I have been exploring the Baptist blogs and I have greatly been overwhelmed by the level of thought and overall quality and quantity of content. I have had an interest in the Baptist Identity Conference which was recently held at Union University. I downloaded the speakers onto my mp3 player and have been listening to the various speakers. I have for some time felt there is something in the Southern Baptist that does’t seem right. I have struggled to put my finger on the issue for years. I have had long debates on what it means to be a member of the SBC. I have thought of leaving many times. I think at times in the SBC I feel held back or my creative freedoms have been stifled under the SBC banner. Every movement has to pass the committee test and run through proper church protocol channels and lastly match Baptist tradition. I am new to pastoring…I am also new in many respects to the theological realm of being a pastor. I find myself desperately trying to understand the role of the church in this generation. I have read more in the last eight months than I have in my entire life. I find myself being challenged on all levels intellectually. I’m not a great speaker or writer. I will probably never write a book or speak in front of the men who hold various PhDs in theology. But the one thing I keep being driven back too while listening to all these great speakers at this conference and after reading the writers on the various blogs…is the need for the Bible and prayer.
I am driven to my knees when I hear about the lost in our great country. I am driven to my knees when I hear the word “program”. I am driven to the scripture to find the answer on how to reach the people in the state of California. I am overwhelmed by the desire to reach a people who have everything they need. I am convinced we have lost our desire for prayer…we have lost our ability to trust God in providing and answering prayer, because we have stopped earnestly praying. By not trusting in God we have lost our ability to recognize the Holy Spirit working in our communities. For fear of our discomfort we have been conditioned to look to the next best program, which contains an easy recipe for success. Prayer and a return to the Bible…We need to fall in love with knowing the Lord through prayer…we need to fall in love with the Bible…we need to saturate our lives with these basics. It is only from this position will we make a difference to the younger generation. When we authentically start to live out our faith in community, in our vocations, in our homes…only then will we start to see the change. It is from this pliable position God can start to use us to make inroads into new fields to plant, cultivate and harvest.
-ps
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Thinking…
I am currently in an evangelism and discipleship class. One of subject we covered tonight was our own testimonies. As I listened to each person story I was first struck by the diversity of the experiences. Each one of us has different backgrounds, all us has experienced life from a verity of angels and directions. Different Christian settings, some didn’t have any religion at all. But some how, some way Jesus found them. He took all of our experiences, good and bad, shaped them into a testimony about His greatness…His glory. It amazes me how little we in the church talk about what God has done in our lives. We hold the only key to hope, faith and love and for what ever reason, we don’t share our story.
The world today is need of a hero, someone who can change lives. People need a hero who will love people because of who they are, not by what they have. I think that hero needs to be the church. The church needs to get out and get into the lives of those around us. How do we do this and what is the price. We have to find a balance, we need to be culturally sensitive, yet not compromise the faith. I look at our churches and I am saddened by the loss of purpose. We have lost what we are here for; we have become a comfortable ship on the ocean without a rudder without a captain.
Listening to testimonies made me think about what joy I experience when I think about what God has done in my life and what he is doing and what he is going to do. I felt the joy of knowing my savior lives. He isn’t a statue in a shrine, He isn’t found in a grave. Nothing can contain Him, nothing compares to the joy of knowing my Christ, my Jesus. Jesus is everything, He is light in this very dark world…He is peace, He is joy…I think of the church and the billions who don’t know Jesus and are lost chasing dreams that will evaporate as soon as they are caught. How do we explain to the current generation who has more material possessions than any generation ever, and tell them they need Jesus.
Deep down we are all longing for our savior, it takes different forms and shapes. Desires we don’t understand a need that is never quite satisfied. We are all looking for hope and security. We all need something to cling to when the party is over. The church holds the key. The church needs to find its joy, it’s Jesus. It is through the relational testimony, what Jesus has done in my life that will resonate in the hearts of this generation. But we need to know Jesus personally; we need to have a real relationship with Him. It cannot be about religion it has to be something more, something deeper. This generation has seen and heard a lot about religion. It has 9/11 and host of other religious example to run from. We need to share Christ’s love with the world through word and deed. Our lives need to shine in this dark world. We need to take our light from under the bowls and shine.
Christ dies on the cross, because of love. It is because we love we share the gospel with others. We love because He first loved us. By loving us he has give you a testimony. A testimony of his love, it isn’t for you to put into a box. It’s meant to be shared with others. When was the last time you shared what Jesus has done in your life with someone else. Be the hero the world needs and share Jesus...
-ps
The world today is need of a hero, someone who can change lives. People need a hero who will love people because of who they are, not by what they have. I think that hero needs to be the church. The church needs to get out and get into the lives of those around us. How do we do this and what is the price. We have to find a balance, we need to be culturally sensitive, yet not compromise the faith. I look at our churches and I am saddened by the loss of purpose. We have lost what we are here for; we have become a comfortable ship on the ocean without a rudder without a captain.
Listening to testimonies made me think about what joy I experience when I think about what God has done in my life and what he is doing and what he is going to do. I felt the joy of knowing my savior lives. He isn’t a statue in a shrine, He isn’t found in a grave. Nothing can contain Him, nothing compares to the joy of knowing my Christ, my Jesus. Jesus is everything, He is light in this very dark world…He is peace, He is joy…I think of the church and the billions who don’t know Jesus and are lost chasing dreams that will evaporate as soon as they are caught. How do we explain to the current generation who has more material possessions than any generation ever, and tell them they need Jesus.
Deep down we are all longing for our savior, it takes different forms and shapes. Desires we don’t understand a need that is never quite satisfied. We are all looking for hope and security. We all need something to cling to when the party is over. The church holds the key. The church needs to find its joy, it’s Jesus. It is through the relational testimony, what Jesus has done in my life that will resonate in the hearts of this generation. But we need to know Jesus personally; we need to have a real relationship with Him. It cannot be about religion it has to be something more, something deeper. This generation has seen and heard a lot about religion. It has 9/11 and host of other religious example to run from. We need to share Christ’s love with the world through word and deed. Our lives need to shine in this dark world. We need to take our light from under the bowls and shine.
Christ dies on the cross, because of love. It is because we love we share the gospel with others. We love because He first loved us. By loving us he has give you a testimony. A testimony of his love, it isn’t for you to put into a box. It’s meant to be shared with others. When was the last time you shared what Jesus has done in your life with someone else. Be the hero the world needs and share Jesus...
-ps
Monday, February 26, 2007
At it again…
Reading out of Numbers 16 this morning we see rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Korah, Dathan and Abiram all decide along with 250 other Israelites men…”You have gone to far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” these men charged…
The first sign of trouble for these guys was once they had made their statement Moses fell face down, or ducked depending on your perspective…and then Moses tells them in the morning the Lord will show who He is with. I don’t know about you but at this point I would hope I would realize I had made a big mistake. Have you ever found yourself in this position? You hear something and at first it sounds good, but when it is presented and you see the reaction of those receiving the message you realize maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Maybe we need to rethink this whole proposal. But we know this group by now and know they will carry out their idea in front of the entire community.
So they set up a trial by fire…notice the guys who came up with the idea are not with the 250 men holding the censers…Korah, Dathan and Abiram who stird up this rebellion stay in their tents while the “little” guys get tested…First rule of rebellion “if the leaders are not leading from the front your about to get toasted.” So as the 250 are getting ready for their trial Moses goes to the tents of the three main characters and tells everyone to move away from the tents. So imagine this group of people moving away from you and your tent, like people move when my son takes off his shoes in a crowd…you know something bad is about to happen. Not only does the Lord burn up the 250, but the ground opens and swallows the rebellious leaders who have gathered outside their tents…along with their entire families. Nothing is left, not their tents, not one descendant from these houses would remain to talk about the events of this day.
After seeing this you would think the message would have been received…but the people grumbled again against Moses and Aaron…”you have killed the Lord’s people’…It was only after Moses intercedes again does the Lord spare the people…
What does this all mean for you and me…many times in any group setting, work, church, family etc…we grumble about the leadership. We say if I was in charge I would do this or that. It’s the attitude of rebellion…I have experienced this attitude myself or have been caught up in a “movement” thinking it was the right thing to do only find out it caused more harm than good. We need to be extremely careful when grumbling against leadership…I have always believed “if your not part of the solution your part of the problem”.
This is especially true in church leadership. Being supportive of the pastor is critical. Many times we forget it was God who appointed our pastors. We start to think we are the ones who decide who will lead us and take God out of the equation all together. So if you take anything away from this, remember it is God who appoints the leadership…for better or worse…depending on your attitude.
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 16, 17 Mark 6:33-56
The first sign of trouble for these guys was once they had made their statement Moses fell face down, or ducked depending on your perspective…and then Moses tells them in the morning the Lord will show who He is with. I don’t know about you but at this point I would hope I would realize I had made a big mistake. Have you ever found yourself in this position? You hear something and at first it sounds good, but when it is presented and you see the reaction of those receiving the message you realize maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Maybe we need to rethink this whole proposal. But we know this group by now and know they will carry out their idea in front of the entire community.
So they set up a trial by fire…notice the guys who came up with the idea are not with the 250 men holding the censers…Korah, Dathan and Abiram who stird up this rebellion stay in their tents while the “little” guys get tested…First rule of rebellion “if the leaders are not leading from the front your about to get toasted.” So as the 250 are getting ready for their trial Moses goes to the tents of the three main characters and tells everyone to move away from the tents. So imagine this group of people moving away from you and your tent, like people move when my son takes off his shoes in a crowd…you know something bad is about to happen. Not only does the Lord burn up the 250, but the ground opens and swallows the rebellious leaders who have gathered outside their tents…along with their entire families. Nothing is left, not their tents, not one descendant from these houses would remain to talk about the events of this day.
After seeing this you would think the message would have been received…but the people grumbled again against Moses and Aaron…”you have killed the Lord’s people’…It was only after Moses intercedes again does the Lord spare the people…
What does this all mean for you and me…many times in any group setting, work, church, family etc…we grumble about the leadership. We say if I was in charge I would do this or that. It’s the attitude of rebellion…I have experienced this attitude myself or have been caught up in a “movement” thinking it was the right thing to do only find out it caused more harm than good. We need to be extremely careful when grumbling against leadership…I have always believed “if your not part of the solution your part of the problem”.
This is especially true in church leadership. Being supportive of the pastor is critical. Many times we forget it was God who appointed our pastors. We start to think we are the ones who decide who will lead us and take God out of the equation all together. So if you take anything away from this, remember it is God who appoints the leadership…for better or worse…depending on your attitude.
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 16, 17 Mark 6:33-56
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Stubborn People…
Reading in Numbers shows just how stubborn people can be. I’m reading about the Israelites and I’m thinking how stupid can you be! I mean God has done all these miracles, He is feeding you…everything you need is provided for you and all you can do is COMPLAIN! Sadly, the more I read the more I see myself….
Looking at the Israelites and hearing God saying, how long will these treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them…Numbers 14:11. I look at my life and I can almost hear the same being said about myself. How many of us go through life seeing all the signs and yet demand to live life on our own terms.
It breaks my heart….and yet here is God. Moses intervenes and the Lord says, “I have forgiven them”…not I will forgive, I have…God has forgiven us through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is believe in Him. To think Jesus is also there intervening on our behalf. All of this should be very humbling…so humbling it should cause you to revaluate what you’re doing in life. Think, if God was willing to intervene in human history and die on our behalf…to die on the cross for our sins and then personally defeat death again on our behalf…and by putting our faith in Him we become “children of God”….and what can you do to repay Him? What can we do to earn such an honor?
The answer is absolutely nothing…there is nothing you and I can do. We were bought with a price, just like the Israelites. We owe God everything…
So go to Church tomorrow and celebrate the Lord with a body of believers. Make the commitment now, not tomorrow morning…Seek time with God and give thanks for what he has already done on your behalf and what he continues to do in your life. We serve an awesome God…a mighty King…Amen
-ps
Daily Reading: Numbers 11, 12, 13 Mark 5:21-43
Looking at the Israelites and hearing God saying, how long will these treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them…Numbers 14:11. I look at my life and I can almost hear the same being said about myself. How many of us go through life seeing all the signs and yet demand to live life on our own terms.
It breaks my heart….and yet here is God. Moses intervenes and the Lord says, “I have forgiven them”…not I will forgive, I have…God has forgiven us through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is believe in Him. To think Jesus is also there intervening on our behalf. All of this should be very humbling…so humbling it should cause you to revaluate what you’re doing in life. Think, if God was willing to intervene in human history and die on our behalf…to die on the cross for our sins and then personally defeat death again on our behalf…and by putting our faith in Him we become “children of God”….and what can you do to repay Him? What can we do to earn such an honor?
The answer is absolutely nothing…there is nothing you and I can do. We were bought with a price, just like the Israelites. We owe God everything…
So go to Church tomorrow and celebrate the Lord with a body of believers. Make the commitment now, not tomorrow morning…Seek time with God and give thanks for what he has already done on your behalf and what he continues to do in your life. We serve an awesome God…a mighty King…Amen
-ps
Daily Reading: Numbers 11, 12, 13 Mark 5:21-43
Friday, February 23, 2007
Practice…
Practice, practice, practice…have you heard this before. If you have ever played a sport, an instrument, or anything you wanted to master. I think of playing basketball. I never had any natural talent; I practiced everyday for months at a time. Coach would yell at us if we thought, if you hesitated just a little bit…the slightest pause would bring “Don’t think!” Through practice coach was bringing us to the point where we just automatically passed the ball when we saw the open man, we automatically shot the ball when we where open and in our range. No thinking, just doing.
Reading in the book of Numbers we see God running the people of Israel through practice. Everyday they learn to follow God through repetition. Over and over again they pack up the Tabernacle and move, set up…tear down move…over and over. You never knew how long you were going to be in one spot, could be a day, week, month…whatever…you watched the cloud, you watch for God to move. If God moved you packed up and followed. What does this say for us…
Practice, practice, practice…I can’t say this enough. I am convinced we need daily discipline of getting up and reading our Bible and praying. You have to have a plan in place where you are meeting God, daily. We have to learn through repetition to depend on God. We cannot have victory in life if we are not seeking God, daily. We need to get to the point were we no longer think about it…just do it….it needs to become a reaction…like breathing.
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 11, 12, 13 Mark 5:21-43
I posted a link on the side (The Bible Through the Year) where all you have to do is click the link and the daily reading magically pops up and if you can't read it you can listen to it! All in the effort to change your life...:-)
Reading in the book of Numbers we see God running the people of Israel through practice. Everyday they learn to follow God through repetition. Over and over again they pack up the Tabernacle and move, set up…tear down move…over and over. You never knew how long you were going to be in one spot, could be a day, week, month…whatever…you watched the cloud, you watch for God to move. If God moved you packed up and followed. What does this say for us…
Practice, practice, practice…I can’t say this enough. I am convinced we need daily discipline of getting up and reading our Bible and praying. You have to have a plan in place where you are meeting God, daily. We have to learn through repetition to depend on God. We cannot have victory in life if we are not seeking God, daily. We need to get to the point were we no longer think about it…just do it….it needs to become a reaction…like breathing.
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 11, 12, 13 Mark 5:21-43
I posted a link on the side (The Bible Through the Year) where all you have to do is click the link and the daily reading magically pops up and if you can't read it you can listen to it! All in the effort to change your life...:-)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Grace and peace...
“Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you
the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
Let’s break this down and take a closer look at this blessing…
The high priest emerges from the holy of holies to bless the people…the two main themes presented are “grace and peace”.
This isn’t a wish or even a prayer…it is an declaration of what the LORD imparts. It was binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said was official and could not be broken. The priest here is pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.
For the Lord to make his face shine on them would mean to be gracious to them…it’s the picture of divine favor—the beaming face of a parent for his child.
The last line of blessing also has the first image and then the parallel interpretation—for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of a fallen face is one of anger….a hidden face is to withholding support, favor, or peace. If God lifts his face towards his people, it means he has given them shalom—peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, the whole ball of wax…
After reading this I can only think of one person…Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of this prayer. Jesus the High Priest...declares us righteous and it cannot be broken. Through Christ the Father see us has His child and he beams with pride and joy….through Jesus we can experience shalom—peace the surpasses all understanding!
Grace and peace....
So my prayer for you is this..."may God bless you and keep you through Christ Jesus, may you discover Jesus’ love for you from the cross…may the Father look upon you and beam with joy and pride through the crimson flood…May Christ give you true and lasting peace…Grace and peace forever and ever, ever, ever…amen
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 5, 6 Mark 4:1-20
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you
the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
Let’s break this down and take a closer look at this blessing…
The high priest emerges from the holy of holies to bless the people…the two main themes presented are “grace and peace”.
This isn’t a wish or even a prayer…it is an declaration of what the LORD imparts. It was binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said was official and could not be broken. The priest here is pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.
For the Lord to make his face shine on them would mean to be gracious to them…it’s the picture of divine favor—the beaming face of a parent for his child.
The last line of blessing also has the first image and then the parallel interpretation—for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of a fallen face is one of anger….a hidden face is to withholding support, favor, or peace. If God lifts his face towards his people, it means he has given them shalom—peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, the whole ball of wax…
After reading this I can only think of one person…Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of this prayer. Jesus the High Priest...declares us righteous and it cannot be broken. Through Christ the Father see us has His child and he beams with pride and joy….through Jesus we can experience shalom—peace the surpasses all understanding!
Grace and peace....
So my prayer for you is this..."may God bless you and keep you through Christ Jesus, may you discover Jesus’ love for you from the cross…may the Father look upon you and beam with joy and pride through the crimson flood…May Christ give you true and lasting peace…Grace and peace forever and ever, ever, ever…amen
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 5, 6 Mark 4:1-20
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
I AM…
One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is simply the way God describes Himself. In Exodus 3 Moses encounters God in the burning bush. Moses has the unique conversation with God and is told he is going to lead the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Moses tries to get out of the whole thing, which is another conversation in itself. Moses ask God, “when they ask me what your name is what do I tell them?” God said, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” Do you know what this word means? It simply means “I exist”….
God simply says I exist…I get goose bumps when I read this. I am the one and only living God. I exist….I’m real…there are no other god’s. Jump ahead to the gospel of John and Jesus makes this statement “I tell you the truth…before Abraham was born, I am!...
Jesus is saying ‘I AM”…I exist. You can argue Jesus wasn’t saying he was God…but I have to ask you to look at the next verse.
“At this they picked up stones to stone him…why would they want to stone him? Those who heard him could not interpret his claim as anything other than blasphemy, which was punishable by stoning.
Jesus said I am…not I was. He was expressing the eternity of His being and His oneness with the Father.
Look through John and see how many time Jesus said “I am”. It’s a great study and maybe someday we can go through them together.
But until then….I exist…think about that one!
-ps
God simply says I exist…I get goose bumps when I read this. I am the one and only living God. I exist….I’m real…there are no other god’s. Jump ahead to the gospel of John and Jesus makes this statement “I tell you the truth…before Abraham was born, I am!...
Jesus is saying ‘I AM”…I exist. You can argue Jesus wasn’t saying he was God…but I have to ask you to look at the next verse.
“At this they picked up stones to stone him…why would they want to stone him? Those who heard him could not interpret his claim as anything other than blasphemy, which was punishable by stoning.
Jesus said I am…not I was. He was expressing the eternity of His being and His oneness with the Father.
Look through John and see how many time Jesus said “I am”. It’s a great study and maybe someday we can go through them together.
But until then….I exist…think about that one!
-ps
I’m feeling reflective…
The last two weeks plus have been incredible on several levels. I have been busier, above normal. But at the same time God has been with me all the way. It seems to me the more you get your life together the more the storms come, sometimes one right after another. I have had to officiate one funeral and take part in a memorial service, I have preached twice, hosted a fund raising dinner for the youth, help feed the homeless with the Gathering Inn, found out my home refinancing didn’t go through and got a nice letter from the bank saying you are really late! The list goes on and on. But in all this I have had greater peace and confidence. I wake up knowing God is with me and He will get us through it all and He has! Yesterday I sort of took a day off, just tired to relax and really do as little as possible. It was nice, this morning I got up read my Bible and rode the bug (the bug is an elliptical trainer that takes up the space next to my bed. It’s there so I have no excuse not to exercise. Over the last few months the “bug” has become a nice cloth hanger….not any more…it’s time to exercise.) and got the kids off to school. I went to the church made some phone calls and got my tax returns from Don the finance guy. Eager to get them signed and in the mail I raced back home. As I turned the corner of my street…there was the brown van.
The brown van is loaded with Jehovah Witness and they were fanning out right in front of my house. My first thought was to keep going straight and call my wife when they had left…but I said alright Lord…So sure enough Darren now had an older more experienced guy with him named Bob. Bob and I had talked briefly before, when he had given me a pamphlet on the Trinity. Meeting me in my drive way I invited them in and said I would talk awhile. Needless to say no real head way was made on their part and I can only pray God would use the discussion to open their hearts. I prayed several time that God would give me the words to say and He would use me to be a witness to Jesus Christ. The only problem I have and maybe you can put my mind at ease, I feel as if I’m aiding the enemy. Bob on departing made the following comment, “I really am enjoying this, its is sharpening our skills.” Do I want him to use my arguments to get stronger? I feel he will go back and they will look to defend my arguments and use them against others.
I’m very confident in what I believe and there is no fear on my part of converting. The Jehovah Witness religious faith has so many things that do not add up. On the surface it make since, I can see where someone who has “some” Biblical knowledge could be tripped up. But it all comes back to “who do you say I am”. Jesus asked this of His disciples and he asks us the same question. They believe Jesus was created and was the perfect man…I believe Jesus was God who intervened into human history to set things right. He died for my sins and all I can do is put my faith in Him. Grace, I don’t deserve it and I can’t work for it. It is a gift from Jesus. Can a perfect man take away the sins of the world? And if it’s true Jesus was God…shouldn’t that have an enormous impact on the way I live my life? The answer is of course it would. I doubt a perfect man would command the same. It’s simple….
When Bob was leaving he said what can we talk about next time…how about the kingdom. I looked at him said how about grace I love grace!
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 3,4 Mark 3:22-35
The brown van is loaded with Jehovah Witness and they were fanning out right in front of my house. My first thought was to keep going straight and call my wife when they had left…but I said alright Lord…So sure enough Darren now had an older more experienced guy with him named Bob. Bob and I had talked briefly before, when he had given me a pamphlet on the Trinity. Meeting me in my drive way I invited them in and said I would talk awhile. Needless to say no real head way was made on their part and I can only pray God would use the discussion to open their hearts. I prayed several time that God would give me the words to say and He would use me to be a witness to Jesus Christ. The only problem I have and maybe you can put my mind at ease, I feel as if I’m aiding the enemy. Bob on departing made the following comment, “I really am enjoying this, its is sharpening our skills.” Do I want him to use my arguments to get stronger? I feel he will go back and they will look to defend my arguments and use them against others.
I’m very confident in what I believe and there is no fear on my part of converting. The Jehovah Witness religious faith has so many things that do not add up. On the surface it make since, I can see where someone who has “some” Biblical knowledge could be tripped up. But it all comes back to “who do you say I am”. Jesus asked this of His disciples and he asks us the same question. They believe Jesus was created and was the perfect man…I believe Jesus was God who intervened into human history to set things right. He died for my sins and all I can do is put my faith in Him. Grace, I don’t deserve it and I can’t work for it. It is a gift from Jesus. Can a perfect man take away the sins of the world? And if it’s true Jesus was God…shouldn’t that have an enormous impact on the way I live my life? The answer is of course it would. I doubt a perfect man would command the same. It’s simple….
When Bob was leaving he said what can we talk about next time…how about the kingdom. I looked at him said how about grace I love grace!
-ps
Daily Reading: Num 3,4 Mark 3:22-35
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Sermon: Face to Face Daily
This sermon are in the format I use when I preach. They are not edited....
Face to Face: Daily
Last we started a conversation…
We took a look at Moses setting up a tent outside the camp of the Israelites.
Last Week…
We talked about how Moses had to get away from all the distractions that were inside the camp…so he could give God his full attention….
We talked about distraction in our own lives and how we need to get outside of them and spend time with God.
We need to be face to face with God…
Ex 33:11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
Moses had a “Face to face”….relationship with God….Moses was "at home" in this tent speaking with God.
Lastly we talked about having to protected this time with God…
Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
We have to protect our time with God. We need to guard it with everything we have…with our very best.
See this time we spend with God has to be important to us…we need to keep it from being taken from us. We need to protect it as if our lives depended upon it.
So I challenged you…to set apart time for God…I told you about what I started doing “No Bible…No Breakfast”…which I cannot take credit for, but I read it somewhere. But it works…for some people but the idea is to set time apart for God everyday….
Israel Depended on God Daily
Which brings me to what I want to talk about this morning…I want to expand this entire conversation and ask you why do we need to seek God daily.
But before answer this question lets look at the Bible and look at a time when the people had to depend on God daily. There is a beautiful picture of this in the 16th chapter of Exodus.
God has freed the people of Israel from over 400 years of slavery. He does so in a very dramatic way…you have the ten plaques, the Passover, the parting of the Red Sea…only to be brought out into a desert!
Think about this for a minute…what is in a desert? Nothing! Rocks and sand and more rocks and sand….heat, that is why it’s called a desert!
God bring then into nothing…for one reason…see the are about to get ready to go to the promise land. There they would become God’s people and He would be their God. From there the nation of Israel was to be the light of the entire world. But before they could get there they had to learn to depend on God…
So the Lord rained down bread from Heaven, manna. So in the morning there was manna and at night there was quail. So God provided for them daily. They were only to collect enough food for the day…no more and no less. If they tired to keep the food through the night in the morning it would be full of maggots and smell bad…it would be rotten.
So God taught them to depend on God daily…to trust Him everyday….to have faith in Him and Him alone…
Daily Prayer
So the question comes to mind how does this apply to me today?
See maybe you’re here today and you have come from some form of slavery…maybe a bad relationship, finances, there are all kinds of slavery. And you find yourself in a desert…alone and you can’t figure out why your there…
But the facts are you’re alone, physically, spiritually. And you want to experience freedom; you want to have your promise land.
Doesn’t Jesus promise a life more abundant? I mean Jesus says this and I don’t think he was taking about a new house or boat…He was talking about something great, something wonderful. Something I could have right here right now…the promise land.
See Jesus wants us to learn to depend on him daily. First Jesus called himself “the true bread from heaven”, he said, “I am the bread of life”, He said he was the living bread that came down from Heaven”….He also said in the Lords prayer give us our daily bread…to take up your cross daily…
Do you see the patterns…see many of us ask God to take away our hurt, take away the things that hold us back…Lord free me from this weight forever and I’ll serve you with everything I have…and God says no….
Pastor Neely gave me a book to read…called The Necessity of Prayer…by E.M. Bounds. It’s an old book, it’s pages yellow with the years and some of the pages are “dog-eared”….At first I thought what is this….and then I went home that night and started to read…71 pages later I looked at the clock and to go to bed…
Here is something that stuck with me and hit me hard…listen to the words of Mr. Bounds…
When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread, we are in a measure, shutting tomorrow out of our prayer. We do not live for tomorrow but for today. We do not look for tomorrow’s grace or tomorrow’s bread. Those who live in the present thrive best and get the most out of life…
True prayers are born out of present trails and present needs. Bread is for today is enough. Bread given today is the strongest pledge there will be bread tomorrow. Victory today is the assurance of victory tomorrow…
Our prayers need to be focused on the present; today…we must trust God today and leave tomorrow to God. The present is ours, the future belongs to God. Prayer is the task and duty of each new day—daily prayer for daily needs…
Face to Face: Daily
I am convinced we need to seek God daily in prayer…to earnestly seek Him to be comfortable talking to Him, face to face: Daily with God.
If we want to get out of the deserts of our lives we have to learn to depend on God. How long you spend in those deserts of life is dependant on you…
How long does it take for you to learn to give up the one thing holding you in your desert? You simply have to give it to God daily…it took the Israelites 40 years in the desert to learn this simple task. So my question for you is how long have you been in your desert?
Conclusion
This morning we have talked about setting a time apart for God…to protect it and the importance of seeking God daily, to learn to depend on God for daily victory. By doing so we learn to trust God, it will build our faith and free our lives from the deserts.
It will empower you to make it to the promise land. The land of more abundantly, the land of freedom, peace and hope, but it all starts and ends with Jesus Christ. He is the daily bread we must seek, he is the one we are to trust for victory…he is our guide to the promise land.
And next week we are going to talk about Face to Face with Jesus. What was it like to be with Him and the daily choices we make that either free him in our daily lives or crucify him.
-ps
Daily Reading: Lev 26,27 Mark 2
Face to Face: Daily
Last we started a conversation…
We took a look at Moses setting up a tent outside the camp of the Israelites.
Last Week…
We talked about how Moses had to get away from all the distractions that were inside the camp…so he could give God his full attention….
We talked about distraction in our own lives and how we need to get outside of them and spend time with God.
We need to be face to face with God…
Ex 33:11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
Moses had a “Face to face”….relationship with God….Moses was "at home" in this tent speaking with God.
Lastly we talked about having to protected this time with God…
Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
We have to protect our time with God. We need to guard it with everything we have…with our very best.
See this time we spend with God has to be important to us…we need to keep it from being taken from us. We need to protect it as if our lives depended upon it.
So I challenged you…to set apart time for God…I told you about what I started doing “No Bible…No Breakfast”…which I cannot take credit for, but I read it somewhere. But it works…for some people but the idea is to set time apart for God everyday….
Israel Depended on God Daily
Which brings me to what I want to talk about this morning…I want to expand this entire conversation and ask you why do we need to seek God daily.
But before answer this question lets look at the Bible and look at a time when the people had to depend on God daily. There is a beautiful picture of this in the 16th chapter of Exodus.
God has freed the people of Israel from over 400 years of slavery. He does so in a very dramatic way…you have the ten plaques, the Passover, the parting of the Red Sea…only to be brought out into a desert!
Think about this for a minute…what is in a desert? Nothing! Rocks and sand and more rocks and sand….heat, that is why it’s called a desert!
God bring then into nothing…for one reason…see the are about to get ready to go to the promise land. There they would become God’s people and He would be their God. From there the nation of Israel was to be the light of the entire world. But before they could get there they had to learn to depend on God…
So the Lord rained down bread from Heaven, manna. So in the morning there was manna and at night there was quail. So God provided for them daily. They were only to collect enough food for the day…no more and no less. If they tired to keep the food through the night in the morning it would be full of maggots and smell bad…it would be rotten.
So God taught them to depend on God daily…to trust Him everyday….to have faith in Him and Him alone…
Daily Prayer
So the question comes to mind how does this apply to me today?
See maybe you’re here today and you have come from some form of slavery…maybe a bad relationship, finances, there are all kinds of slavery. And you find yourself in a desert…alone and you can’t figure out why your there…
But the facts are you’re alone, physically, spiritually. And you want to experience freedom; you want to have your promise land.
Doesn’t Jesus promise a life more abundant? I mean Jesus says this and I don’t think he was taking about a new house or boat…He was talking about something great, something wonderful. Something I could have right here right now…the promise land.
See Jesus wants us to learn to depend on him daily. First Jesus called himself “the true bread from heaven”, he said, “I am the bread of life”, He said he was the living bread that came down from Heaven”….He also said in the Lords prayer give us our daily bread…to take up your cross daily…
Do you see the patterns…see many of us ask God to take away our hurt, take away the things that hold us back…Lord free me from this weight forever and I’ll serve you with everything I have…and God says no….
Pastor Neely gave me a book to read…called The Necessity of Prayer…by E.M. Bounds. It’s an old book, it’s pages yellow with the years and some of the pages are “dog-eared”….At first I thought what is this….and then I went home that night and started to read…71 pages later I looked at the clock and to go to bed…
Here is something that stuck with me and hit me hard…listen to the words of Mr. Bounds…
When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread, we are in a measure, shutting tomorrow out of our prayer. We do not live for tomorrow but for today. We do not look for tomorrow’s grace or tomorrow’s bread. Those who live in the present thrive best and get the most out of life…
True prayers are born out of present trails and present needs. Bread is for today is enough. Bread given today is the strongest pledge there will be bread tomorrow. Victory today is the assurance of victory tomorrow…
Our prayers need to be focused on the present; today…we must trust God today and leave tomorrow to God. The present is ours, the future belongs to God. Prayer is the task and duty of each new day—daily prayer for daily needs…
Face to Face: Daily
I am convinced we need to seek God daily in prayer…to earnestly seek Him to be comfortable talking to Him, face to face: Daily with God.
If we want to get out of the deserts of our lives we have to learn to depend on God. How long you spend in those deserts of life is dependant on you…
How long does it take for you to learn to give up the one thing holding you in your desert? You simply have to give it to God daily…it took the Israelites 40 years in the desert to learn this simple task. So my question for you is how long have you been in your desert?
Conclusion
This morning we have talked about setting a time apart for God…to protect it and the importance of seeking God daily, to learn to depend on God for daily victory. By doing so we learn to trust God, it will build our faith and free our lives from the deserts.
It will empower you to make it to the promise land. The land of more abundantly, the land of freedom, peace and hope, but it all starts and ends with Jesus Christ. He is the daily bread we must seek, he is the one we are to trust for victory…he is our guide to the promise land.
And next week we are going to talk about Face to Face with Jesus. What was it like to be with Him and the daily choices we make that either free him in our daily lives or crucify him.
-ps
Daily Reading: Lev 26,27 Mark 2
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Leviticus…
Well if you have been keeping up with the reading you have ran straight into Leviticus. The Law in all it detail. At first when reading, it becomes very challenging. It reveals a side of God we don’t often read about or want to know about. The Law was the constitution of the nation of Israel. Its Laws would guide a people where God Himself was going to be their King. He would be their God and they would be His people. The people of Israel had to be different from the people around them. They where God’s representatives on earth and the nation would be a light to the world.
The Law was the best possible life for God’s people in that time and place. It was not the way of becoming God’s people; it was the way to reflect and proclaim the true God. Paul says, “the Law is just and right and good, but if I’m suppose to keep it for righteousness I’m not going to make it.” The Law cannot accomplish that because of the weakness of human flesh. Does that mean the Law was bad? Only if that was what the Law was trying to accomplish. The Law was good and holy that Paul concedes: “If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law” Gal 3:21.
But such a law was never given. No, what the Law could not do and was not designed to do, God did by sending his Son. Atonement by grace has always been the key, and those who read the Law right knew it all along (Gal 2:15-16).*
Our focus is not the keeping of the Law as a merit system, but Jesus Christ himself. Our response is based on gratitude for what God has done in Christ. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We forgive, because we are forgiven (Eph 4:32). We walk worthily because we have been graciously given a special calling (Eph 4:1). We honor God with our body because we, like ancient Israel, are bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20). No, the Law is not something we should ignore or give less attention to, it is something we need to study and understand. But then, don’t feature it as a centerpiece either. Only Jesus deserves that spot!
-ps
* Baylis, Albert H. 1996 ”From Creation to the Cross”, Zondervan
The Law was the best possible life for God’s people in that time and place. It was not the way of becoming God’s people; it was the way to reflect and proclaim the true God. Paul says, “the Law is just and right and good, but if I’m suppose to keep it for righteousness I’m not going to make it.” The Law cannot accomplish that because of the weakness of human flesh. Does that mean the Law was bad? Only if that was what the Law was trying to accomplish. The Law was good and holy that Paul concedes: “If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law” Gal 3:21.
But such a law was never given. No, what the Law could not do and was not designed to do, God did by sending his Son. Atonement by grace has always been the key, and those who read the Law right knew it all along (Gal 2:15-16).*
Our focus is not the keeping of the Law as a merit system, but Jesus Christ himself. Our response is based on gratitude for what God has done in Christ. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We forgive, because we are forgiven (Eph 4:32). We walk worthily because we have been graciously given a special calling (Eph 4:1). We honor God with our body because we, like ancient Israel, are bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20). No, the Law is not something we should ignore or give less attention to, it is something we need to study and understand. But then, don’t feature it as a centerpiece either. Only Jesus deserves that spot!
-ps
* Baylis, Albert H. 1996 ”From Creation to the Cross”, Zondervan
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