Sowing Seeds

Sowing Seeds John 12:20-33 New King James Version (NKJV) 20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 27 Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. 29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, An angel has spoken to Him. 30 Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die. Let us pray Holy Father, you who layed the foundations of the universe with a Word. Lord we thank you for never forsaking us and showing us the love only a Father can show. We ask that you be with us and bless us with Your Word here again today. May Your will be done here amongst us this day. We ask these things in the name above all names, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....Amen. Every minister is just a human being just like everybody else. We all have our own struggles, our own sins, our own successes, our own failings, our own sorrows, our own joys, and our own views. Having our own views can be dangerous when it comes to our ministering the word of God. When we are preaching on God's Word, we are 'feeding His sheep' as Jesus told Peter to do in John chapter twenty-one, verses fifteen through eighteen. We as ministers of the Word, must be careful not to put too much of 'us' and our views into tne message we are delivering on God's behalf. We must pray to our Father, through His Son, that the Holy Spirit will move through us to carry out His will, not ours. We cannot let our own view, our own pride, or our own agenda, skew the message we are sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ or with the lost, whom we are witnessing to and hoping to bring into our adopted family of Christians. So, why do I open a sermon with these words? Well, bear with my for a while and when the ride is over, you'll see what point I'm trying to get at. The scriptures of the Holy Bible are so plentiful with meaning and intent, that you could discuss them for a lifetime and never uncover the meaning of them all. I chose the scriptures for today from the United Methodist Common Lectionary. I choose from the Lectionary so that I don't always write about scriptures that have a special meaning to me that may not carry the same weight with whomever I'm ministering to. Today's scripture selection contains fourteen verses. There are countless discussions we could get out of these verses as a whole. We actually could be here for hours, maybe even days if we covered every aspect of them. So, let's break it down a bit. There's so much that we could talk about in these scriptures, that today I just want us to focus on verse twenty-four. It reads like this: 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.' We all know how small a grain of wheat is. We also know that that grain of wheat is a seed meant to grow more wheat. It can also be ground into flour and used to make bread. Already the little grain of wheat referenced in the scripture is giving us more paths to follow. We could get into making bread, Jesus being the bread of life, God raining the Manna bread down from heaven, and God giving us this day our daily bread while remaining in the context of the grain of wheat, but lets get back to growing more wheat. When we minister to people we meet, either while preaching God's Word from the pulpit or by simply telling someone of all the things that faith in God has done in our lives, we are planting seeds. In Jesus time living in the flesh of man, walking among His people here on earth, He ministered to several thousand people and thus planted many seeds. By reading the scriptures, we can easily confirm this. We hear of Him first teaching in the temple in Jesrusalem at twelve years old during a pilgrimage He had made there with Joseph, Mary, and the rest of His family in the flesh. Luke 2:41-50 New King James Version (NKJV) 41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a days journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously. 49 And He said to them, Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Fathers business? 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. At age twelve, Jesus was already going about His Father's business, planting seeds in the hearts and minds of those He met. The is one of the few things, the bible tells us of Jesus youth. After this scripture, it fast forwards to Jesus at the abe of around thirty years old as He is starting His ministry and assembling His disciples. As an adult, Jesus travels the area around Lake Galilee preaching the Hebrew scriptures, our Old Testament, teaching people how to pray, healing the sick and afflicted, and in doing so, planting many seeds. Yes, Jesus reached several thousand people in doing this, but we must look back at what Jesus told us back in verse twenty-four. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. Lets keep this verse in mind I we read other scriptures. The book of Mark, Chapter eight, verse thirty-one: (NKJV) 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. The book of Luke, chapter twenty-three, verese forty five through fifty-six (NKJV) 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous Man! 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Let's look at just one more scripture now from the book of John, chapter 20, verses one through eight: (NKJV 01 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him. 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. Jesus was the lone grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died. He was scourged, crucified, bore the wait of all of our sins, pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, gave Himself as a sacrifice for us all on the cross, and was buried in the tomb hewn from the rock in the ground. He, like the grain of wheat that is reborn after it dies and turns into a stalk bearing much more wheat, was resurrected to life. Through this resurrection, He has produced much wheat. He produced at church drawn together in His body. By falling to the earth, dieing, and being resurrected, He has produces hundreds of millions of followers, christians, us, all over the earth in the centuries since His walking among us. The lone grain of wheat has produced very much. He also calls us, His believers to produce mcuh wheat. He calls us to plant seeds for Him to nourish and harvest. He calls us to witness to the lost. In other words, He calls on us to share His gospel, His 'good news' to those that we meet in our lives here on earth. Jesus expects us to bring more sheep into His flock, to bring more adopted brothers and sisters into our family of believers. Like, I've said before, this doesn't mean that all of us will be called to stand on the pulpit and preach the Word to a congregation, it quite simply means that we are to share what The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit mean to us in our everyday lives. When we do this, we are fulfilling our call from our Lord to be His ministers here on earth. Remember, that all of us are called to be ministers. Look at what the apostle Peter tells us; 1 Peter 2:9-10 New King James Version (NKJV) 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. So, we are a royal priesthood and a chosen people. You see, when we are baptised, the water isn't just to was away our sin in symbolizing the blood of the lamb, it's also annointing us into Jesus' priesthood. We're ordained by God to spread His message of salvation at the same time that we are adopted into the Christian family. Also, just as it took faith to become part of the family, it will take more faith when we are ministering to the lost. I say it takes more faith, because when we are sowing seeds, we won't always be successful, and sometimes when we are successful, we get to see it for ourselves. Remember this parable that Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 13? He told the disciples in verses one through nine: Matthew 13:1-9 1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Then, in verses eighteen through twenty-three, He explains the parable. Matthew 13:18-23 18 Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Just as Jesus told us, some of the seeds we sow will not grow, some will sprout up for a short time and fail, while others will spring forth and flourish. Not everyone will accept what we tell them and will continue to live without God in their life. Some will listen for a time, but when they face trials in their life, their faith will prove to be superficial and crack under the least amount of pressure. Take heart though, because some will actually 'get it'. They will hear the gospel message through the seeds you have sown and will develop a relationship with God throughout the rest of their life. I know I've thrown a lot of scripture at you, but I feel the need to give you one more to remember when you are 'sowing seeds' for God's kingdom. Let's look at what the apostle Paul has to say to us in First Corinthians; 1 Corinthians 3:5-10 New King James Version (NKJV) 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are Gods fellow workers; you are Gods field, you are Gods building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. Though we are serving the Lord as we are called to do by witnessing the gospel of Christ to the lost, we are to remember that it is not about anything that 'we' do. We simply plant the seeds in the hearts of those we meet. It is God working in and on their hearts that makes the real change and leads them to salvation. Remember, that we as human beings whether we're flipping burgers at a restaurant, pushing papers as an office clerk, or even leading a large congregation as a pastor or bishop, cannot give the gift of salvation to a single soul. Only God can do that. What we can do, is put that little spark inside of them that makes them want to know more about living life as a follower of Christ in the household of God! Please continue 'sowing seeds' my friends. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.....Amen. God bless you everyone, Bishop Norman L. 'Pete' Morrison, New Disciples Ministry

Grace, Beautiful Grace

Grace, Beautiful Grace Ephesians 2:1-10 New King James Version (NKJV) 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Let us pray Holy Father, the Alpha and the Omega. Creator of moonlight and spring days. We thank you for for all of the blessings in our lives, both large and small and we ask that you bless us once more with your presence here today. Lord we pray that Your will be done in this message here today. We ask all of these things in the name above all names, Jesus Christ.....Amen. Today we're reading from Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. So, first of all, what is an epistle? Quite simply, an epistle is a letter, especially a formal communication of something. Paul's letters to the churches he had founded in Christ's name make up the better part of our New Testament. Without the instruction on church edicate, his teaching on Christian doctrine, his description of spiritual gifts, and warnings against living as the world, we would not have the same church we have today. Thank you Lord for giving us our beloved St. Paul. I want to start by reading the first verses to you again from the 1611 King James Version. I sometimes love to hear the beauty and grace of the Olde English language; Verse 1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Verse one tells us that God has quickened us, made us live again. He made us live again? When were we dead? Well, when we have not accepted God into our hearts, though were are living and breathing, our soul is still dead to everlasting life in God's kingdom. We have to remember He gave us freewill to accept Him or not, so we actually choose eternal life or condemnation for ourselves. God gave us this chance at saving ourselves from spiritual death through His son Jesus Christ. Jesus gave Himself as an ultimate sacrifice for our sins, because no amount of animal sacrifices were enough for atonement of our sins and no amount of laws were enough to govern our behavior. The laws only gave man a sense of self-righteousness, not God's righteousness and the animal sacrifices were akin to a bandaid on a gaping wound. Nothing that mankind could do was enough to erase our own sin. Only the blood of the Lamb of God was and is enough to wash away our sin. Only salvation from our Father through his Son is enough to save us. Only sanctification through the Holy Spirit in our life and staying in God's Word are enough to give us His righteousness. Only the beautiful gift of God's grace is enough to erase our tespasses and our sins. Next, the Apostle Paul tells us of how in time past we walked according to the course of this world. This sounds exactly like what we are facing as a church today. The world we live in is so enticing with all of it's distractions. Everything that is 'of the world' seems so pleasing to the flesh, it's so hard to resist. The early church was facing the same thing in Paul's day. The lifestyle of the Greek's and Roman's was so decadent, so much about pleasing the flesh, so much about embracing sin. It's quite the same as the modern culture we see today. Our television programs, movies, and print media promote everything that is about pleasing our flesh and our pride, and finding our true selves. Pretty much promoting everything that is against the Christian teachings we try to live by. It's kind of ironic in fact. Back in the 1960's the world saw the emergence of the hippie generation. Throughout the 1950's and early 60's, America had a very reserved, wholesome, and sometimes even legalistic culture. Everyone dressed a certain way, spoke a certain way, or they were looked at very differently. The hippie's were the counterculture. They looked, talked, and acted very differently, embracing a lifestyle of experimenting with many things, free love, no responsibility, and no accountability for their actions. Today, society has embraced those views as the culture of the day and those of us trying to live a Christian life have become the counterculture. For our views of trying to be a spiritual people, feeling a repsonsibility for doing good in our world, and bieng accountable to God for our actions, we are looked at differently. We're even looked at as radicals or rebels in some people's eyes, because we've given ourselves over to Christ and to living in His ways instead of spending our days trying to satify our flesh and 'find ourselves'. In fact, it reminds me of a quote from N.T. Wright the former Bishop of Durham in the United Kingdom. He once said Today we have a worldview which is about ideas, which is about self-realization, hugely popular in our culture just now, discovering who I really am. For goodness sake, Jesus didn't come to help me discover who I really am. He came to tell me who He knew I was really was and to do something about it and that's much better news! It's much better news indeed. To me, this is another example of the beauty of God's grace, if we will just open up our eyes to it, submit ourselves to His will for our lives and start living in it. Paul goes on to say; we walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. The belief among Jews at the time was that air was full of spirits. The air was of the devil's kingdom and people doing evil were serving these spirits in the air and thus serving the enemy. The devil was the prince of the air. He was believed to be ruler over this fallen world and those living in sin were the 'sons of disobedience'. There's a lot of truth in this. The enemy is loose in this fallen world reeking havoc in it, encouraging sinful lifestyles, and causing pain; everything opposite of our loving Creator, but he's cleaver enough to fool people in blaming God for his handywork. How many times have you heard someone ask God why He would do something so terrible? How many times have you heard someone blame God for some tragedy? All too often people blame God for their child having cancer, a friend being killed in an auto accident by a drunk driver, or a town being destroyed by a tornado, but these things are not the work of God at all. Our God is not some cruel puppet master causing pain on His children. All of the manmade pollution, radiation, chemical by-products, and the evil of this fallen world cause all of this suffering, not our loving God. There is no evil in God. He didn't do these terrible things to you or your loved ones. He is the one whom you should be turning to for comfort, guidance, and healing when these things happen. Your pain is the work of the enemy, satan and man's sin which satan promotes. God is the one who gave us salvation from the evil of this fallen world in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the beauty of God's grace. When I was gathering my thoughts for this sermon, I ws trying to think of some things to compare the eauty of God's grace to, but I'm not sure if any of them can do it justice. One thought that came to mind was a picture from my childhood. It was a picture my brother had took while him and our dad were deepsea fishing with some friends of ours. He was facing off the back of the boat as the sun was rising over the horizon. A sunrise over the ocean is so awe inspiring. The hues of yellows, reds, oranges, and pinks against the blue of the sky and white of the clouds are almost indescribable. Then when you add their reflection off of the waves and the ripples in the water, it becomes a scene that leaves you speechless for a time. I loved this picture so much, that when we had to find something to draw portrait of in Junior High art class, I used this picture of course. It was truly beautiful and truly inspiring, just like God's grace. Enjoy those gift's like that that He gives us and don't let them pass you by. Another thought that came to mind was Niagara Falls. I've never been there, but after seeing so many pictures and films of the falls I know how beautiful they are. It's one of God's most beautiful creations. They're so majestic, so eternal, so wonderous, and so powerful. The flls are such a wonder for us to be able to view, but they are also very powerful. They're so powerful that if you get too close to them, the roaring of the water falling actually hurts yours ears and the power of the falls is so immense that it's crushing under their full power. Very similar to God's gift of grace, so beautiful and so powerful at the same time. Another example of God's grace was the season were in here in the United States right now. All of the plants are budding and flowers are beginning to bloom. Soon the bees will be out gathering nectur from the flowers, while unknowingly carrying pollen from one plant to another, which inturn garauntees another generation of plants, who in turn take sunlight in and carbon dioxide out of the air and through photosythesis, produce oxygen for all animal life, including us to breath and insuring another generation of us while we in turn breath out carbon dioxide for the plants to absrob again. It's a very beautiful circle of life, but does it yet compare to the beauty of God's gift of grace to us? I don't think so. The gift of God's grace is so amazing, that I don't know of anything that compare to it. This next part may be a little hard to listen to, but it's true. When you think of the awful things that this world can do to someone and what path it can lead them down, it's truly tragic. Let's take this story as an example. There's a young man whose home life is far from ideal. Maybe there were parents who had addictions and these addictions also made them abusive toward their children. Their son grows up in an environment of dependency and abuse. Without any good example of how to live and no family support, he ends up out on the streets trying to survive on his own. The odd jobs he used to find have dried up and he needs money badly. He not only needs the cash for food, but he also needs it because he's found alcohol and other chemicals as an escape to help him cope with his situation. He's desperate for money and out on the streets, so he does something that we think is unthinkable. He starts selling his own body in order to survive. As time goes on, his addictions become more consuming and now he's not only selling himself, he's pimping for three women as well. On top of all of this, he's got health problems that could kill him. He's as lost as lost can be isn't he? There couldn't possibly be anything than can save this young man's soul is there? A Christian woman who witnessed to him without end, no matter how rudely he treated her in return finally got through to him one day. After the lifestyle he had lived nearly killed him, he broke down and prayed to God for deliverence. God saved his life, freed him of his addictions, put him amongst good Christian people, and changed his life. Today he is a retired pastor who has ministered to people in both North and South America. He's even ministered to the women he used to pimp out on the streets. He's help to clothe and feed the needy. He's helped many people to have hope for their future and shown them that they aren't as lost and helpless as they thought they were. When people come to him and tell him of all the terrible things they've done and how they can't be saved, he tells them his testimony and they walk away with a spark of hope in their hearts. They say to themselves, if God can take someone like him and make him a pastor, there may still be hope for me afterall. I could tell you many more things about this man, but I don't want to give away too many details about his life story and give away his identity. You see, he's a close friend of mine and I love him like my own family, but I didn't tell him I was gonna use his story for a sermon, so I didn't give too much detail, but what I've told you is the truth. God has used my friend to do a great many things to further the kingdom of heaven here on earth. Don't you see the beauty and grace in all of this. God can take all of the ugliness, the lies, the addictions, the expoitation and the brutality of this fallen world and turn it into something beautiful enough to have a place in heaven for eternity. That's why I say that there is nothing more beautiful than God's gift of grace and all you have to is be willing to submit to God's way of life. When God see's that in your heart, grace is given to you out of His pure love, not by anything you ever did by your own hands. Remember what Paul told us: 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit....Amen God bless you my friends, Pete.

The Foolishness Of Man

The Foolishness Of Man 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 New King James Version (NKJV) 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Lets us pray Heavenly Father, you who created the universe, we come to You with all of our praise and give you all glory for all things that are good. Father we ask for your presence here among us and we ask for your blessing upon this service and message we are about to share. We ask these things in the name of our one and only redeemer, the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus Christ...Amen. I hope you're all ready for quite a bit of scripture today. We're going to be confirming the validity of scripture and the way to do that is with more scripture. So, here we go. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Could there be any truer words ever written? I think not! Many people will believe the message of the cross, while sadly, many will not. Many have and will carry on the message of the cross at any cost, while others will revile it and try to disprove it any way that they can. Many will accept that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, while many will try to say He never existed, and if He did exist, He was either just a great teacher, or He was a hoaxster who organized false healings and orchestrated many of the things we say were miracles and the confirmations of prophecies of the Messiah. In today's messages we'll take a look at these different people's points of view. Through the centuries, we have seen many men and women martyred because of their belief in the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. Because of their faith, they have been persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and even put to death. These Christian brothers and sisters of ours have faced unimaginable pain and suffering because they would not turn away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's look back at the earliest of our Christian family to be persecuted for their belief in Christ. Let's start with one of Jesus' earliest disciples, Stephen. Like our Lord had been, Stephen had been arrested by the Jewish authorities and put through a farce of a trial. When asked for his testimony, he recited from their own scriptures of how Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and it ended as follows. Acts 7:54-59 54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. For his being loyal to the message of the cross and proclaiming that Jesus was indeed the son of God, he was stoned to death. Also, just as Jesus commended His Spirit to God on the cross, Stephen commended his spirit to Jesus as he was being stoned. Stephen is believed to be the first martyr, the first to be killed for his faith in the cross of Jesus Christ. We also heard mentioned in this scripture, a man named Saul. Let's read more about this man. Acts 8:1-3 8 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Acts 9 New King James Version (NKJV) Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? 5 And he said, Who are You, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do You want me to do? Then the Lord said to him, Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Here I am, Lord. 11 So the Lord said to him, Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight. 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name. 15 But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake. 17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. 19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. 20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. 21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. 26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Could there be a more convincing testimony to the message of the cross than this? One of the harshest perscutors of the early church witnessed the resurrected Christ and was converted. We have to remember that Saul persecuted the early church not out of evil, but out of his devout faith to God. Being a faithful Jew, Saul had not met Jesus and when he heard of this new religion, he felt it was a threat to his faith and was zealous in his attemp to eradicate it, but after witnessing the truth of Jesus Christ resurrected, became just as fatiful of a Christian. In fact if you're not familiar with who Saul is, he's also known as Paul, the Apostle Paul who was the most predominant writer of the New Testament, writing the books of Romans,1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and most likely dictated the book of Hebrews to his brother in Christ, Barnabas while he was imprisoned. Yes, Paul was imprisoned on several occasions, flogged several times, shipwrecked three times on his evangelical journeys, and eventually beheaded in Rome for his belief in the message of the cross. Let's look at another of our early Christian brothers. Remember how Jesus' brothers and sisters didn't believe in Him being the messiah? You remember that Jesus made the statement that no prophet is respected in his homeland? After witnessing his half brother resurrected, James became the leader of the early church in Jerusalem. I say half brother, because as we know Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit which is God, while James was the son of Mary and her husband Joseph. I would imagine it couldn't have been easy being the half brother of the son of God. Couldn't you imagine there was a little bit of resentment when people are calling your brother The Messiah and God in the flesh? Is it really a surprise that Jesus' human siblings weren't believers? It took His resurrection to change James. It changed him in such a way that he became a church leader, wrote one of the msot beautiful parts of our Holy Bible, and died by the sword for his belief in the message of the cross! Are these not very convincing testimonies to the truth of Jesus Christ? Not to mention the fact that members of the very Jewish high council that convicted Jesus were secretly supporters of Jesus. We all know the scripture John 3:16, but do you realize that the man Nicodemus that Jesus was telling it to was a member of the Sanhedrin that had our Lord crucified? Did you know that the man Jospeh of Arimethea who pleaded for Jesus body from Ponius Pilate, bought the herbs and wrappings for his burial, and used his own new tomb, was also a member of the high council? Even those who weren't supposed to believe did believe. We could spend days talking about those who believed the message of the cross to die for it, but let's get into some of the prophecies that many people think Jesus and his folowers could have orchestrated the fulfillment of. While writing Psalm 22, King David was going through a very dark time in his life. He may have thought that he was simply putting his sorrows into song, but listen as he describes the persecution and crucifixion of Jesus hundreds of years before it happens. Psalm 22 New King James Version (NKJV) 22My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. 3But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. 6But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him! 9But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mothers breasts. 10I was cast upon You from birth. From My mothers womb You have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. 12Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. 19But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 20Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. 21Save Me from the lions mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me. 22I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! 24For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard. 25My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. 26The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! 27All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. 28For the kingdom is the Lords, And He rules over the nations. 29All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. 30A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, 31They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this. Isn't it chilling to hear the passion of Jesus Christ foretold in such detail centuries before it would happen? That's not the only example of this in the bible though. Let's look at Zechariah. Zechariah 12:9-11 New King James Version (NKJV) 9It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. Lets look also at Isaiah. Isaiah 53:4-6 New King James Version (NKJV) 4Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Again, all through the Old Testament, we see chillingly accurate descriptions of the life, persecution, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and yet most of the Jews, God's chosen people denied Him. In all, there are over four dozen propehcies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. What are the odds of it being possible for one man to fulfill all of these prophecies? When I say odds, I mean to the effect that maybe your favorite ballteam has a 1 in 4 chance of winning the game this weekend. Well, the odds that I've seen calculated of one man fulfilling all of the prophecies of the old testament are 1 in 1 quadrillion. As I understand it, that's a one with seventeen zeroes behind it. Those are pretty staggering odds against anyone other than the Son of God being the fulfillment of these prophecies. In the two thousand years since these events many, many people denied the message of the cross and they continue to do so today. Though they've tried to use philosophy, reason, and science to discredit the divinity of Jesus Christ, none have succeeded. With all of their theories and research no unbeliever has ever been able to find any solid fact against the truth of Jesus Christ. In closing, when we have faith in the message of the cross, we have salvation from our sins, the peace of never being alone throughout our life on earth with the Holy Spirit living within us, and eternal life with our Father in heaven and His Son Jesus Christ seate at His right hand. Without faith in the message of the cross, we have this life here in this fallen world and nothingnes in the everafter. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.....Amen.

The Spirit Within

The Spirit Within John 14:19-31 New King James Version (NKJV) 19 A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world? 23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Fathers who sent Me. 25 These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father, for My Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. This is the Word of God, for us the people of God, thanks be to God. Let us pray, Holy Father, it is you who created all of the stars and planets of the universe, but still you take time to know us by name. We come to you today as humbled children, humbled by the magnitude of your love and grace. Father we thank you for your forgiveness, your grace, and your love. We ask that you be here with us today and bless this worship service Lord. We ask this in the name above all names, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Jesus promised His disciples that after He was no longer with them the Father would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. The Holy Spirit would reveal to them and give understanding to them of all the things that Jesus had taught them in their time together with Him. The Holy Spirit would help them get Jesus teachings from their heads to their hearts. Isnt that exactly what we need ourselves? Dont we all too often spend our time getting to know about God instead of getting to know God? We hear sermons, read devotionals, maybe take bible studies, and watch movies about Jesus, Moses, or angels, but do we spend enough time praying and meditating, listening to what God has in mind for us, what He wants for us, or who He knows we should be? Do we spend any time getting the knowledge weve gained about God out of our heads and getting it into our hearts so that we will truly know His ways and start living by them? Thats where the helper comes in that Jesus told His apostles about in John chapter fourteen. This is the same helper that we have access to as well. When we finally reach the point in our life that we accept the fact that we cant keep on living life our way and that we need God in our life every day, we have access to the Holy Spirit. Once weve admitted that we dont want to keep facing this world alone, there is a way for us to receive the Holy Spirit just as Jesus apostles did all those many years ago. When we finally do admit that we need God in our life and that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we are submitting to Gods will for us. In the world we live in today, the word submit is treated as a dirty word, but when it pertains to God, it simply means that we admit that we need His help, we need Him with us, and we need His love. Submitting doesnt sound so bad when you think of it in those terms now does it? By submitting to God, we admit that we need His love and grace and that we want to live our lives His way. I know Im repeating myself here, saying the same thing in different ways, but its important. If we take a look at John chapter three, we see the importance of what Im trying to say. Lets read some of Jesus conversation with Nicodemus. John 3:1-21 New King James Version (NKJV) 3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. 3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mothers womb and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.[a] 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a man educated in Gods Word, couldnt even recognize what Jesus was telling him. Thats why I cant repeat or stress enough that we are to submit our lives to Gods will. Jesus told us that we must be reborn. As He said, its not a physical rebirth, but a spiritual rebirth. This spiritual rebirth starts by submitting ourselves to God. Here goes that repetition again. We admit that we cant do it our way. We admit that we need God in our life. We admit that we know that we need Him to save us. We admit that His ways are better than ours. We confess our sins to Him and ask Him to forgive us. Most importantly, we stop living life by the ways of the world and we start living them His way. We make a change in our life. We change our life. We start living as a child of God and not of this fallen, corrupt, and deceitful world. We leave behind those worldly ways so that we can start walking with God. We are a new person. We have shaken off that old person we were that loved the world more than God. We are reborn. I know that this sounds over simplified in some ways. Can it be as easy as just honestly asking for forgiveness for a lifetime of mistakes? In other ways it sounds like a lot to do by ourselves. How do we fight off all of our old ways, our old vices, old habits, maybe even old addictions, by ourselves? Isnt this too much to ask of us? How can we possibly have the strength to do this? It is with the help of God. You see, when this rebirth takes place, we are sent a helper. We are sent the Holy Spirit who comes to live within us and guide us in living a Godly life. Remember what the apostle Paul told us? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 New King James Version (NKJV) 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods. When we make this change in our life, God comes to live within us and us within Him. Wait a minute. What does that mean? When we pray to God our Father in heaven and ask Him to forgive us and to save us through God the Son Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. But, how do we live within God? When we are reborn, we are born into a new family, our new Christian family of fellow believers. We gain many, many brothers and sisters in the Lord. We become part of the church, Christs church. We become part of the body of Christ. By becoming part of the body of Christ, we come to live within God. So, what does all of this mean? It means that we no longer live by our worldly desires. It means that we are trying to live a godly life. It doesnt mean that we are perfect. Well still stumble and make mistakes along the way, but well have the Holy Spirit there within us to remind us, to guide us, and to protect us from ourselves. That Spirit Within will remind us that those old habits arent any good for us, that we dont need to watch that violent and vulgar movie we used to get a thrill from watching. It will change the way we look at some of the things our friends and maybe even family do and remind us that we dont need to be part of those things anymore. It will change the way we feel when we hear a song singing about pleasing the flesh and not the spirit. It will remind us that going out and partying the way may have done in the past doesnt solve our problems, that it only distracts us temporarily and just becomes another bad memory tomorrow. That Spirit Within will reveal the truth to us. It will show us that the truth is this. The world programmed us to believe that living a godly life was to be controlled by a set of laws that would zap all of the fun and pleasure out of our existence for the rest of our life. The world tells us at every turn that we should be ambitious for success at any cost, no matter who we have to run over to get it. The world tells us to do what is pleasing to the flesh at every turn. What the world doesnt tell you is that the prince of this world is Lucifer and he is using your ambition and hungry for pleasing the flesh to control you. The truth is, by being reborn into Gods family you are set free from all of the chains of this fallen world and its ruler. You are given eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ and asking for forgiveness of your sins. You are given Gods love. You are given Gods grace. You are given true salvation of your soul through Jesus Christ. All of this is given freely through your faith in the Son of God. You are given a life free of bondage to sin. It doesnt mean you wont ever sin again. As Ive said well all make mistakes from time to time, but we have a Christian family and the Spirit Within to hold us accountable for our actions when we fail. Being held accountable doesnt mean that well be scorned every time we fail. It just means that well be reminded that we slipped back into an old habit and we need to ask forgiveness from God and move forward with our life, trying not to repeat those same mistakes again. When we submit to living a godly life, we are given a life of love, grace, peace, and accountability. I think Paul summed it up very well in Romans chapter twelve. Romans 12 New King James Version (NKJV) 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. 20 Therefore If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. I hope and pray that you have gone to God and asked Him into your heart and into your life my friends so that you may share in all of this with the rest of our wonderful Christian family. God bless you all. In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Amen. Pete.

No Compromise

No Compromise 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 New King James Version (NKJV) 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospels sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. This is the Word of God, for us the people of God, thanks be to God! Let us pray Heavenly Father, our Rock and our Fortress. We come to you to give our praise, our worship, and all glory. You bless us so much and we ask that you would bless us once more with the message you would have us hear. Make us your vessels to carry your message out into the world. We ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....Amen. I realize that I'm coming to you again from the book of 1 Corinthians for the third time in four weeks. It's not my intent to take us through the entire epistle, the scriptures have come up in the Lectionary and have just felt like the message that needed to be preached on those weeks. So, let us dig into the scriptures. The apostle Paul is writing to the church of Corinth about his choice to preach the gospel without charge. You see, throughout his ministry, Paul continued in his trade as a tentmaker in order to provide for his own livelihood. He did not accept payment for preaching the gospel as other ministers of his time were doing, but he was not speaking ill of this practice either. In fact we need to go back to the verses that preceed our scripture reading this morning. Earlier verses from this chapter of 1 Corinthians tell us: 1 Corinthians 9:1-15 New King James Version (NKJV) 1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? 8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. 15 But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void. So, we see that as far back as the Levitical preisthood that ministers received support for ministering God's Word. The Levites lived off of the animals given as sacrifices. So, intern for their service in the tent of the tabernacle, they were provided for. The scriptures tells us that Cephas, the apostle Peter and others received support for their ministering. We're also told that Paul's often time traveling companion Barnabas denied himself the right to payment as well as a wife as part of his commitment to God. Even though it was right for them to be provided for and to have families, they practiced a form of self-denial as a part of offering themselves as a living sacrifice to our Lord. This was their way of giving more of themselves to God's service. Even though they would go as far as to live by the customs of those they were witnessing to instead of the Jewish customs they had known all their lives in order to witness to different peoples, they wouldn't let strange customs, money, or material wealth, not even a wife or family distract them from serving God the way they were meant to. Paul does not boast or brag of this though. Paul tells us that he knows if he preaches the gospel free of charge and joyfully he will receive his reward in other ways. He also tells us that he feels he has inherited a stewardship. Indeed, as a minister, you do have a stewardship. As a minister, your stewardship is much akin to that that Jesus laid upon Peter's shoulders in John 21:17 New King James Version (NKJV) 17 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep. Jesus is telling Peter as His minister that he is to feed the Lord's sheep with the Word of God. That's also what it means when we prayer the Lord's Prayer and we ask the Lord to 'Give us our daily bread'. We're asking the Lord to feed our souls with His Word. We also see this when Satan is tempting our Lord and Jesus tells him that 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. What could be a more important stewardship to be entrusted with? You see, that's why this scripture grabbed me when I saw it this week. It's a subject very close to my heart. I have very strong feelings about the payment ministers receive for preaching the gospel. I can be very critical of ministers who seem to get into the ministry for a career instead of being called to serve God. I'm especially critical of the ministers we see on television and of pastors of these mega-churches we see today. You see, thus far, I have never accepted payment for preaching the gospel of Christ, even when traveling to do so. It doesn't make me any more holy or righteous or a better minister, but like Paul, I feel like it's my way of giving back to God for all that He has done for me. There's no better reward for me when preaching the Word of God than when someone comes up to me afterward and tells me thank you. I don't know that I will always be able to say this though. One day I may go into full-time ministry and stop working my regular job so that I can serve a church and congregation as I would need to. I'm still not sure of how I would feel about being payed to preach then. But, that also brings me to another subject. As a part of that stewardship, I must be careful when I preach that I don't put too much of 'me' into what I am writing or speaking. When it comes to writing a sermon there's always the urge to want to write from our favorite scriptures or from verses that have had special meaning to us throughout our lives. Though this may be something easy to share or to build a sermon on, is it really serving the right purpose? This came to mind when I ran into my pastor from my home church the other night. We got into a conversation about my serving at Baileys Chapel and then about writing sermons. We talked about how we choose scriptures and he said that he always tries to make sure that he's not making the message about himself. He doesn't like for the services or the sermons to be too much about himself, which is how it should be. The sermon and the service should be about God! If we write from our favorite scriptures or ones that have special meaning to us, they most likely will not have that same meaning to others. If they don't strike a chord with those we're preaching to, then we have done neither them or God any service at all. We have been a bad steward over what God has entrusted us with. Another part of that stewardship that is very important and that I take extremely seriously is how we must present the gospel. We must allow God's love and grace to show through while we are ministering. We have to show kindness to our fellow Christians as well as non-believers. We must be repsectful to those we are witnessing to and not attack them with our beliefs. There's no way of forcing Christianity onto someone. We can say that you have to believe or else. That's something that pagan religions do, not believers in Christ. We can do this by simply presenting to truth of the holy scriptures to those we are witnessing to. We can offer them the scriptures in an intelligent, respectful manner without 'hitting them over the head with the bible'. While doing this though, we must not give into their beliefs or unbelief and deem them acceptable. Some ministers in our day and time would have us be more accepting of those of other beliefs and some even knowingly or unknowingly start using some of these pagan practices in their own ministry. An example would be if someone were to tell you that we all 'pray to the same God', but just have different ways of doing it. I can tell you most assuredly that this is not true. The beliefs and practices of other religions make it clear that they are not praying to the same God. This is called Universalism and it is most certainly contradictory to scripture. The bible tells us in John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Can the message be any clearer? We can make no compromise when it comes to preaching the gospel. We can also make no compromise when it comes to accountablility. Today many people have the tendency to say 'I'm saved' or 'I'm covered by God's grace', so now I can live or do as I want. God's grace and salvation through Christ are beautiful things, but we must be careful how we preach them if we are to be good stewards over His flock. While we preach of grace and salvation, we must also remind people that they are to be born again as it is written in John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jesus is telling us here that there MUST be a change within us if we are to see God's heavenly kingdom. Paul reminds us of this in Ephesians 4:21-23 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, We do everyone we share the gospel with if we don't tell them these things. Going back to the earlier subject, we must not allow profit to influence how we preach the gospel. Paul did not accept payment for his ministry as a way of giving back to God, but I also believe that was also that he could not be swayed one way or the other in he way of presenting the gospel by the gain of material wealth. In a way, you could say that Paul preached the truth because he had nothing to lose by doing so. Paul made no compromise in his ministering the gospel and he would eventually pay the ultimate price for doing so. Paul would be martyred for his ministering without compromise, as well as Peter, Jesus' brother James, the disciple Stephen, and many other of the first disciples of Christ. They took the stewardship that God a put upon them very seriously. It meant more to them than their lives. It was everything to them and it must be everything to us as well. I'm preaching this to myself more than I am to anyone else. Paul set an excellent example for us and we should never lose sight of it. He denied himself many luxuries, even a family so that he serve God without distraction. He did not let anything hinder him from witnessing the truth of the gospel. When it came to his faith in the Lord, his ministry for the Lord, and the way he presented the Word of God, there was no compromise. When we preach the Word of God to the people of today, we must also present the gospel with no compromise. In the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit.....Amen. God bless you my friends, Pete.

Are We Listening?

Are We Listening? 2 Kings 5:1-14 New King James Version (NKJV) Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naamans wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy. 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel. 5 Then the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. 7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me. 8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elishas house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean. 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, Indeed, I said to myself, He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy. 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, Wash, and be clean? 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. This is the Word of God, for us the people of God, thanks be to God! Let us pray.... Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe, you are the Potter and we are they clay. It is You who shape us throughout our lives into who we are truly meant to be. We come together here today to praise and to worship you. We ask that you bless us with your presence and with a word you would have us hear. We ask these things in the name of Him who gave His life to redeem us from our sins, our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. The story of Naaman is one of pride, arrogance, and stubborness. Naaman was the Commander of the army of Syria. He was a prominent man in their land and probably rather wealthy. The scripture even goes on to say that he was very honorable in the eyes of his king because the Lord had given him victory over Israel, but all of that wealth and notoriety couldn't heal his illness. Naaman was suffering from Leprosy. That term could cover a wide array of skin diseases from that time period. It could have meant something as minor as a rash or sores on the skins. It could have also meant something more serious, such as full blown leprosy that begins with lesions on the skin and then continues until the body basically rots away. It's a slow and terrible way for someone to die. Since the scripture tells us that after washing in the Jordan his skin was restored to him, we must assume that it was indeed leprosy he was afflicted with. Though the verses don't tell us, it would be safe to say that Naaman must have tried every healer, propher, magician, or whatever was available in the land of Syria, but Naaman's wife's servant girl was a native of Israel and knew of a prophet there that she believed could heal him and told her mistress so. We must remember that this servant girl would have been a slave held against her will in the service of their household. Syria had been raiding areas of Israel at this point in history and she would has been a captive taken during one of these raids. So, why would she even be interested in helping the man holding her captive? Don't you think that it was because it was part of God's plan that she tell Naaman to go to Israel? What would have happened if she had not listened to God's call for her? Next, Naaman goes to his king and tells him of the servant's words. Since his king holds him in such high regard, he sends Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter and with gifts of silver, gold, and fine clothing. It seems they were thinking they could buy a healing from God. How many times have we seen that in our lifetimes? When Naaman arrives at the king of Israel's court, he presents the gifts and the letter to the king. The king's first response it to think that it's a trap. He knows that he can't heal Naaman and assumes that the king of Syria is just looking to use this as an excuse to declare war on Israel once more. In fact the kings words were: Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me. Fortunately for the king of Israel, God was calling someone else into the matter. Word got back to the prophet Elisha about Naaman and the request of the king of Syria. The scriptures says:So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. Again, I give you the question: what would have happened if Elisha had not listened to God's call? So now, the commander of the armies of Syria arrives at the door of the prophet Elisha. You can only imagine what Naaman is expecting. Surely there will be some elaborate ritual, the prophet will speak holy words over him by firelight, and there'll be some sort of sacrifice. There must be some great mystery and pomp and circumstance involved in the great ceremony of healing about to be performed. Afterall, he's a very important man to his king and country. No, that's not what happens. Elisha's servant comes to the door and tells Naaman to go wash in the river Jordan seven times and he'll be healed. Naaman is furious! He's been slighted. He's been insulted. Go wash in this muddy little Israeli river? Really now? Why would he do that when he has the great rivers the Abanah and the Pharpar, or the rivers of Damascus in his homeland. And, how dare this Israelite not even come out himself and lay hands on him and heal him properly! Then Naaman's own servants say to him: My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, Wash, and be clean? Do servants normally speak to their masters in such away? Don't you think the Lord may have called them to speak in such a way to a man who could easily have put them to death for questioning his authority over them? What would have happened is they hadn't listened? Finally, Naaman, prideful, arrogant Naaman gives in, submits to God's will for him and washes seven times in the Jordan. He arises after the seventh time dipping in the river with pure skin, clean of any blemish. We know what would have happened to Naaman is he hadn't listened to God's will for him don't we? How many times has God told you what to door put a calling on your heart, but you weren't listening or you were too stubborn to do what He said? Have you ever been at a point in your life where you didn't know what you were going to do or which way your were going to go, but refused to call on God for help? How many of us have ever been so full of pride that when someone told us all you need to do is call on the Lord or turn your problems over to Him that we looked at them like they were a fool? How many of us have thought at some point in our lives that the idea of our sins being washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ sounded too easy and too crazy to be true? How many times have we refused to listen? The story of Naaman has a special meaning to me though. You see, I teach bible study at an addiction recovery center called Naaman's Recovery Village in High Point, NC. The story of Naaman's pride and refusal of help is very similar to those suffering from chemical dependency. They don't want to admit that they have a problem to begin with and then they don't want to admit they need anybody else's help either. All of it a twisted form of pride. The story of how I came to be there also goes along with today's message. A little over a year ago, a friend of mine took some of his grading equipment to Ward Street Mission in High Point to help them with getting an old house in the neighborhood ready to be an addiction recovery center. He was doing this, because he had become friends with a couple of members of the staff there through a ministry called the Peidmont Emmaus Community. Well, after hearing my friend talk about the work they were doing in the Ward Street community, I told my family about it because they had lived in High Point before I was born. As it turned out, they lived a block away from Ward Street Church that was now the Mission. So, I had roots in that neighborhood. Then a friend of mine from church tole me that she was from that neighborhood as well and that her father had run a store their when she was a child. When I asked my brother if he remembered the store, he automatically said Mr. Morgan! You see, my friend's dad, the storeowner was blind and their weren't too many blind storeowners around then. My brother had even walked my friend's dad home a few times. So, the connections to the Ward Street area continued to become prevelant. That ministry stayed on my heart, but I had no idea of how to act on it. I had thought of contacting them, but hadn't acted on it. In the spring of last year, two other friends at my home church sponsored me to go on the Walk to Emmaus. All I knew was that it was a three day retreat to help you in your faithwalk. I would learn later that it was much more than that. The first night at Emmaus all of us entered into a meeting hall and sat in a large circle. In an activity to ge to know each other, we were paired with the person sitting beside us and told to ask them as series of questions and share their answers with the rest of the group. This person was 'your new best friend'. Well, my partner went on to say, 'I'm Sonny Reavis and I'm the pastor at Ward Street Mission. To myself I said; Okay God I get the picture. The next day, we were divided into tables of six people to hear the talks, the testimonies, and to do projects. My assistant table leader introduced himself to us as Sterling Cannon, the Director of Naaman's Recovery Village at Ward Street Mission in High Point, NC. Again, to myself, I said Yes God, I get it!. I got to speak with Sonny and Sterling throughout the weekend and a few weeks later I was invited to training sessions at Ward Street to become part of the pastoral staff at Naaman's Recovery Village. I've been serving there ever since. I wonder sometimes, what would have happened is I hadn't been listening when God called? My friends, sometimes we get caught up in looking for God to speak to us in big ways, but He often speaks in a whisper of gentle nudges, at other times He speaks to us in obvious ways. I just hope that we all put aside our pride and our own self- expectations and listen to what God is telling us. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit....Amen.

Diligently Seeking God

Diligently Seeking God 2 Kings 2:1-12 New King James Version (NKJV) And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel. But Elisha said, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you! So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? And he said, Yes, I know; keep silent! 4 Then Elijah said to him, Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you! So they came to Jericho. 5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? So he answered, Yes, I know; keep silent! 6 Then Elijah said to him, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan. But he said, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you! So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you? Elisha said, Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. 10 So he said, You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so. 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen! So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. This is the Word of God, for us the people of God, Thanks be to God Let us pray Holy Father, our Creator and our Sanctuary, we come to you today and ask for your blessing on this worship and in our lives. We thank you for all that you have blessed us with, most of all for Your Word, Your Living Word and we ask you for the message you would have us hear here today. We ask these things in the name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.....Amen. When I sat down to write the sermon from this scripture, I thought it was going to be something totally different from what it turned out to be. I thought in the beginning that this sermon was going to be entitled 'Please Don't Go' and would focus on the relationship between Elijah and Elisha. It would be about how Elijah had told Elisha to stay three different times, but Elisah had insisted on going along with him each time. It reminded me of when I was kid and my dad had to go somewhere, but I would always ask to go along with him. I had also thought of writing about how Elisha had asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit to rest upon him with Elijah was taken up into heaven. This would have been like when someone passed on in those days and the eldest son got a double portion of the inheritance, so in effect, Elisha was asking to be Elijah's heir. God would bestow Elijah's mantle upon Elisha and make him Elijah's successor. But, as I started writing, a new message was laid upon my heart. It's a message that I think is a little closer to all of our hearts, so...here we go. Our scripture starts by telling us that Elijah is about to be taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. Elijah will never taste death. His mortal body will never pass away and be buried. He is about to be taken up into heaven by God because he has been such a loyal, powerful, and righteous prophet of our Heavenly Father! What a glorious honor for our Lord to bestow upon one of His children. The Creator of the universe reached down from heaven and took His prophet home without him ever experiencing physical death. Can you imagine what it would have been like to meet someone that holy and righteous? Our Holy bible tells us that only one other man has ever been taken up in such a manner. His name was Enoch and he also was a prophet of God. The book of Genesis chapter 5 tells us: 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. We've read in 2 Kings about the many accomplishments of Elijah in God's name, such as calling down fire from heaven to destroy the armies sent after him, but why would God have taken Enoch in such a manner as well? Well, the book of Hebrews, chapter 11:4-6 tells us: 4By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Enoch was rewarded for diligently seeking God. As I've said, Enoch was a prophet of the Lord. We don't get to see it in our Holy Bible in it's entireity, but there is a Book of Enoch The Prophet, just like there's a book of Isaiah and a book of Ezekiel. You see, at the time of the biblical canon being put together that we know today, the clergy and scribes putting the bible together did not have a complete edition of this book to reference, so it was not included in our Holy Scriptures. It wasn't until the 1700's that Christian missionaries found a complete edition of the book in Ethiopia. In fact, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes it in there bibles. The only evidence of the Book of Enoch that is found in our bible is when Jesus' brother Jude quotes from it. In Jude chapter1:14-15 14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. So from this quote, we know that there was a Book of Enoch The Prophet in use during the time of Jesus' apostles. I bought a copy of it last year and read it myself. It's very interesting reading. Especially when you realize that it's Noah's grandfather prophecying about the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus. Someone else lived out a similar fate in the bible. The book of John tells us in John 21:20-25 20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays You? 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, But Lord, what about this man? 22 Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me. 23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? 24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. The apostle John, who had travelled with our Lord during the three years of His ministry and written down the gospel for all of us to read was rewarded as well. Though he wasn't translated directly into heaven as Enoch and Elijah were, he was the only one of Jesus' apostles was not martyred. John lived out a very long life, writing down all that the Lord had revealed to him. It is said that John lived to be well over one hundred years old. So, what does this all mean to us? We can just give up our families, our homes, and our careers and move to some temple and give our whole life to God can we? We can perform all of these amazing feats like calling down fire from heaven upon the Lord's enemies can we? If we were to prophecy to people about the coming of the Lord, they would look at us like we've gone insane wouldn't they? So, what can we do that is so pleasing in God's eyes? How can we diligently seek God in our world today? We all know that it begins with confessing to God that we can't live life our way anymore. We have to have that change within us that puts off our old ways and starts living in God's ways. We have to have that spiritual rebirth. It may seems strange, but there are people who have been going to church all of their lives that have never allowed themselves to be broken of their own ways and given themselves over to the Lord, but that's what we've got to do to begin being pleasing to God. Another step in seeking God is to get to know His Word. It's one thing to go to church on Sunday and hear the scriptures read and hear a sermon preached, but to sit down and read them regularly is a totally different experience. When we begin read our bibles at home alone or with our family we begin experience God on a whole new level. When we read the New Testament, we learn exactly what or faith truly is or in some cases what it truly should be. We learn Jesus teachings, about His life as a mortal man here on earth and about how the only sinless man to ever walk the earth took all of our sins upon Himself and gave Himself as a sacrifice for us all. We also read about Jesus first disciples and the sacrifices they made to spread the gospel and to start the Christian church that we're all part of today. When we read the Old Testament, we learn of God's creation of the universe and of mankind. We learn of the fall into sin, early man's evil ways, and of God cleansing the earth of this vile evil and saving His righteous children through Noah. Today there are many good, easy to read translations of the bible and several very good study bibles with lots of notes helping to explain the scriptures that will help you to learn God's Word for yourself. There are also many websites with bible translations and commentaries to help you in your studies. Please take the time to get to know the Holy Bible for yourself. It will open up so much to you that I can't put it into words. Along with reading our bible regularly, we should have a healthy prayer life. Aside from praying at church, we should make prayer a part of our life everyday. Prayer can be formal, like going into your bedroom, kneeling down with our hands folded together, and laying our worries at the Lord's feet. It can be asking for a blessing over our meals whether we're at home with our family or even at our local fastfood restaurant on our lunch break. No matter where we are or what we're doing, we should always feel like we can go to the Lord in prayer. Aside from formal prayers, sometimes we just need to talk to God. We have to remember that He is always there. When we're at home alone cleaning the house, He's there to listen to us talk to Him. He's also there when we're in the car, driving to work. We just have to talk. He's there when we're our on the lake or down by the river fishing. I don't think there's any wrong time or wrong place to talk with our Lord. Other ways of growing in our faithwalk and seeking God are to get involved in Sunday School, take part in bible studies at church or in our homes, work with youth groups, do mission work in our communities, and donate to food pantries or clothing ministries. There are so many ways to give back to God's kingdom. We have to remember that our tithe to God is more than just a monetary amount. It is giving back our time and efforts to furthering God's kingdom here on earth. It's giving God our firstfruits. It's giving Him our best. I know we all lead busy lives. Our responsibilities to taking care of our families, to our work, and to keeping up our homes seem to consume our all of our time before we even realize it. But, think of this; what could be better for our families as well as our own souls than taking some time out of each day to read a chapter or two of the bible, to read a daily devotional, or to pray together? Is there a better way of showing our care for our loved ones than sharing the bread of life with them? There's so much more that we can do for God to show Him our love than giving an hour to Him on Sunday morning. When we start diligently seeking God, we make a change inside. We become not only a child of God, but a disciple of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My friends, there's so much more that we can to get to know God more closely. We have an inheritance in the knigdom of heaven to think of. Remember that it says in John 14:1-3 14Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. Just as Elijah was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire, just as Enoch was translated up into heaven and not seen again, and just as the apostle John was granted a long fruitful life, Jesus has promised us a reward for diligently seeking God. He has promised us a place in God's kingdom with Him. In the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit......Amen.