are in financial need this morning, I invite you to come forward and let your spirit be renewed in prayer. If you start to be generous with the little you have, like the widow and her mite, then I believe God will turn things around for you. I also want those in business to come forward and let the team pray for you and your future prosperity. If you have a generous spirit, I know God will bless you so you can give more away. If you struggle with this, let's start taking the antidote to the poison of prosperity today!

 

Poisons of the Pilgrim 3- Poison of Passing Judgement

Lastweek we looked at the poison of pain and bitterness. Another similar poisonoften feeds off the poison of pain and bitterness, and it affects pretty muchthe way you see everything. It's the poison of passing judgement.

 

Sotoday I want to examine the entire area of passing judgement… Do we, don't we,should we, shouldn't we?

 

No onelike a judgemental person… They are miserable, painful and depressing to bearound. They can make  our lifemiserable, especially when you are married to them.

 

If youever offer any criticism, then this verse will be the one they quote at you. Infact, Matthew 7:1 is fast surpassing John 3:16 as the most quoted verse of theBible. So let's have a look at it now…

 

 Matthew7:1

“Judgenot, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will bejudged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 

 

Itshould be noted that this verse is usually quoted either to point out someoneelse's sin, or when trying to excuse your own sins. 

 

So doesthis mean that if we make any judgement about so on else, or the behaviour ofsomeone else, that we are poisoned with this thing? 

 

Doesthis verse mean that we are never allowed to make a moral judgement aboutsomeone's heavy our, or another right or wrong in another person.  If wsee wrong in someone's life, am I never allowed to point it out or mention it?

 

TOJUDGE OR NOT TO JUDGE, THAT IS THE POISON

 

It's soeasy to be judgemental. So are we or are we not allowed to judge, and if weare, when can we? And when does passing judgement upon another person become apoison?

 

Theshort answer is, when all you ever do is pass judgement on another, it'sdefinitely a poison, poisoning your character and everyone around you!

 

Thewords of Jesus are often misquoted, and used by people to stop adverse orunfavourable criticism. They are sinning, they know it, and they use this versebecause they know they are guilty! 

 

I'msleeping with 5 women, hey man, don't judge me!  Alright, I cheat on mytaxes, but don't judge me!

 

Thething is, if we apply this tenant to every situation, we can never make adecision on anyone's conduct, we can never offer useful or constructivecriticism, we can never stand against those teaching error and we can neverapply church discipline.

 

Inshort, if Jesus’ words here are applied across the board so we can never judgeanything or anyone, we become moral imbeciles.  I for one want to haveGod’s standards in my life! 

 

I wouldalso argue that if we remain silent and make no judgement when we seepeople overtaken in a fault or sin, we not only bring reproach upon the name ofChrist, but we also fail to exercise love towards that person. If I see someonein danger and remain silent when I can speak and save them, am I not morally atfault?

 

Greekword for judge is krino, which means to judge, pass judgment on, condemn in alegal sense. This means to stand on trial, judge, condemn and punish. Scriptureteaches that there are certain times we must not judge others, certain times wemust judge or make a decision about others, but that doesn't mean we should notbe judge, jury and executioner. The carrying out of the penalty is not ourrole, it's God’s!

 

Avariation of this Greek word is also translated “to discern”, in passageslike Hebrews 4:12 and Romans 12:2.

 

Jesusis not saying that all judgement is wrong at all. If you look across Scripture,clearly some judgements are right, while others are clearly wrong, and theseare the ones that can become poison your life.

 

WHICHARE THE POISONS OF PASSING JUDGEMENT?

 

Hereare some of the judgements that need to cease because they become poison in ourlives…

 

1.HYPOCRITICAL JUDGEMENT 

 

Let’sgo back to the passage in Mathew to examine the context of what Jesus isactually saying, not as one verse in isolation.

 

Matthew7:1-5

“Judgenot, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will bejudged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you seethe speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is inyour own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out ofyour eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take thelog out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out ofyour brother's eye.

 

Hypocriticaljudgement is that harsh, bitter, fault finding spirit that finds and points outthe sins of others, often while committing the same sins themselves, is whatJesus is talking about here.

 

Thesame phrase is used of judgement in Luke 6:38, but there it is linked with thephrase, “"with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Whatis Jesus saying here?

 

Judgeothers, sure, but be careful because however you judge others, you will bejudged in the same way. Are you ready for that? Seriously, are you prepared forthat? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

 

Romans2:1

Thereforeyou have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgmenton another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very samethings.

 

It isespecially challenging in the Message Bible,

Romans2:1

Thosepeople are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on thehigh ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every timeyou criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one.Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection inyour own crimes and misdemeanors.

 

Thestory is told of a Bishop, who was sailing for Europe on one of the greattransatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that anotherpassenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see theaccommodations, he came up to the purser's desk and inquired if he could leavehis gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe. He explained thatordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to hiscabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from hisappearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. Thepurser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, 'It's allright, bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other manhas been up here and left his for the same reason!'

 

So whatabout you? Do you condemn others hypocritically? Do you look down onothers? 

 

Anddon't think that Christians are the only ones guilty of this, because peoplewho aren't Christians are more often than not bigger hypocrites. They judge andcondemn us Christians without even properly examining what we believe. Theyrefuse to come to Jesus not because He is wrong, or fictitious, but simplybecause they don't want to change the way they are living. If someone says thechurch is full of hypocrites, I invite them in because there's always room forone more! If you want to attack Christianity, be my guest, but please check itout thoroughly first. We've nothing to hide, so I challenge you, examine beforeyou attack.

 

2.JUDGING BY APPEARANCES

 

Anotherpoisonous form of judgement is when we judge by appearances…

John7:24

Do notjudge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

 

Inother words, Jesus says, “Don't judge a book by its cover”, and He isright! How many people have you met and made a surface judgements about, ajudgement not based on facts but on their appearance? We do it all the time!

 

Jesussaid these words when others judged Him for healing on the Sabbath. 

John8:15

Youjudge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

 

Wejudge according to the flesh, but God looks at the heart. How many times haveyou judged someone, for good or ill, based on appearances of what you think youknow of them? If someone is rich, successful or honoured, do you judge themdifferently? 

 

In 1884a young man died, and after the funeral his grieving parents decided toestablish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot,president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple intohis office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to funda memorial, Eliot impatiently said, "Perhaps you have in mind ascholarship."

 

"Wewere thinking of something more substantial than that...perhaps abuilding," the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed asidethe idea as being too expensive and the couple departed. The next year, Eliotlearned that this plain pair had gone elsewhere and established a $26 millionmemorial named Leland Stanford Junior University, better known today asStanford University.

 

I likeElton John's music, but if he walked in here today, I bet you'd make a fussabout him, despite that fact that he lives a completely debauched, bisexual,hedonistic, self glorifying lifestyle. 

 

If analcoholic walked in, I'm sure you’d treat him differently to Pastor BrianHouston, right? We see the outer, but God sees what's within. That's why Jesussaid, do not judge by appearances.

 

3.HASTY JUDGEMENTS

 

1Corinthians 4:5

Thereforedo not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who willbring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposesof the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

 

Listento this verse in the Message…

1Corinthians 4:5

Sodon't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgmentsbefore all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open andplace in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motivesand purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the"Well done!" of God.

 

So Godwill ultimately judge men, not you. Don't be too hasty to pass judgement onothers, because only God can see and will eventually judge the heart.

 

F.B.Meyer once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are twothings we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not tosin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him orher. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.

 

In thesame way, don't be too hasty judging people's actions or motives.  Romans14 talks about people who judge each other based on liberties we take.

 

Romans14:3

Let notthe one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstainspass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

 

This isnot suggesting we should not judge another's sin, but don't judge those whohave different liberties to you. In the Philippines recently I met a lovely guywho told me that the minions were demonic, and all action movies were of thedevil and Christians should never watch them. This teaching is not in theBible, but if that's his deal then I won't judge him, and I expect him not topass judgement on me if I watch Rambo!

 

STANDARDSAND MOTIVATIONS?

 

If not all judgementsare poisonous, so which ones are acceptable?

Firstly, you before youconsider any judgement of any kind, consider the state of your own heart… and make sure you are judging with…

A. The right standards: 

 

Any judgement must bemade using the right standards. And what is the right standard. Is it the lawof the land? Is it culture and society? I hope not,because  that changesevery minute! What was illegal 10 years ago is now accepted by society.  YesterdayI read a report stating that a group of paedophiles are lobbying thatthey have a different sexual orientation and they should be allowed toexpress it.  10 years ago marijuana was considered an illegal drug.Legalised in Colorado, it is now considered acceptable, but scientific evidenceproves it is irrevocably damaging the minds of teens who smoke it.

Our standard must besomething that doesn't bend or change depending on militant lobby group orsocial media. Something that remains relevant, strong and true, something uponwhich society is built. Something that promotes family, health, goodrelationships and what is right…

The Word of God is ourstandard! Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God isliving and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the divisionof soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts andintentions of the heart.

The Word of God judgesthe thoughts and attitude of the heart. If you know God well, if you study Hisword every day as many of you are doing, then you will start to make right andcorrect judgements. You will know the mind of Christ because yours will berenewed.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed tothis world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing youmay discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

So as you read His Word,your mind is renewed and you are able to discern what is true and right.

 

B. The right motives:

 

John 6:38

For I have come downfrom heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Why are you judgingsomething? Is it for the Lord, for His glory, or is it something within you?Will the judging build others up, or build you up? What is your motive?

WHATCAN WE JUDGE?

 

Passing judgement onpeople is a poison, to us and to them. But there are certain Judgments asChristians We Must Make:

1. Judge what is right 

Luke 12:57

“And why do you notjudge for yourselves what is right?

If you study your Bible,if you listen to the Holy Spirit, if you get to know God closely, then you canmore easily judge truth from error, what is morally right or wrong. As PeterMarshall sad, you are better to stand for something lest you fall for anything!

John 17:17

Sanctify them in thetruth; your word is truth.

2. Judge what is taught

 

Matthew 7:15-16

“Beware of falseprophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.You will recognize them by their fruits. 

Many Christians thinkthat because the pastor says it, or does it, it must be true. No, you need tojudge what I say and make sure it's true. If my word becomes unquestionable werun the risk of becoming a cult! Whatever I teach, I challenge you to check itout and make sure I preach truth. Same with TV evangelists, Connect group leadersor Christian books.

 

3. Judge between believers

 

Sometimes disputes arisebetween people, because the people of God are still people, and a discerningbeliever is better placed to make a value judgement…

 

1 Corinthians 6:2

Or do you not know thatthe saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, areyou incompetent to try trivial cases?

We should not be goingbefore civilian magistrates to settle church issues. This is one area ofjudgement we are qualified to exercise!

4. Judge what is sin

 

People do things thatyou might think are wrong, but how do you know if they are? Our standard is notthe law, its not the prevailing culture of the day, it's not TV or the latestcelebrity, it is the Word of God.

 

Hebrews 5:13-14

for everyone who liveson milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. Butsolid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernmenttrained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

 

It takes time and practice,but if you know God and His Word, not as milk but as meat, you can judge whatactions are sin, and move to stop them. You can stop them in a your own life,and in the lives of fellow believers.

I must point out herethat I believe we can judge the actions of a person, and the havoc theiractions cause, but we cannot judge the person. Does that mean we have to shutup and put up with anything anyone wants to do? Of course not, but whateverthey do, however wrong or destructive they are, we need to love them and dowhat we can to care for them, not judge and condemn them, or reject orpersecute them.

 

Lily House exists tohelp girls who have made bad decisions, and help them get back onto the righttrack. We don't condemn them, we love them, but we still judge that baddecisions have been made. But I believe that if they live by God’s standards,if they live for Him, He will bless them in their lives, and their futures.

 

JUDGENOT, BUT BE A FRUIT INSPECTOR 

 

While Jesus says judgenot that you may not be judged, He is warning us not to be judge, jury andexecutioners, not to treat people with contempt and punish them ourselves. Weare not to pass judgement and condemnation against others, be they in the churchour out of the church.

However, we must be ableto judge the results, the fruit of what others do. In a sense, we cannot bejudges or condemners of men, but we must be fruit inspectors!

Matthew 12:33

“Either make the treegood and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the treeis known by its fruit.

 

Jesus said in John 15:5

I am the vine; you arethe branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears muchfruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

 

Luke 6:43-45

“For no good tree bearsbad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known byits own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapespicked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of hisheart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure producesevil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

So if you are to judge,don't judge the man or woman… Judge the fruit. 

As a pastor, I havepeople telling me that God told them to do certain things. If God said it, I amnot going to stand in their way. I cannot judge them, but I can be a fruitinspector. If the fruit of their decision is disharmony, disunity anddestruction, that's bad fruit. That decision is not God, folks, because thefruit of the Spirit is…

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of theSpirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

Don't be judgemental,just be a fruit inspector. You've every right to pass judgement on the fruit onsomeone's decision, but no right to judge the person themselves, because thatis God’s job!

 

THEPOISON SEEPS IN

 

A judgemental spirit isa poison that seeps into your life. If you have this poison, then everythingyou see is negative. Everything any one else says or does you immediately jumpto the most negative judgement you can.

James 4:11-12

Do not speak evilagainst one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judgeshis brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judgethe law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiverand judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge yourneighbor?

Or as the Message says, 

James 4:12

God is in charge ofdeciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny ofothers?

So if you are someonewho is quick to judge others negatively, and maybe quick to condemn them also,then you may be infected with this poison.

THEANTIDOTE TO THE POISON OF PASSING JUDGEMENT 

 

The antidote to thissinister poison of passing judgement on others is to renew your mind. Youcannot just say, I'm going to change, you must renew your mind. You do this byfilling it with that which is good…

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers,whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, ifthere is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

In other words, do thedaily bible reading plan and watch your mind, attitudes, standards and eveurging be renewed. It really works!

Remember also if you arequick to judge that you will be judged accordingly…

Romans14:10

Why doyou pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? Forwe will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

 

Ultimatelywe will all be judged by God. That's His job, not yours, not mine.

 

Thosewithout Christ experience the Judgement of the Great White Throne, where Godwith a broken heart will say, depart from me, I never knew You. They go toeternal hell. That's why we urge you to give your life to Jesus. If you acceptChrist, then you skip this judgement. But you still face the judgement seat ofChrist. Here your actions, word and thoughts will be judged. You are not atrisk of going to hell, because you are saved already, but you will receiverewards for what you have done.

 

AsChristians we must not judge one another negatively, we cannot condemn oneanother and we must not treat each other with judgement and contempt. Beforeyou try and pass judgement on another, stop and think about what they are goingthrough, how hard their struggle has been and don't for one moment think youare better than them, and that you'd never be tempted to fall too.

 

Everythingwe do must be done in love, not judgement. Remember, you can be right but stillbe wrong. If this poison is in you, I challenge you to join us in the Biblereading plan and renew your mind. Don't be too busy. If you have time to eat,watch TV, you have time to read your Bible. And if you are serious about thisantidote, you can start taking it immediately.

Poisons of the Pilgrim 2- Poison of Pain and Bitterness

Last week we looked at the Poison of Pride and saw how it can affect every aspect of your life, even if you are a believer. This week, we move into the second poison and again it is one that can completely ruin your life, believer or non-believer. 

 

It is the poison of Pain and Bitterness…

 

What makes this poison so subtle and so sinister is that you feel justified in it. People hang onto hurts for years, especially when they feel it is justified. “I didn't deserve that,” or “That’s not fair!”

 

This poison is so sinister it is not only often undetectable, you actually feel justified in doing this sin. You won't feel good, but you'll feel right in indulging in this poison, but all the while it will be killing your walk with God!

 

Hanging onto hurt and pain is like drinking poison hoping the other guy dies! The only one being hurt by this is you. The perpetrator? They've often moved on with their lives and don't even know you are still seething within.

 

Hebrews 12:15

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

 

THE POISON OF PAIN AND BITTERNESS

 

Let's face it, we all feel pain. It's a part of life. Someone says something against you, or does something to hurt you, and the pain just not let up. As a Christian, you know you need to forgive the other party, but they were wrong in what they did to you, and you just can't let it go.

 

You might even mouth the words, “I forgive…” But then you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. Or you see them and you wish them evil. Or at very least you hope God judges them, and does it real quick and really thoroughly!

 

It's a fact, we all get hurt. The question is how we deal with it, because if we don't do this right, it becomes the root of bitterness, and then it's sin, plain and simple!

 

WHAT CAUSES BITTERNESS?

 

Usually hurt is caused by 3 things…

1. What's been done to us

2. What's been said to us

3. What's been taken from us

 

You can't generally control and stop these things from happening, but what you can control is the way you respond.

 

Bitterness is a hurt, dug in deep and amplified or left to fester. I once had a piece of glass in my hand, and it festered up with poison as my defences eventually expelled the foreign body.

 

Hurt left unresolved will fester into bitterness.

 

Hebrews 12:15

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

 

The word for bitterness actually means having a sharp, pungent taste or smell, like bitter gall.

 

The person who becomes bitter is always the one who has been wronged, or feels they have been.

 

 How does bitterness take root in your heart? Before there is a root there is a seed. The seed of pain or hurt is planted and the plant of bitterness begins to grow.

 

  "Root" means it exists beneath the surface, invisible to the eye, but very real. The seed is planted when someone does you wrong, or you perceive that you were wronged. It could begin when you were disappointed or hurt. Sometimes the person who hurts us does it unintentionally being insensitive to what they did or said. Other times. . .it is deliberate. In either case the seed sprouts unseen by others and it takes root.

 

The Problem is, if we don't deal with it properly, instead of returning love for hurt we disregard the Grace of God which is God's unmerited favour and it blocks God’s blessing flowing to us. 

 

God forgives the sinner who does not deserve to be forgiven… Take yourself, for example. Bitterness begins when instead of forgiving, we become resentful and bitter towards them. We think the person should know what they did and that we should be the ones to correct their behavior, but they go on as if nothing has happened. 

 

But God's word teach us that forgiveness is not based on merit, but on grace....because we choose to forgive and not hold resentment. And we must make that choice! 

 

Listen to what Jesus said on the matter…

Matthew 18:21-22

 

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

 

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 

God treats this poison very seriously, because it is so destructive to you, those around you and the church.

 

So how do you deal with hurt and pain?

 

BLOW UP, CLAM UP OR GIVE IT UP

 

Most of us dealing with hurt and pain have one of two responses…

 

1. They blow up, or 2. They clam up. This verse mentions both…

 

Ephesians 4:26-27

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

 

Blowing Up is never a good idea. When pain or hurt comes, the knee jerk reaction is pretty much never going to be God. The Bible says be angry, but it also says do not sin.

 

Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

 

When we explode, however justified we think it may be, it will never produce the righteousness of God. You don't explode in anger and see peace, faith, righteousness, joy, etc. result. Measure the worth of an action by its fruit, and you'll find that the fruit of an explosion is going to be all bad!

 

James 1:20

for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

 

A woman once told Gypsy Smith the famous evangelist that she was good because she fires up quick in anger but then it all passes and things are fine. The evangelist said, “"Yes, a shot gun fires up in less than a second, but look at the damage it can cause in that short space of time!”

 

If you are the blowing up kind, I would counsel you to step back and take some time to calm down. In WHOS Najara, our local drug rehab facility, they make you take a mandatory 24 hour time out before you answer any conflict. Not a bad strategy. 

 

In your marriage, with your kids, with others in the church, try stepping back and taking a half hour breather before you respond. That way you will respond rather than react! Remember

 

Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

 

And don't run around thinking you have righteous anger towards people who hurt you, as some Christians claim. Even if your grievance is right, that doesn't give you carte Blanche to react angrily. Righteousness anger I anger on behalf of God. So if you see victims of war or abuse, or if you hear God being slandered in the media, that's righteous anger.

 

Anger about what has happened to you, that's not righteous anger, because you basis for anger is all about you. Doesn't mean you can't be angry, just means it is not righteous anger. The emphasis here is, however angry or justified you think you might be, DO NOT SIN!

 

When you react, when you lash back, when you explode, when you get snarky, or short or high and mighty, or picky… call it what it is… It's sin, so watch how you react.

 

Clamming up is no good either. If you are the clam up person, you might feel good and righteous that you haven't caused the carnage that the other guy’s caused, but you run the risk of bitterness. When you clam up, it's like a pressure cooker, and the pressures is rising. Eventually you life can be ruined, or you will explode on a nuclear scale!

 

When the Bible say not to let the sun go down, it means don't hold onto your anger. It means let it go, let the pain go. Why? Because hanging onto it will cause you to stew on it, which causes bitterness, which is the poison we are looking at now.

 

I spent many years in a country Baptist church. I observed Christians, even leaders in the church, who had held grudges and not spoken directly to people in the church for over 10 years. They still justified this action to themselves, and went to church every week.

 

Psalms 37:8

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

 

So don't blow up, or clam up, give it up and let it go. Remember, this poison might make you feel justified, but it only hurts you and those you love, not the original perpetrator!

 

This poison is insidious, and the poison of pain and bitterness can kill you.

 

WHAT THE POISON OF PAIN AND BITTERNESS DOES

 

This poison Is one of the most destructive and dangerous of all human emotions and if not dealt with, will spiritually destroy the person who has it.

 

* It can rob you of your peace and joy.

* It is an open door for Satan to control you life.

* It can lead to the lost of good friends.

* It can hurt or destroy you relationship with your family, your wife and can even lead to the breakup of your home.

* It make peace and harmony impossible.

* There can be no true biblical love where it exists.

* It destroys any true relationship with the Lord and will keep you from growing in the Lord.

* It will defeat you and ruin your life and the lives of those around you.

 

 

LONG TERM FRUIT OF THE POISON OF HURT AND BITTERNESS

 

The fruit of this poisonous root can be devastating to your life.

 

1. Bitterness causes the person who holds it harm. It will rob you of your peace of mind, of joy in your life or satisfaction. Most of all it will deeply hurt your pride. 

 

Holding onto hurts will saturate your mind. The root of bitterness can take hold our your mind. You find yourself thinking about the person who harmed your all the time. You cannot get over it or get it out of your mind.

 

  In Dr S.I. McMillen’s book "None of these Diseases" he said: "The moment I start hating a person I become that person's slave. I can't enjoy life...he controls my thoughts...I can't escape his/her grasp on my mind. He or she may be many miles away, always in my mind.”

 

The story is told of a very bitter woman who was bitten by a rabid raccoon. Test are run and the doctor tells her she has rabies. She then got out a notebook and began to write down names. The doctor asked if she was making a will. She replied, NO! I am making a list of all the people I am going to bite!

 

2. Bitterness will sadden your spirit. Bitterness is a depressant. There are no happy bitter people. It will make you critical, pessimistic, and negative. It will blow out the candle of joy in your heart. It will rob you of any getting any enjoyment out of life.

 

You get the "Woe is me” syndrome and everything you look at in your life will be seen through the colored lens of bitterness. You make yourself the perpetual victim, and so many in our society do this.

 

3. It is an open door for the devil to control your life. Ephesians 4:27

and give no opportunity to the devil. It is a foothold for the devil in your life.

 

4. It can sicken your body. God did not create our bodies to nurse bitter feelings towards others. It has been said that "Not every sick person is bitter, but every bitter person will eventually get sick."

 

It causes stress and we all know that what the doctors tell us about stress it true. It will ruin our health and can kill us. Yet, is a sickness that can be 100% prevented and completely cured.

 

5. Bitterness will defile others around you if if you do not overcome it.

 

- It will ruin your family and children if you are bitter against another Christian, your church, preacher, and yes....even God. This poison ruins churches and families if left unchecked.

 

- It will seriously effect your relationship with others and your ability to show love to your husband, children, family and friends. Marriages have been destroyed by bitterness, often when it is even directed towards others. Hurt people hurt people, and you hurt the people you love the most and who count on you. 

 

- It will rob you of your testimony. Who is going to listen to a bitter, twisted, resentful person speaking about love and forgiveness. 1 John 5:2,

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

 

- It will rob you of your service and reward for the Lord. Often bitterness grows and a person become so dishearten that they give up on the Lord. There is no satisfaction in serving the Lord. 

 

You see, bitterness effects our relationship with the Lord and God cannot bless us in this sinful state. - It will rob you of the blessings of the Lord. God cannot bless a person who is not living filled and guided by the Holy Spirit. 

 

Romans 12:17-21

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

THE ANTIDOTE TO THE POISON OF PAIN AND BITTERNESS

 

Ultimately, hanging onto pain and bitterness is sin. Sin severs our fellowship within God, and stops the flow of His blessings and anointing In our lives.

 

Psalms 66:18

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

 

The antidote to this terrible poison is to cast it upon Him, 1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

 

Carrying this stuff around inside of you, dealing with the sleepless nights, the anxiety, the hurt, the possibility of meeting them again, what is said, what will they do, this is burdensome. 

 

It's time to stop this poison right now. It's time to take the antidote of casting all this upon your Lord, who loves you and wants the best for you. Let it go, stop carrying this junk, give it to Him, and don't hang onto it. If you can trust Him for your salvation, can you not trust Him to deal justly with whatever cause or grievance you have?

 

And this diabolical sin will cut the heart out of your ministry for the Lord. You might outwardly serve the Lord, but your heart will not be in it. Your service is not done in faith serving God but you get resentful. This poison is  sin, and the wages of it is still death.

 

Many of you will know that I suffered a severe and unwarranted attack late last year, both verbally, on the phone and in a letter many of you got about me. I hope you noticed that I did not respond to or address the false and slanderous lies and accusations made against me. I didn't have to, I knew they were wrong. I also couldn't afford to get bitter about it. So I let God deal with it. I am not angry or bitter towards these folks, just sad that they are so angry and bitter. God has dealt with it for me, and I have given my reputation to Him, so I don't have to fight to answer anything.

 

One of the greatest examples of overcoming bitterness is Corrie Ten Boom. A survivor of Ravensbrck concentration camp, where her beloved sister Betsie had died in agony, she was speaking at a church in Munich Germany when she met a former SS guard. Let me share what she wrote about this:

 

"But since that time," the former guard, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Frulein,"--and the hand came out--"will you forgive me?"

And I stood there--I whose sins had every day to be forgiven--and could not. Betsie had died in that place--could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

For I had to do it--I knew that. I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that.

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion--I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!"

For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's Love so intensely as I did then.

Brothers and Sisters, pain and bitterness can ruin your life and ministry, but I won't let it ruin mine because I gave it all to the Lord. 

 

And so must you. Some of you here have tried to escape the effects of this poison, especially with regards how you feel towards those who have wronged you, family members, church leaders and pastors or former friends.  You cannot escape this poison on your own, it's in you, and you need to totally give it to God right now and receive His antidote. 

 

The antidote often takes time to work, but God promises it will. Step one is giving it to Him and letting Him deal with it, without your butting in and taking back control of your bitterness. Let's dig this root out now!

 

Bill Newman says, Don't nurse your hurts, don't curse your hurts, don't rehearse your hurts. Give them to God and reverse your hurts, because hurts will make you bitter or better

 

So what do you choose this morning? Do you want to be bitter, or better. Do you want curses, or blessings, death or life. Now choose life!

 

Deuteronomy 30:19

 

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

Biblical Healing- Pastor Greg Biddell

Pastor Greg Biddell brings a timely message about Biblical healing, how reading and interpreting the Word of God properly can teach us how to live healthy lives.

In this message Pastor Greg shares how he has found incredible links in the Bible between things like grief and blindness, and how removing things like grief, guilt and forgiveness can actually lead to positive changes in your health and well being.

With so many struggling today in their health, Pastor Greg's timely message was well received in Coast Church, and is a message worth listening to for anyone who genuinely cares about their health and  living life to the full!

Sit enjoy the ministry of Pastor Greg Biddell today...

In God We Trust

As Christians we claim to trust God, we say "In God We Trust", we claim we're trusting the Lord in this situation or that, but are we really walking the walk or just talking the talk?

Psalms 33:16-18

The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

Hebrew word for hope is yahal, which means to hope, to trust, to wait patiently, to tarry. This psalm is highlighting the fact that we would often rather trust in what we can see or touch tangibly instead of truly trust God!

Church is typical of this. We claim we are trusting in God, then our actions indicate we are following a church, or a denomination or even a man!

Blondin was a famous 19th century acrobat, especially famous for his tightrope act 160 feet above Niagara Falls on a rope which was over a thousand feet long.

In 1860 a Royal party from Britain saw Blondin cross the Niagara Falls tightrope on stilts, and even blindfolded. Next he wheeled a wheelbarrow from one side to the other, and returned from the Canadian side with a sack of potatoes in it.

Then Blondin approached the Royal party. He asked the Duke of Newcastle, "do you believe I could take a man across the tightrope in this wheelbarrow?"

"Yes, I do" , said the Duke. "Hop in, then" , replied Blondin. Needless to say, the Duke declined Blondin's challenge. You see, he might have believed Blondin could do it, but he wasn't about to trust him with his life.

When it comes to trusting God, we often show this kind of belief. We believe in principle, We know He can do it, we're just not sure He can do it for us. But God is looking for followers who will trust him with their lives.

WHAT DO YOU FACE RIGHT NOW?

What is it that you are facing right now? Is it your health, financial loss, relationship breakdown?

However big the biggest thing you face right now, the question is not how big your problem is, it's how big is God and how faithful is He?

Honestly, we can talk about faith till the cows come home, our Christian faith should be like a tea bag... Our true colour comes out in hot water! When things get tough, when the odds are against us, these are the times when true faith stands up and says, no matter what you throw at me, I believe in Jesus!

IN GOD WE TRUST... IF WE CAN TRUST THE TANGIBLE

The challenge is, as Psalm 33 says, that we say we trust God, but I'm reality we are actually trusting man. Now before you get all high and mighty on me, let me confess that I think all of us, including me, does this.

In fact, in our modern world, this is the default position for Christians.

We say we trust God to heal us, but we pop a pill before we pray. We say we trust God to prosper us, but we are stingy with our giving and tithing, for fear that we won't have enough. We say that Jesus is Lord over our family, but we whine and complain about how our partner or children behave, and nag them when they let us down!

If we say we trust God, then we must not limit ourselves to horses, chariots, cars, houses, churches, men or anything else!

Listen to this...

Jeremiah 17:5

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,

whose heart turns away from the Lord.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

THE DANGER OF PRESUMPTION

There is a hidden danger we need to be explicit about before we move on, and that's the and danger of presumption. I see this time and again in the church. We make our own plans and assume that God is going to bless them. We even pray for His blessing on our plans, rather than waiting on Him to reveal His plans!

Proverbs 16:9

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

How dare we treat God like a performing puppy! He is God, and we are His servants, not the other way around. Formulating our own plans then asking God to bless them is like throwing a few nuts and bolts together and asking God to turn them into a car!

We have previously talked about waiting on God, and we do this to establish His will, as opposed to our will. So stop pursuing your own desires and asking God to bless you in them. And the logical extension to that is, stop following your own plans then blaming God when they don't work out!

THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE

As human beings we always want to follow the path of least resistance. As Bruce Lee once said, flow like water around the rocks. We wants to be happy, blessed and comfortable. We have no room in our Theology or our pea-sized view of God to suffer, to hurt, to agonise, to face opposition or do it tough!

We just want to be blessed. Now while I absolutely believe God wants to bless you, He also is happy to take you through trials, temptations and difficult circumstances. Why? Because He knows the path of least resistance develops fat, lazy, uninspired, useless sheep.

He loves you more than that! In fact, He loves you so much that He will escort you personally through every fiery trial you face, if you'll let Him.

That's why He writes,

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

He wants you to be complete, He wants you to mature, and He's not adverse to letting you face trials to do it! Your comfort is a bit down on His list of priorities. The development of your character and your faith is quite a bit higher.

Theology that preaches that God never lets you suffer is not only shallow, dangerous and wrong, it robs you of the chance to grow in the things that really matter... Character, faith, trust, perseverance and more!

So does this mean God doesn't want to bless you? Does it mean He doesn't want to prosper you? Of course not! Jeremiah 29:11 clearly states that God wants the best for you, not to harm you. So what if God's best for you is the way of discomfort, trouble or even pain?

They're not misjudging God's character, or desires for us. They're just misjudging what's really important.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Faced the wrath of the most powerful man on earth, King Nebuchadnezzar. They would not worship the image of gold the King had set up, so the King threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace. They didn't complain that life was tough, they didn't take the way of least resistance, they stood firm and trusted God!

And they said this...

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

In other words, If God does something miraculous and saves us that's fine, and if He does not intervene and save us, we're good with that too. But we will never, never bow the knee to you, King!

That is faith! Not the path of least resistance, but the faith to follow their Lord down any path the Master chooses, trusting the Master, not man and not circumstances!

And what if He answers differently? What if the path God leads us down is not the one we, in our not so infinite wisdom, reckon we should follow? What if the whole thing takes longer than we reckon it ought to take?

Can you trust Him enough that, no matter the opposition, no matter the pain and no matter how long it takes, you will stay the course?

7 REASONS WHY IT IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN IN MAN

Psalms 118: 8-9

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

There are good and trustworthy men and women in life. Most of them are not politicians.  But no matter how good any man is, you cannot compare him with God.

Remember that verse from Jeremiah?

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,

whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land.

Jeremiah tells us here the consequences of trusting in man. It brings curse and dryness. It brings disappointment and frustration. It doesn't bring life, it brings ultimately death.

Even good men have limits. God knows that if you trust in me as your pastor, at so,e point I will let you down. I'm not God, but I know Him and long to walk with Him!

 

1. GOD NEVER CHANGES, BUT MEN DO

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Malachi 3:6

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

God doesn't change. His compassions, His promises, His purposes last forever.

Im sick of hearing people saying God told them something, then a little later they claim God told them the complete opposite. That's not faith, folks, that's a joke, and it is against Scripture. Again, stop changing your mind and blaming God! Start listening to Him and being obedient, even if it's not the answer you were after!

2. GOD DOES NOT LIE, BUT MEN DO

Numbers 23:19

God is not man, that he should lie,

or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

In fact, Hebrews 6:18 says it is impossible for God to lie.

That's why I am encouraging you strongly to read the Word of God. When God speaks to you, He never lies and you can stand on it to face any opposition when you know God has spoken.

I faced a lot of opposition when I stepped up to pastor this church. But I could stand firm knowing that God had called me. And I had pages of Scripture to support me. Because God spoke, I didn't need to listen when others told me the church would be destroyed in less than 2 years.

God promised and led me... And He doesn't lie!

3. GOD IS FAITHFUL, MEN ARE NOT

As we read His word every day we begin to understand His faithfulness, which is beyond anything man could ever offer

Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The Bible even contrasts men and God for faithfulness...

2 Timothy 2:13

if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

4. GOD IS OMNISCIENT, MAN HAS LIMITED KNOWLEDGE

Hebrews 4:13

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God knows everything, and everyone totally. Think you can hide your sin? Think again. Think you can conceal you true intentions or your secret plans and agendas? Think again. Men cannot see and understand like God can.

So as you live your life, do you want a man in your corner, or an omniscient God!

5. GOD IS OMNIPRESENT, MAN IS IN ONE PLACE

Jeremiah 23:24

Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.

You cannot run, you cannot hide, you cannot secretly do anything because God is there. His Spirit is so dependable, it doesn't matter where you go, God is with you...

Psalms 139:7-10

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

6. GOD IS OMNIPOTENT, MAN HAS LIMITED POWER

Isaiah 40:28

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

God created everything with just a word! God is so powerful atomic bombs are like tiny hiccups. And this is the same God we serve. This same God loves you and asks for your trust.

Matthew 19:26

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Do you believe it. In the midst of your storm, can you stand firm and trust that this same God will see you through.

Ephesians 3:20

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

7. GOD SEES THINGS THROUGH, MAN GIVES UP

He's proved this again and again. Jesus saw it through...

Hebrews 12: 2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He saw His part through, and He promises He will finish the job in you if you let Him!

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

God never gives up, He never walks away, He is never not able to complete what He has promised, and He never breaks His promises or changes his mind.

TRUST IN THE LORD... IN GOD WE TRUST... TRULY

I've just shown you how awesome, how amazingly huge and powerful and loving God is. Your struggles to trust God have nothing to do with Him, for He is able, but everything to do with you, and how you perceive Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

God is so immeasurably, mind bogglingly powerful, He is so immutably able to do exceeding abundantly beyond anything we can ask or even think. Trying to fathom how amazing He is constitutes a disservice to Him, and an attempt to lean on your own understanding.

Don't try and get God, just learn how to know Him and love Him, and He'll do the rest, whatever you are trusting for.

Let me finish with a quote I read in my quiet time this week from AW TOZER...

"If we are not aware of what kind of God our God is, or what He is like, we simply cannot have faith; and so we struggle, wait and hope for faith. Faith does not come, because we do not know the character of God.

Faith, trust and hope are an automatic thing. If we have put our faith and hope and trust in the character of God, it will come naturally. It will flow as naturally as a stream down the mountain. When we know what God is like, that knowledge gets expressed in faith and trust and hope."

In other words, your trust in God is directly proportional to how well you know Him. Not how well you know of Him, not how many times you go to church... How well you actually know Him.

And the way you get to know Him is by daily Bible reading and prayer.

My challenge to you this morning is, will you commit to reading the Bible every day.  If you don't want to, then I must assume that you don't really want to know God, and are content with where your spiritual life is at right now.

But for the rest of us, let's get serious and committed to reading the Bible and prayer.

A tiny amount of faith in an infinitely powerful, infinitely loving God is worth far more that all the faith you can muster in a man, something man has made or even a church!

He Maketh No Mistake

In the 1920s a young man named A. M. Overton became the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Baldwyn, Mississippi. I happen to know a little about Baldwyn because we lived for seven years in nearby Tupelo. Baldwyn is a small community in north Mississippi on the road between Tupelo and Corinth. Back in the 1920s Baldwyn was just a tiny place. In 1932 Mrs. Overton was pregnant with their fourth child, but when it came time for delivery there were complications and both she and the baby died. During the funeral, the preacher officiating the service noticed Pastor Overton writing something on a piece of paper. After the service the minister asked him about it, and he handed him the paper with a poem he had just written. The poem was unknown for many years until someone set it to music. It eventually went around the world. The poem is called “He Maketh No Mistake.”

My Father’s way may twist and turn

My heart may throb and ache,

But in my soul I’m glad to know,

He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,

My hopes may fade away,

But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,

For He doth know the way.

Tho’ night be dark and it may seem

That day will never break,

I’ll pin my faith, my all, in Him,

He maketh no mistake.

There’s so much now I cannot see,

My eyesight’s far too dim,

But come what may,

I’ll simply trust and leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift,

And plain it all He’ll make,

Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,

He made not one mistake.

The Voices in Your Head... Inside Out

Romans 8:5-9

 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

 

If you have not seen the kids movie "Inside Out," then you have missed a really great movie. It's the kid movie very adult should see! In the movie, it relates the thoughts that go through a little girl's head in various situations, and features voices in her head like joy, sadness, anger, fear and disgust.

 

A kid movie, yes, but doesn't it ring true. How many of you know that, whenever you face anything in you life, there are often conflicting voices in your head. So which ones are God, which are the demons, and which is just you?

 

Please note that I'm not suggesting that you are all schizophrenic! These poor people hear voices in their head telling them to do all kinds of things, and they need professional help. I heard one guy joke, "I used to think I had Schizophrenia, then I realized that is just what the voices want me to think," but it is no joking matter. If that's you, seek professional help now.

 

But even if we are not mentally ill, we still hear voices in our heads every day, either God, us or demonic voices.

 

YOUR CHOICES OF VOICES

 

Simply, the voices in your head are from either of those three sources. But sorting them out, and figuring which ones you want to listen to is no easy matter! 

 

Choose the right ones and you will grow and prosper in God, choose the wrong ones to listen to and you will be tormented and maybe even have your life ruined! The stakes are high, but God is God, and His ways are higher than your stakes.

 

IPOD, IPHONE, I SAID IT!

 

In the "I Generation", we think everything is about us. This of course is not new... Remember the foolish rich man...

 

Luke 12:18

 

And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

 

Man has always been all about himself.

 

The thing is, demons love to use this to trick us, and they do this by whispering in our spiritual ears, just as God often does. But they use the word "I".  You've always assumed that you are the originator of your own thoughts, but I think you need to step back and have a look at that theory right now...

 

The demonic wants to influence you in every way. If you've ever read the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis you will recognise this. One of their greatest tools is planting thoughts in your mind and convincing you that the thoughts are yours.

 

They do this by using the first person... "I'm such a loser", "I won't make it," "How can God bless me when I'm such a mess."

 

If the devil can get you to take ownership of negative thoughts he can lead you to utter despair. 

 

Slightly less subtle but equally as effective is the second person attack...

"You shouldn't have done that", "You always let God down."

 

Recognise that these destructive thoughts are planted in your head, so don't fall for them hook, line and sinker!

 

 

THE GHOSTS OF THE PAST

 

Dickens explored this area in his famous story, "A Christmas Carol." The first voice old Scrooge had to deal with was from the past.

 

You may have had a tough upbringing, you may have been abused, hurt or put down by someone in your past. God knows this, and yet He says,

 

Isaiah 43:18-19

 

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

 

That voice in your head which brings up the hurts of the past... It's most often the devil. And if he wants to bring up your past, try bringing up his future!

 

It's time to make the past past at last! The things your parents or sibling said, the failures you've experienced, the hurt people have caused in your life...that failed marriage, that failed business, that miserable church experience... It is time to let them go. Put them behind you, draw a line and say, "Enough... I'm done, and I'm moving on!"

 

MAX LUCADO WRITES...

The forgiven who won’t forgive can expect a sad fate—a life full of many bad and bitter days. . . .

Hoard hurts in your heart and expect the joy level of a Siberian death camp. 

 

A friend shared with me the fate of a hoarding grandmother. . . . She refused to part with anything. Her family witnessed two terrible consequences: she lost sleep and treasures. She couldn’t rest because junk covered her bed. She lost treasures because they were obscured by mountains of trash. Jewelry, photographs, favorite books—all were hidden.

No rest. No treasures. Or clean your house and give the day a fresh chance!

 

Hang onto your hurts and you don't hurt them, you hurt yourself.

 

Has someone taken something from you? Your innocence, your money, your reputation? Release them now. Why let them take even more from you? Haven't they stolen enough?

 

Forgiving them releases their hold over you. It doesn't mean you approve of what's happened to you. You aren't endorsing what they did, but you are stopping them from doing it to you again and again in your mind!

 

If you cannot forgive and release the hurt, then the ghost of Christmas past will always haunt you. You will never be free. 

 

Let Jesus remove that burden from your weary, discouraged shoulders, and replace it with a yoke that is easy and light. He say,

 

Matthew 11:28-30

 

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

In the end, we all choose what lives inside us. We all choose what voices we will listen to.

 

THE GHOSTS OF THE FUTURE

 

We all have fears of the future, if we're honest. Mostly they revolve around money, families, whether we'll ever make it and, for the guys,.. Money. 

 

Again, we have conflicting voices in our heads... Come on, you can do it, or... You'll never make it.

 

90% of all the things we worry about never happen. But that doesn't stop the voices telling you that they could happen. Sometimes these voices keep you up at night wondering what you'll do if it does happen, when you have no guarantees that it will happen!

 

Confused? Yep, that's where the devil wants you! He wants you trusting your feelings not the Lord, basing your life upon the whispers of trouble ahead instead of the Word of God.

 

Yet the Word says this...

 

Isaiah 41:10

 

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

Max Lucado says, "You don’t have wisdom for tomorrow’s problems. But you will tomorrow. You don’t have resources for tomorrow’s needs. But you will tomorrow. You don’t have courage for tomorrow’s challenges. But you will when tomorrow comes. God meets daily needs daily and miraculously. He did then, he does still, and he will for you."

 

You've got on one hand the God of all creation, you loves you and wants the best for you, vs the worry wort in your head. So who are you going to believe? Who will you listen to?

 

THE GHOST OF THE PRESENT

 

Bill Keane said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”

 

Yet we listen to the voices that tell us we're in trouble, right here right now. They say things like,  "You don't deserve any better than this," and "I'll never be able to do that," or "I just can't take it any more." 

 

Often the voices write us off, even before we attempt anything. We worry about the future, and this spills over into the present. 

 

The big thing in business circles these days is living in the moment. This is in direct contrast to recent teaching about goals, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and profitability. What they are saying is that if you cease listening to the voices of worry in your head, you will have a happier life.

 

But Jesus said exactly this long ago...

 

Matthew 6:31-34

 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 

So to finish up, I want to talk about the present, and the battle that we all face in our minds. Those voices keep on whispering, and if you want to grow in life, it's time to tell the bad voices to shut up... Permanently!

 

THE VACILLATION EQUATION... SHALL WE DANCE?

 

1 Kings 18:21

 

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

 

The Hebrew word for waiver is "pasah", which means to limp, skip over or dance.

 

That's what these voices do, they whisper in your ear, and you think the evil voice is your own. Then you waiver. You start to vacillate between one opinion and the other. One minute you believe, the next you doubt.

 

Shall we dance? Sure, let's waiver, let's sway between God and the devil. Let's do the dance of indecision, and let's play this game all day every day. We dance and skip from one voice to the other. If you keep dancing this dance, you, your ministry and your life will be paralysed.

 

James 1:6-8

 

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

 

SO HOW DO YOU RECOGNISE AND OVERCOME THE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD

 

1. FORGIVE ANYONE WHO HAS HURT YOU IN THE PAST

 

You will not hear God clearly if you view everything through the lens of you past hurts and pain. Forgive whoever has hurt you, family, friends, investments, friends, anyone who has spoke words of curse over you.

 

Forgive and let them go. Forget the former things and release yourself, and watch God bless you and change your mind forever!

 

Isaiah 43:18-19

 

2. LISTEN TO THE ACCENT OF THE VOICE

 

You can recognise the voices in your head by their accent. I'm not suggesting that good voices are in French and bad ones in German, but each voice has an accent from its country of origin. You can tell where people come from by their accent!

 

God's voice is always encouraging. The devil is discouraging. God's Spirit even brings correction with an accent of conviction, not condemnation. His words are accented with life, but the devil always has an accent of death.

 

2 Timothy 1:7

 

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. A sound mind is one that is only listening to the Holy Spirit, not the evil one.

 

3. ACCEPT GOD'S VOICE, AND REJECT THE OTHER VOICES

 

Make a conscious decision to accept the voice of the Lord, and make a decision to reject the voice of criticism, discouragement and fear.

 

Say, "Thanks for sharing, but I don't do that any more!" 

 

Why not listen to the one who says,

Jeremiah 29:11

 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

 

The thing is, you must not tolerate or put up with those evil accented voices. Don't fill you mind with that junk. Don't watch movies or listen to songs that depress you. Don't hang out with people that drag you down.

 

As Paul said, 

 

2 Corinthians 10:5

 

 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

 

So accept the voice of encouragement and take captive and then reject the voices that drag you down.  As Wayne Alcorn says, it's the voices John  West rejects that makes him the best.

 

Isaiah 30:21

 

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

 

Don't dance, walk in it. Don't vacillate, follow Him.

 

4. FILL YOUR MIND WITH THE RIGHT THING

 

Whatever you mind is filled with is what's going to speak to you. Fill you mind with your pain, and everything you see will be negative. Fill it with thoughts about money, and you'll be obsessed with getting money. Fill it with porn, and you'll have thoughts of lust.

 

Fill your mind with God, and guess what voice you'll start to hear more and more!

 

Do you know how investigators are trained to recognize counterfeit money? They don’t spend all of their time trying to keep up with the latest technological advances in creating false money. Instead, they first and foremost diligently study the original, the real thing. Then, held against the standard, the imitation stands out.

 

The best way to distinguish God's voice is to get to know it, and the best way to know God’s voice is to get to know Him. He's the real thing. Spend time in His Word and soak in His truths. You must know God’s Word before you can differentiate God’s instructions from the messages that Satan or your flesh is sending you. You must learn God's accent by spending time with Him, and then you'll realise that He sounds very different to the devil or the flesh.

 

When the devil attacked Jesus in the wilderness, every time He answered with Scripture. Answer with Scripture, and Jesus did! Matthew 4:4, But he answered, “It is written...

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

 

What you let into your mind will have a direct affect on the voices you hear, and the accents you detect.  So don't fill your mind with junk from TV, movies, songs, books or magazines... Renew your mind, 

 

Romans 12:2

 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

And the way you do that is to meditate on the Word of God. There is no substitute for reading a God's Word daily. You cannot live a Spirit filled, victorious life without spending time every day with the Lord. 

 

Colossians 3:2

 

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

 

Philippians 4:8

 

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

5. DON'T FIGHT ALONE

 

God invented church, not so we could have tall steeples, but so we could share together. We can worship together, laugh together, cry together. We can share our money, our things and our hurts.  The Bible says this...

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

 

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.

For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

 

Yet most Christians listen to the evil accented voice and move not towards the people of God, but away. They're ashamed. The voices tell them they are sinful, they are unworthy, that no one will love them if the truth about them and what they've done gets around. 

 

If you're struggling, don't isolate yourself. Don't go it alone!

 

This church is built on love... God's love, His unconditional love. Listen, whatever you've done, whatever you are carrying, whatever voices you are listening to, let us stand with you. We are all sinners too! We love you and we're here for you. 

 

How to Wait for God's Perfect Timing

Last week we talked about why God makes you wait for His answers or His provision. If I could summaries the message it would simply be this... God has a perfect time for everything and you need to trust Him and wait.

 

After all, every Bible character had a period of waiting for God's perfect timing.  David, for example, 

 

HIS TIMING IS PERFECT

 

 

Psalms 13:1-2

 

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

 

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

 

EVERYBODY HAS A WAIT PROBLEM

 

Sometimes when we pray long and hard about a situation in our life without receiving any answers, we just learn to live with it. We go on about our business, wondering if or when God will send the answer. We wonder if He even hears, or maybe He is too busy to bother answering us.

 

But God does hear those prayers, and He’s working out the answers even though we may not know all the details. 

 

Waiting for answers is a fact of life—nobody gets out of it. The young are waiting to grow up, the old are waiting to go home. So the question is not if we'll wait, but rather how we’ll wait. And I believe how we wait can actually determine how long we'll wait. Or at least, how long we seem to wait!

 

TWO WAYS TO WAIT

 

All of us will wait in either of two ways... passively, or expectantly. 

 

A passive person hopes something good will happen and is willing to sit around waiting to see if it does. After a short time, he gives up, saying, "That’s it! I've waited and waited and nothing's happened." The passive person has a lot of wishbone but not much backbone!

 

The active waiter is an expectant person, hopeful, believing the answer is just around the corner, due to arrive any minute. His belief is not a passive thing. His heart is full of hope, expecting his problem to be solved at any moment. He wakes up every morning expecting to find his answer. He may wait and wait, but suddenly what he’s been waiting for happens.

 

In the Bible, the word wait is always an active word, never passive...

 

Psalms 27:14

 

Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

 

The Greek word for wait is qawa, which means to bind together, wait for patiently, expect, hope for or trust for.  So waiting is not sitting still waiting for God to lay it all out on a red velvet carpet for you, but rather keep on doing what you're doing fully expectant that, at any time, God is going to breakthrough and do something miraculous!

 

ACTIVE WAITING

 

It’s just like when a woman is pregnant; it's said that she is expecting a baby. She carries inside her that little child. She cannot see it, she can feel it later on in the pregnancy, but she knows the baby is there. 

 

When she learns of her pregnancy, the mum to be begins to plan for her baby's arrival. She starts collecting items she'll need and busily gets the nursery ready. 

 

She's waiting for the big day, but she is waiting expectantly... She actively prepares for the arrival of the baby because she knows the promise will be fulfilled—it's just a matter of time. It's not if, it's when. She is expectant and she'll wait as long as it takes, knowing that the result is a foregone conclusion.

 

Wait means "to expect" or "to look for." 

 

One episode of "Faulty Towers", Manuel the winter climbed onto a table. Faulty asked him what he was doing, he replied, "You told me to go wait on table. I'm waiting."

 

This week I took Fiona out for her birthday. We had a waiter. Waiting also means "to serve" — just like the waiter waits on your table at a restaurant. Our act of waiting isn’t supposed to be spent sitting around passively hoping that something will happen sometime soon. It is to be spent actively pursuing expectantly.

 

Romans 8:24-25

 

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

 

HOW TO WAIT FOR GOD'S PERFECT TIMING

 

Like you, I hate to wait. If you have sold a house and bought another, the wait to leave is hard. If you have ever given notice at a job, you'll know the wait to leave is horrible. You can't start anything new, you cannot put your heart into it. You're leaving, and the wait is torture!

 

Waiting is especially difficult when there are no guarantees that the wait will ever end in this lifetime.

 

Desires we long for, prayers we’ve been praying, and news we are waiting to hear can tempt us to be impatient, discouraged, to worry, and even to wonder if God really cares.

 

As we have seen, waiting for the Christian needs to be active. God wants us to keep living for Him, keep serving in our church, keep believing His promises.

 

Waiting strategically can cultivate good fruit in in our lives such as patience, perseverance, and endurance. It also draws us closer to our Savior and points those who are watching us to the gospel.

 

So, here's how to actively wait for God, His way...

 

1. WAIT REMAINING IN GOD'S WILL

 

I want to be absolutely clear about this... To have your prayers answered you must be in the will of God. You can pray, and ask, and beg as much as you like, if you are not in God's will, it ain't happening.

 

Somewhere in our crazy, mixed up Christian doctrines we have lost this simple truth. God does not exist to meet your needs, wants or whims. He is God, He is holy, and He is in control, not you, not the other way around.

 

I have seen it done many times. Preachers take a verse like...

 

Matthew 21:22

 

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

 

John 14:14

 

 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

 

And build a doctrine of self gratification upon it. Whatever you want, ask in the name of Jesus, and it shall be done. I mean, that's what the verse says, right?

 

In fact, if you even question people who have got into this doctrine, you are accused of having lack of faith!

 

Pastor Keith told me the other night about a woman arrested in Perth for running 6 red lights. She had swallowed this teaching, and as she approached every red light she prayed, "Change to green in Jesus' name", and believed. None of them did.

 

This "blab it and grab it" doctrine is centred not in God, but in self. It completely overlooks verses like...

 

John 15:7

 

 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

 

Or even this very clear teaching...

 

James 4:3

 

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

 

God is not a performing dog! You don't get to tell Him what you want and He has to go fetch! Beware of this type of teaching, because it is not only self indulgent, but it will destroy your faith totally. I've seen people walk away from God entirely because of it.

 

You decide what you want God to give you. You pray like crazy, believe with everything you've got, wait and wait, and nothing happens. Then you blame God for letting you down, because you didn't get something that God never even promised you! You believe God, and feel He's let you down because He did not do something you wanted, that He never promised in the first place!

 

Step 1 in waiting on the Lord is to make sure you are in His will. This means getting rid of sin

 

Psalms 66:18

 

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.

 

It means living a life devoted not to your own desires but to serving Him. Keep your life on track, stay holy, live right. Get to church, fellowship, study God's word, and soon your will begins to conform to His will, and what He wants for you is actually what you want and are praying and waiting for yourself.

 

2. WAIT MAKING SURE YOU HEAR GOD'S WORD

 

Listen, if God gives you a word, a direct word from Scripture, you can take that to the bank!

 

Psalms 119:105

 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

If you have a need, a want, someone who needs Jesus, finances, relationship issues, whatever, don't just make stuff up and say God told me! He told you only if He told you, not if you told Him and then got out a concordance to try and argue Him into performing for you!

 

The Lord guides through prophecy, advice, circumstances, the still small voice, but when you get Scripture lining up, your can trust and wait as long as it takes.

 

I'm so sick of "God told me to go to this church," then a few months later, "God told me to leave." Listen, stop blaming God for your own decisions, or your own fickleness and inability to see things through!

 

Numbers 23:19

 

God is not man, that he should lie,

or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

 

Jeremiah talks about people claiming God's message when it wasn't Him. I love the message translation of this...

Jeremiah 23:38

 

But don't pretend that you know all the answers yourselves and talk like you know it all. I'm telling you: Quit the 'God told me this . . . God told me that...' kind of talk.

 

This is why the daily Bible reading is so, so important. It you are not doing it, you need to start, because without the constant flow of God's Word into your life, you are flying blind and waiting in vain!

 

Psalms 5:3

 

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

 

3. WAIT WITH EXPECTANCY, BUT BE OPEN TO THE UNEXPECTED

 

When we pray and wait, God hears us and will answer. But it may not be the way we expect.

 

Philippians 1:20

 

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed,

 

Moses didn't expect a 40 year journey, Gideon didn't expect his army to be reduced to 300 men. Joseph didn't expect to become the PM, the disciples, despite being told, didn't really expect Jesus' resurrection.

 

If God is God, lay your request before Him, and expect an answer, any which way He sees fit. You say you can trust Him and wait for Him by faith, can you, if the answer is different to what you envisaged, still trust Him?

 

If you have that relationship, if you have that daily walk with Him, you can wait and trust Him in every way! It stops being about the outcome, and starts being about the relationship.

 

This time last year, I was waiting on God, serving Him (actively waiting). I didn't see the pastor of Coast Church role coming. I didn't conceive it as an answer. But I'm so glad He led me this way, as I hope you are, and I know I am in His will right now!

 

4. WAIT WITHOUT FRETTING

 

Psalms 37:7

 

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

 

It is easy to say we trust God, but our response to delays, frustrations, and difficult situations reveals where we are actually placing our hope.

 

Waiting creates a litmus test that exposes what we really believe about God.

 

You cannot say, "I'm trusting God, I'm waiting on God, but I'm worried sick about it!" Those statements are mutually exclusive.

 

Are we convinced God is listening? Do we believe that He really is good and wants the best for us? Do we accept that our circumstances are sovereignly ordained, despite what we might see around us? 

 

When we choose to wait quietly and trustingly, we not only honor God but encourage others to put their hope in him as well.

 

This week a few of us went to hear Ps Wayne Alcorn. He spoke about the two voices in your head, and how you know each by its fruit. One is from God, encouraging and righteous, the other is from hell, discouraging and condemning. Fretting is the battle between these 2 forces in the battleground of your mind...

 

James 1:6-8

 

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

 

If you are waiting for God, just don't entertain one of those voices. Reject it, shut the door on it! Worry is like a rocking horse... It keeps you occupied, but you don't actually get anywhere.

 

So don't be double minded, don't flip between two opinions.

 

1 Kings 18:21

 

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

 

 If God is God, believe Him. And wait for His perfect timing!

 

5. WAIT TOGETHER

 

God gave us the church, so that we can support each other. God's solution to a lost world is the church. God's solution to your waiting in faith involves the church.

 

Jesus said,

Matthew 18:19

 

 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

 

This is not a formula, whereby if you can just get someone to agree with you God is forced to do what you want.

 

It simply says that we need each other. When we stand together our faith is stronger! When we join our shields of faith together, we can believe for more, and we can support each other as we wait expectantly for the Lord.

 

Don't wait alone! There's safety in numbers. There's strength in unity. 

 

CONCLUSION

 

So the way to wait for God is actively, not passively sitting around doing nothing or complaining. If you have a promise in your heart the Lord has given you, and you know He's given you it, (you haven't just told Him what to do then demanded He perform) then today you need people around you standing shoulder to shoulder, praying with you, believing with you!

 

Stay close to God, read His Word daily, live for Him, wait expectantly. Those who wait on the Lord renew their strength, they soar like eagle, but they don't soar alone. 

 

Let's wait together. Let's stand together. Let's believe together!

 

If you are waiting on God, Come forward and let us stand with you!

 

When God Makes You Wait Part 1

WAIT FOR THE LORD

I must confess to you, I have a wait problem. I hate waiting, I struggle to wait for things and I want things instantly!

 

Psalms 27:14

 

 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

 

I have often said that this is my least favourite verse in the Bible, because I hate waiting for anything, don't you?

 

We live in a society that demands things immediately. We have instant coffee, Instant communication, instant cash loans. We want everything now, and we will even pay interest to buy something on credit so we don't have to wait! Buy now, pay later, 24 months interest free.

 

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT

 

My parents taught me the principle, "Good things come to those who wait." In their generation they knew how to wait for something good. They saved rather than use credit. They persisted rather than quitting. They saw it through!

 

In our modern world, if it doesn't happen quick, we move on to something else. We change channel, we click on the next link. Researchers now tell us that 50-80% of Internet users leave a website in 8 seconds or less. In fact, when we go online we experience frontal lobe changes, resulting in us reading less thoroughly and skimming more.

 

And we're like that with everything in life... Our job, sometimes marriage, often church... We don't wait, we don't persist, we just quit!

 

Lamentations 3:25

 

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

 

Our spiritual condition is not a smash and grab, it's a long, slow, persistent and sustained growth.

 

We all know that waiting, while it might be uncomfortable, generally results in good things.  So what are you waiting for in God right now? What are you seeking Him for which seems delayed in coming?

 

DELAYED GRATIFICATION EXPERIMENT: THE MARSHMALLOW EXPERIMENT

 

A 40 Year experiment by Stanford professor Walter Mischel began in the 1960s.

 

During his experiments, Mischel and his team tested hundreds of children of around the ages of 4 and 5 years old and revealed what is now believed to be one of the most important characteristics for success in health, work, and life.

 

The experiment began by bringing each child into a private room, sitting them down in a chair, and placing a marshmallow on the table in front of them.

 

At this point, the researcher offered a deal to the child.

 

The researcher told the child that he was going to leave the room and that if the child did not eat the marshmallow while he was away, then they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. However, if the child decided to eat the first one before the researcher came back, then they would not get a second marshmallow.

 

So the choice was simple: one treat right now or two treats later.

 

The researcher left the room for 15 minutes.

 

As you can imagine, the footage of the children waiting alone in the room was rather entertaining. Some kids jumped up and ate the first marshmallow as soon as the researcher closed the door. Others wiggled and bounced and scooted in their chairs as they tried to restrain themselves, but eventually gave in to temptation a few minutes later. And finally, a few of the children did manage to wait the entire time.

 

Then they tracked these same children over decades, and the results are interesting...

 

The children who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up having higher SAT scores, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, better social skills as reported by their parents, and generally better scores in a range of other life measures.

 

In other words, this ability to wait and delay gratification is proven to be  critical for success in almost every aspect of life.

 

Success usually comes down to choosing the pain of discipline over the ease of distraction. And that’s exactly what delayed gratification is all about.

 

Later researchers added a twist... They gave the children varied experiences before they ran this test. So some kids were let down by the researcher, promised things that never happened.  Others were given reliable experiences, promised things and then given what they were promised.

 

The children in the unreliable group had no reason to trust that the researchers would bring a second marshmallow and thus they didn’t wait very long to eat the first one.

 

Meanwhile, the children in the second group were training their brains to see delayed gratification as a positive. Every time the researcher made a promise and then delivered on it, the child’s brain registered two things: 1) waiting for gratification is worth it and 2) I have the capability to wait. As a result, the second group waited an average of four times longer than the first group.

 

So learning to wait patiently is about trusting the one you are waiting for.

 

That's why I have you reading the Bible every day. If you learn to know the Lord, you will learn to trust Him. You will learn to trust Him so much that you will wait for Him. Knowing leads to trust leads to waiting patiently.

 

 

GIVE ME PATIENCE, AND GIVE IT NOW!

 

One Bible story that illustrates lack of patience, and particularly connects with men, is the story of Esau. We can understand how Esau felt after he came in from a long day in the fields. He had been hunting, and he was tired, hot and famished. Hunger consumed him, so much so that his appetite, and his desire for immediate gratification, overruled his self-control, and his care for his future, and generations to come! He had no thought for the future. He saw it, smelled it and wanted that stew—now!

 

We’ve all been there, literally and figuratively. Just before mealtime you’re raiding the cupboard or the fridge. “Where’s something to tide me over? Got to have something! So what if I ruin my appetite?” You want it now.

And food is just the beginning: New electronic “toys” beckon. The latest vacation spot beckons. New car, new house... So to get what we want, now, we unadvisedly bust the budget.

 

Or We see an alluring woman and lust sparks our desire. We take a step closer. Our appetite overrules self-control. But there’s always a price to pay.

 

Instead of going to God’s Word for direction when tough temptations loom, or instead of using the brains God gave us, we go with our gut. Or worse, we fly on autopilot, not giving a second thought to the consequences of our actions. Enjoy now, pay later!

 

Like Esau giving up his birthright for some bread and stew, we sometimes exchange true joy for a temporary thrill, a blessed future for immediate fulfillment. We carelessly toss aside our imperishable spiritual birthright for a consumable—and fleeting—fantasy.

 

BUY NOW! PAY LATER! FOR A LIMITED TIME!

 

The rewards of obedience to God’s will are flushed away every day by such hasty, impatient choices. We give up our financial security or our own sexual purity for a rush that lasts only seconds. The regret, however, can last for years.

 

So before giving in, stop and pray. Give it some time. Then take another look at the price tag on that spiritual birthright God offers. It’s marked “priceless,” so don't throw it away in your impatience!

 

Here's a hint... Jesus, when it's Him asking you to do something, always says "count the cost".

 

Luke 14:28-33

 

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

 

But the devil never asks you to count the cost! He says, like Nike, "Just do it." Buy now, pay later, but he doesn't reveal the cost of the later payment. 

 

But God does... He warns us

Galatians 6:7-8

 

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

 

WHY DOES GOD MAKE YOU WAIT?

 

1. GOD MAKES YOU WAIT BECAUSE HE HAS HIS REASONS

 

God is God. He is in control of all things, and He loves you. But so many Christians chase Him for what He can do, not who He is.

 

Isaiah 55:8-9

 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

Things is, God is not a performing dog. I know of people travelling interstate to see a prophet or healing ministry. That's not wrong or bad, but it will not sustain you in your darkest hour. God's Word will. 

 

Don't build your life on signs and wonders, on the latest fad or the bug successful church or ministry. They are great, but God is God, and He is the one you need to know personally. If He makes you wait, He has His reasons. Don't stop your quest to know Him more by focusing on the good things He blesses you with, or could bless you with!

 

2. GOD MAKES YOU WAIT TO SHOW HIS POWER AND SOVEREIGNTY

 

Sometimes it is to show His power and His sovereignty, that men may know that the Lord has a right to give or to withhold. More frequently the delay is for our profit, so that we might learn to trust Him more, no matter the circumstances, no matter the cost!

 

He does this so we don't trust in the manifestations of God, but God Himself.

 

Job 1:21

 

 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

 

Job knew that God can give, and He can take. He is sovereign. Job said he would trust even if God decides to allow him to suffer loss. Do you trust God that much?

 

We lost a lot of money 7 years ago in an investment collapse, including our home. All through that time this verse from Job meant so much to us and I reached the point where I told God that even if He takes my money, my home and even those I love from me, or delays what I might feel I need or want, I will not stop trusting God!

 

Job 13:15

 

 Though he slay me, I will hope in him;

 

3. GOD MAKES YOU WAIT SO THAT YOUR DESIRES MAY BECOME MORE FERVENT

 

Perhaps you are kept waiting in order that your desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if He keeps you waiting, you will see your necessity more clearly and will seek more earnestly; and that you will prize the mercy all the more for its long tarrying.

 

Remember the parable of the persistent widow. She was relentless. She wouldn't give up, and the unrighteousness judge eventually gave in, not because he was a good person, but because she persisted.

 

Luke 18:5

 

yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”

 

Often we want God to bless us. But if we are not desperate enough to seek God with all our hearts, then do we actually need it that much? Delay makes us either give up, or press in... How will you respond?

 

4. GOD MAKES YOU WAIT BECAUSE IT ALLOWS SOMETHING IN YOU TO BE REMOVED... SELF

 

There may also be something in you that needs to be removed before the joy of the Lord is given. 

 

We might be capable of making it happen, and then we rely on ourselves not God.  One of the hardest things is asking God and waiting, not trying to make something happen under our own steam.

 

This is so important, God gives many examples of what not to do. Saul, for example, who lost the kingdom because he got impatient and took action himself instead of trusting God...

 

1 Samuel 13:8-9

He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him.

So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.

 

Yet Paul says this...

2 Corinthians 3:5

 

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,

 

Perhaps you may be placing some little reliance on yourself instead of trusting entirely to the Lord Jesus.

 

Taking matters into our own hands means taking them out of God's hands.

 

Psalms 127:1

 

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

 

A little boy and his father visited the country store. Upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. “Get a handful of candy”, the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, “Son, get a handful of candy; it’s free.” Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a handful of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a handful of the free candy. The boy, with a big smile on his face, looked into the face of his father and said, “Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine.”

 

5. GOD MAKES YOU WAIT BECAUSE HE IS ARRANGING THINGS

 

Corrie Ten Boom popularised this poem...

My Life is but a weaving

between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

 

Oft times He weaveth sorrow

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the under side.

 

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

 

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver’s skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

 

He knows, He loves, He cares,

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives His very best to those

Who leave the choice with Him.

 

You cannot see the big picture, only your little bit. God sees all, controls all and is arranging all things to bring it about perfectly. He has a perfect timing.

 

Colossians 1:16-17

 

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

 

In God all things hold together... Everything, including whatever it is you are waiting for. He is behind the scenes orchestrating it all, allowing you to wait for His perfect timing.

 

If you kick a football down the field in a game, they will tell you that's a waste. But if a star player runs onto it from an onside position, you are a genius! What's the difference? Timing.

 

If I buy a house or some shares, and the economy collapses, I'm a failure. If I buy a house or shares and there's a sudden boom, I'm a genius. What's the differences? Timing.

 

If you bake a cake and you take it out of the oven too early it's gooey in the centre, too late and its burnt on the edges. What's the way to cook a perfect cake? Timing.

 

Joseph waited 13 years

Abraham waited 25 years

Moses waited 40 years

Jesus waited 30 years

If God is making you wait

You're in good company

 

So what is it you are waiting for, and how patiently and trustingly are you waiting? If you face major needs today, if you're sick and tired of waiting for God, maybe for healing, maybe for finances, maybe for a change of situation. Perhaps you're waiting for a partner in life, or for someone you love to get saved.

 

If this is you, and if you are weary of waiting or if your trust in your Father is dwindling, then we need to pray with you.  Come forward and let's pray and believe for His perfect timing, and your perfect trust and attitude while you wait!

 

Next week we will continue this series and I will show you exactly how to wait the right way for God's provision and blessing. But you'll have to wait until next Sunday for that...

True Love- How God can Be Your Valentine

True Love is talked about, but rarely seen in our modern world. "Be My Valentine," says God, but what does this mean for us on this Valentine's Day 2016?

I love you

Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)

Mandarin - Wo ai ni

Filipino - Mahal kita

Farsi - Doset daram

German - Ich liebe dich

Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae

Italian - Ti amo

Malay -  Saya cinta kepada mu

Russian - Ya tebya liubliu

Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo

French - Je T'Aime

 

Elvish - Amin mela lle (from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

 

However you say it, every language has words for it, and every person on earth needs to hear those words. But what is Valentine’s Day all about?

 

A BIT OF VALENTINE HISTORY...

 

Claudius was an emperor with a problem...  He wanted a huge army, but His men did not want to fight or go to war, they wanted to stay home with their wives and girlfriends. The year was 250AD.

 

So, as emperors or dictators do, he made a law... That no more marriages were allowed. That way the men would be free of encumbrances and free to fight. The young people called it cruel, and a priest called Valentine thought it ridiculous!

 

So Valentine defied the emperor by conducting marriage ceremonies in secret, whispering the words of commitment at great risk to himself and the couple he was marrying. One day the soldiers arrived, and Valentine let the couple escape, but he was caught, jailed and condemned to death for defying the emperor.

 

Many young couples threw flowers into Valentine's cell, and some like the jailer's daughter managed to visit him, sitting for hours talking about love and the marriage commitment.  She believed that defying the emperor and conducting marriage ceremonies was important.

 

On the day he was executed, he left her a note thanking her for her friendship, and he signed off, "Love from your Valentine."

 

So the tradition of exchanging notes began, and from that first execution day of 14th February 269AD, the date has been remembered as the day when, love proved it will triumph over a cruel and overbearing emperor.

 

AN ILLUSTRATION OF TRUE LOVE

 

Valentine's Day has degraded from remembering Saint Valentine's selfless love to a cheap, tacky money grabbing exercise to squeeze flowers and chocolates out of couples, or give lonely stalkers he opportunity to voice unrequited love.

 

In all the commercialism, we've lost sight of what love really is. As Foreigner sang, "I want to know what love is," and don't we all!

 

On January 26th, 2005 a California train derailed, killing 11 people and injuring over 200.  One of those 200 was a 44 year old man named John Phipps. 

 

Phipps though pinned in the wreckage of the train, scrawled a message in his own blood to his wife and kids.  As he regained consciousness, he examined his head and body and saw he was bleeding profusely.  An upended train seat sat right above him, and thinking he might be dying, wrote this message: "I (heart symbol) my kids.  I (heart symbol) Leslie."  Later he said, "It wasn't a conscious thought.  I've always told my wife and kids I loved them, and it just happened.  I didn't plan it.  I didn't say I have to leave a last word.  I just wrote it without thinking."

 

His rescuers came on the scene minutes later and saw the message.  Fire Captain Robert Rosario said, "I've seen some gruesome things on this job, but that moved me.  My only thought was, I have to get that seat to his wife and kids."  His wife said about the message, "Hallmark is never going to top that.  It's moving, it's thoughtful and it's chilling all at the same time."

 

John Phipps wrote his message of true love in his own blood, and 2000 years ago Jesus Christ did the same thing. On a day when we celebrate human love, I want to concentrate on the ultimate act of divine love, written in His own blood, the Saviour pouring out His life for you!

 

So what is true love?

 

1. TRUE LOVE IS BUILT ON PROMISE

 

In the US, a divorce is granted every 26 seconds, and we are not much better here. Slightly more than half of all marriages, and nearly 60% of all remarriages end in divorce. Divorces are granted for all kinds of reasons, but the most common rationalization for why marriages end is, “We just don’t love each other as we once did.” As a society, we have come to believe that when the romantic feelings of love have cooled, the relationship is no longer valid.

 

Please understand, this is not an attack on divorcees, and if you are separated or divorced, God loves you, no matter the circumstances. Like the rest of us, you too are loved, forgiven and have a destiny in Christ, but I want to examine this complex interplay between feelings and true love.

 

What we need to understand is that relationships should be built upon a promise, not a passion. Should the passion die, relationships can continue because of the promise.  In other words:  it’s not your love that sustains your commitment, it’s your commitment that sustains your love.

 

God doesn't just love you. The Bible says God is love... More than chocolate, more than flowers, more than that gooey feeling inside you, God actually is love.

 

1 John 4:16

 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

 

God's love for you is a promise. He will not wake up tomorrow and change His mind.

 

Titus 1:2

 

in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.

 

2. TRUE LOVE IS COMMANDED

 

Rick Warren says, Love is more than attraction and more than arousal. It’s also more than sentimentality, like so many of today’s songs suggest. By this standard, is love dead when the emotion is gone? No — not at all — because love is an action, and a behavior.

 

Over and over again in the Bible, God commands us to love each other, and you can’t command an emotion. 

 

John 13:34

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

 

If I told you right now, “Be sad!” you couldn’t be sad on cue. You might be able to fake it, like a good actor should, but nobody is wired for real emotions to change on command.

 

If love were just an emotion, then God couldn’t command it. If He tried, you would say, "But I don't feel like it, Lord!"

 

But love is something you do. It's an action! It can produce emotion, but love itself is an action. It's a decision. It's an act of the will

 

So if your marriage is struggling, don't try and conjure up a feeling, instead make a decision. We made a vow, before God and man, and we don't break those vows. Many times when we make the decision to love, the feelings come along after a time.

 

If your relationship with your kids is struggling, remember you vowed to protect them and bring them up in the Lord. It's your sacred duty, regardless of how you feel.

 

 

3. TRUE LOVE  IS DEMONSTRATED

 

And John doesn't mince word when it comes to true love... He says, don't just talk about it, do it... demonstrate it!

 

1 John 3:18

 

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

 

 

It is more than mere words. I can say to my wife, "I love you," but then ignore her, abuse her or overlook her and what she needs. That's not love, folks, that's just useless words (and guys can be very good at that), and we should be offering more than that to those we love, right?

 

As a young lad, I realised I had a bit of a skill writing and singing songs. I also recognised that these songs could have a desired affect on a young woman. So for a time I had a standard sing where I just changed the name of the girl. Did it work?... Yes. Was it real? Not a chance!

 

So what type of love are you demonstrating, to your partner, your kids, your family, your friends?  Are you all talk and no action? Here's the standard we are to keep up...

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

 

Yesterday in my Quiet Time I read this from Charles Stanley...

How you love others reflects the love you have for Jesus. Be patient in love, willing to receive little or no thanks for something you have done in love for another, and quick to forgive. Remember, no act of love, including forgiveness, is ever wasted.

 

4. TRUE LOVE IS REDEEMING

 

Isaiah 44:22

 

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud

and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

 

True love buys you back, no matter what you have done in the past. It pays whatever price is needed, does whatever is required, to win their soul. It isn't stingy with time, money or care... It just pays, and that's it!

 

"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you!"

 

Look at Hosea. He married a girl, loved her, cared for her, and she started having sex with other guys all over the place. Then she slipped from adultery to prostitution, and became a sex slave.  Then, under God's instructions, Hosea bought her back

 

Hosea 3:2-3

 

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

 

He'd been hurt, shamed publicly, let down, destroyed by this woman he loved, but his love was such that he bought her back. He did it because God asked him... This was not Pretty Woman!

 

As has Jesus with us. We've hurt Him, shamed Him, let Him down, but He loves us with selfless love, so much that He bought us back!

 

5. TRUE LOVE IS SELFLESS GIVING

 

John 3:16

 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

So often people think love is what they can get. Men and women trawl bars and the Internet looking for someone to "make love" to for a night, and this is not love at all... It's lust! It's me wanting to satisfy my urges by using you. How is that anything like true love? 

 

And the guy pressures the girl into doing it, and the girl thinks if I give him what he wants he'll love me, and the end is a disaster.

 

True love is selfless, forgiving, preferring one another love.

 

Jesus said...

John 15:13

 

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.

 

Would you lay your life down for those you love? Jesus says this is greater love. Let me ask another question...

 

Do you say you love Jesus? Would you lay your life down for Him, would you crucify your life, your wants, your dreams, your career and even your family for Christ?

 

You might say, "Sure, I'd lay down my life for Christ and for those I love." I know I would. But, and here's the catch, you most often will not be asked to  die for Christ or your loved ones, but you will be asked daily to lay your life down for them.

 

You see, sometimes it's easier to die for those you love than it is to live for them.

 

This is what Jesus meant when He stated,

 

Matthew 10:37-38

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

 

True love is selfless love, never selfish. True love doesn't say, "What can I get out of this relationship" but "What can I give to this relationship?" Christian marriages work, or at least should work, because when we lay our lives down for Christ we do so for each other.

 

Even in church, we must lay our lives down and serve each other, not our own interests and opinions. Beware of the so called Christian who obstinately forces their will and opinion on others. You'll spot them... They'll be harsh, aggressive and rarely will back down and be humble.

 

 

6. TRUE LOVE ENDURES

 

Love that is true stands the test of time, however hard the road is. I am still in love with my Valentine after 30 years, 3 kids, losing our fortune, our house and sometimes our minds.  We've worked too hard, hurt too hard and suffered too much in those years, yet through it all we've pulled together, not apart.

 

My love for God is unshakable, as is my love for my wife and family. Even better, God's love for me is unshakable and eternal. And His love for you is the same. He will never leave you, never forsake you. 

 

True love endures, it lasts for eternity!

 

You are His Valentine, and He won't let you go. And nothing, in this world, under it or above it, nothing will ever change His love for you. You can walk away, and He will love you. You can reject Him, and He will still love you, even if His heart breaks as you get what you deserve for your rebellion!

 

Romans 8:38-39

 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Nothing will separate you from God's love, unless you choose to walk away... Nothing! That's how eternal His love is you you.

 

Whether you are single or in a relationship, God's love for you is all of what we've talked about today and more. It never ends, it never breaks, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.

 

God's love never fails! And today you are His Valentine. You are the love of His life, you are the apple of His eye.

 

Today, whether you are in a relationship or not, we have arranged a very special Valentine's Day gift for you...

 

 

The Community of Believers

Acts 2:42-47

 

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

 

Last week in the Philippines I was marvelling at how they live.  They are poorer than us, less comforts, less money, less food, no big screen TVs. But they have something we simply don't have in Australia... A true sense of community.

 

They live, eat, sleep, learn and worship in community. They share everything, from thongs and food to possessions or even children. And guess what... They are much happier on the whole than we are!

 

We sit alone in front of TVs, surf the Internet alone, drive alone in our cars, we rarely even car pool. Aussies crave community, but we live alone and for ourselves or at best our immediate family.

 

The Bible says we are put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, held together, and we will be caught up together and spend eternity together. And eternity is a long day time to spend with people you don't like, so learn to love people now!  You’re not on your own anymore. You're community, you're family!

 

The early church understood this, they did things together and their lives were intertwined and connected with each other.

 

THE COMMUNITY OF TREES

 

The largest living things on the planet are Californian redwood trees. Some of them are 300 feet high and more than 2,500 years old. You would think that trees that large would have a tremendous root system, reaching down hundreds of feet into the earth. But that is not the case. Redwoods have a very shallow root system. The roots of these trees are, however, intertwined. They are tied in with each other; interlocked. Thus, when the storms come and the winds blow the redwoods still stand.

 

As we intertwine ourselves, we form community and become stronger. 

 

So many Christians today love God but hate church, and I get it because I've been there. I personally have suffered abuse at the hands of pastors and leaders, and that's why going ahead I am absolutely committed to not abusing you. As your pastor I want community and fellowship, I don't want servants or slaves!

 

The Greek word for fellowship comes from a root meaning common or shared. So fellowship means common participation in something either by giving what you have to the other person or receiving what he or she has. Give and take is the essence of fellowship, and give and take must be the way of fellowship in the common life of the body of Christ.

 

So getting back to our text, the first church devoted themselves to 4 things... Teaching, fellowship, communion and other meals together and prayer. Today, on our launch Sunday, I want to look at fellowship, at community...

 

 

THE DEATH OF THE LONE RANGER

 

Hi Ho Silver, away!

 

Author Randy Frazee says, "Scripture leads one to conclude that God intends the church, not to be one more bolt on the wheel of activity in our lives, but the very hub at the center of one’s life…..”

 

Yet in the church today we have loads of Lone Rangers, people who love God but refuse to lock into a church community for a variety of reasons and/or problems, with the church or with themselves.

 

But God designed the church, and Christ loved and prayed for the church in John 17.  Why? Because He knows the value of people living in fellowship. He does not want Lone Rangers Christians, so before you say, "Hi Ho Silver, away!" Stop and ask God what He wants for your life!

 

The church or a local community of believers is essential to our spiritual well-being. In the New Testament there are no “Lone Ranger” Christians. Believers needed each other and God expected them to be there for each other. 

 

Likewise, we need each other and God expects us to be there for each other. God has ordained that we play a vital part in each other’s faith. 

 

God in fact commands us to be in fellowship, to be in community and to be a part of a church...

 

Hebrews 10:24-25

 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

 

He tells us that in unity He commands a blessing (Psalm 133).

 

Yet so many are so hurt or so discouraged they won't go to church. They might attend occasionally but never fully engage, they might visit a big church but feel overlooked and lonely in a crowd.

 

You can have 500 Facebook friends and be the loneliest guy on earth!

 

I'll be honest, I'm not about to tell you that I have it all together, or that Coast Church has all the answers.  We are a family, warts and all, and we have prickly, reactive, selfish and distant people, like anybody else.  We are not superior, but maybe it is our weakness and God's greatness that can make the difference in our community.

 

Or as Henri Nouwen points out, “We are unified by our common weaknesses, our common failures, our common disappointments and our common inconsistencies.”

 

So what is the big deal about community, and how do we achieve it?

 

 

1. COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS BUILDS STRENGTH

 

We all face trials, troubles and tragedies in life. That's life, isn't it? 

 

Yet we do not have to face them all alone. God intends that we be supported, strengthened, encouraged and empowered through the community of believers. As we face the storms and temptations of life we should receive strength from each other. That's God’s plan. 

 

It works for trees, and it works for people.

 

If you are facing trials, tests of faith, heartaches or loneliness, you cannot afford to stand alone or try to make it on your own. 

 

If you feel God is distant, and we all do at times, then without fellowship you will fall away in your faith. In fact, many who are struggling with sin pull away from fellowship, and more the isolate themselves the more they get entangled in their sinful ways. When someone mysteriously falls away from fellowship for no apparent reason, frequently sin or discouragement are at the heart of it.

 

During the times when we are overwhelmed by trials, heartaches and the burdens of life we, too, need God's people to strengthen and encouraged us.  When we wonder if God really does love us and care for us we need God’s people. God, in His providence, has chosen to come to us through His people. 

 

Through our fellow believers we can sense and know God’s love and care. When we are loved and cared for by another believer, especially during painful times, we gain a new sense of God’s love at work through them for us.

 

Author Gary Burge says “When God ‘s love feels distant or non-existent, the body of Christ’s love is real and tangible….”

 

1 Thessalonians 5:11

 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

 

Sadi Sundar Singh the great Christian Indian teacher related a true story of traveling in Tibet when a snow storm hit him and his Tibetan guide.

 

"Suddenly, we stumbled upon a man who had slipped from the path and was lying in the snow. Looking more closely, I discovered that the man was still alive, though barely. 'Come,' I said to my companion, 'help me try to bring this unfortunate man to safety.' But my companion was upset and frightened for his life. He answered: 'If we try to carry that man, none of us will ever reach the village. We will all freeze. Our only hope is to go on as quickly as possible, and that is what I intend to do. You will come with me if you value your life.' Without another word and without looking back, he set off down the path.

 

"I could not bring myself to abandon the helpless traveler while life remained in him, so I lifted him on my back and threw my blanket around us both as best I could. Slowly and painstakingly, I picked my way along the steep, slippery path with my heavy load. Soon it began to snow, and I could make out the way forward only with great difficulty.

 

"How we made it, I do not know. But just as daylight was beginning to fade, the snow cleared and I could see houses a few hundred yards ahead. Near me, on the ground, I saw the frozen body of my guide...he had succumbed to the cold and died, while the unfortunate traveler and I made it to safety. The exertion of carrying him and the contact of our bodies had created enough heat to save us both. This is the way of service. No one can live without the help of others, and in helping others, we receive help ourselves."

 

 

When the storms of life hit, we need to be standing close to other Christians. We need each other; we can’t stand alone, and the closer we stand, the better we will hold up.

 

 

2. COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS BUILDS MINISTRY

 

The community of faith is crucial to our spiritual well-being because it is the place where we find special opportunities to minister or serve.  “Those in the community of faith do not merely absorb Christ’s love individually, their changed lives also reflect his love corporately.” 

 

We all have a God-given responsibility to reach out and minister to each other. Love acts; it serves God and others.

 

Acts 2:44 says, All the believers were together and had everything in common. 

 

Their ministry to each other included sharing of material goods to meet temporal needs. 

 

They didn't grasp material possessions, they shared them, especially when times were tough.

 

This is still God’s plan for meeting the needs of His hurting children. If we are not ministering to one another through a community of faith like Coast Church, then many needs go unmet and many reach the erroneous conclusion that God doesn’t care about them.

 

And where else provides as good a vehicle to pursue your ministry, whatever that may be. As your pastor, I am committed to encouraging your ministry and giving you opportunities to minister to others, here, in the Philippines or wherever you feel led. Talk to me, because God has called me to help make your ministry dreams come true!

 

Galatians 6:9-10

 

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

 

If you want to be used of God to touch and impact people's lives, Coast Church is a great vehicle for you, whatever your dream for your ministry.

 

As a young music ministry, I wanted to grow and sing all over the world. I was told that fastest way to do this was not to promote yourself, but to serve a man of God. I chose to serve evangelist Bill Newman, and forsook my own ministry ambitions. I went from doing a whole concert before 50-100 people, to singing 4 songs before tens of thousands in some far flung exotic location. My dream came true when I decided to serve another ministry. And so it is with your ministry here.

 

So I am challenging all of you to get involved in Coast Church. Attend a Connect Group, help and support leaders, bake a meal for someone, give someone a lift. Look for opportunities to minister, and don't give up, for you will reap a reward before you know it!

 

My job is to make your ministry dreams come true, because I take seriously God's challenge for me to train and equip the saints. 

 

Ephesians 4:11-12

 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

 

If you want a vehicle for your dreams, come and serve here at Coast Church. Don't demand, don't self promote, don't try and manipulate me, just serve and watch God build your ministry.

 

Psalms 127:1

 

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

 

3. COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS BRINGS GUIDANCE

 

The community of faith is crucial to our well-being because it is the source of much needed guidance, direction and even correction. 

 

As someone has aptly said, “we need the community of believers because none of us is as smart as all of us!” 

 

Ephesians 3:10

 

so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known...

 

 

God wants to guide us but he has chosen to do it through His people in the community of faith. 

 

As we grow in the word and prayer together, He will guide and lead us, and use others to speak into our lives and situations.

 

 As we share our lives together God counsels us with advice that improves our relationships with Him, spouses, children and those around us. He guides us regarding proper priorities, values, morals and ethics. 

 

Through our interactions with each other and His Word He helps us make right choices and good decisions.

 

Stand alone, and you face making decisions in your own wisdom. Today, when right is wrong and wrong is right a lot of times, God uses the church to guide us away from sinful paths. So many ways of the world look so enticing and they are so acceptable. 

 

Hebrews 3:13

 

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

 

A community give you accountability, wisdom, experience and encouragement. A community can save you from the schemes of the devil, the temptations of the flesh and the stupidity of your own stupid mistakes.

 

It is a fact: we all need the community of faith more than we often realise.

 

4. COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS BRINGS DIFFICULTIES

 

I was talking to a well know pastor this week who quipped, "Church would be a lot easier without people!" A joke of course, because the church is people.  I won't sugar coat this...

 

Being in the community of faith is not without its difficulties and frustrations. Know why?  Because it is made up of sinners. Hurt people hurt people... But the mark of community - true biblical community - is not the absence of conflict and difficulties but the presence of a reconciling, graceful spirit. 

 

Every community has porcupine Christians... They've got a lot of good points, but you can't get near them. In our humanness we all do things to rub others the wrong way and we all offend or get offended at some point. We all, at times, will be hurt and we will hurt others. Our old sinful nature often causes problems.

 

Nevertheless, we must not back away from being part of the fellowship of faith. 

 

So many leave or threaten to leave at the first sign of conflict, and if you do that you'll never find a church family. Don't try and find the perfect church... If you do, don't join it because you'll mess it up.

 

GET COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY

 

We must make an unwavering commitment to a community of believers where we can be strengthened, find places of ministry and receive much needed guidance. We must do this regardless of what others say, do, don't do, imply, insinuate or blow up about!

 

The benefits of a great church far outweigh the costs. People who believe in you, stand with you, love you, support you... People who actually like you. 

 

But fellowship doesn't just happen... You need to make an effort and get involved. We have great connect groups, see the sign up sheets at the back, and we have our courses starting next Sunday. We have hours of fellowship over coffee this morning.

 

Church, If we want to grow taller and wider and stronger then our roots need to go deep down into God, we have to desire Him and to know Him more. But our roots also need to spread out and connect with the roots of others like those redwoods, they achieve what no other tree can because they stand together. Let’s put roots down as we grow in God and let’s spread those roots out wide as we grow with each other into a community, into a family.

 

Today, rather than asking you forward for prayer, I'm going to ask you to pray for someone next to you.

 

Ephesians 2:19

 

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,