Sermon Link
https://www.dropbox.com/s/19kpvm4avii5orh/Jesus%20on%20the%20dirt%20road.docx
Monthly Archives: June 2014
We are all sinners
We are all sinners
CH Spurgeon – The holier the Christian becomes, the more readily he perceives his imperfections and the wickedness of his sins, and sin, instead of becoming more bearable to a Christian, becomes growingly more and more intolerable.
Mankind is NOT inherently good; mankind is inherently evil. That is a painful statement to make, but it is a necessary statement to understand for Christianity is built upon it. If we seem to think that we are really good at heart, why would Christ come and die on the cross? If Christ died on the cross to save us from sin, was he only dying to save some of us? The closer you draw to Christ, the deeper your understanding of sin; the more painfully you begin to understand your sin-state; but also how much more you rejoice at the Atonement of it by your Savior.
Oswald Chambers devotional yesterday digs deep into this.
This is a reprint of My Utmost for His Highest:
Reconciling Yourself to the Fact of Sin
This is your hour, and the power of darkness —Luke 22:53
Not being reconciled to the fact of sin— not recognizing it and refusing to deal with it— produces all the disasters in life. You may talk about the lofty virtues of human nature, but there is something in human nature that will mockingly laugh in the face of every principle you have. If you refuse to agree with the fact that there is wickedness and selfishness, something downright hateful and wrong, in human beings, when it attacks your life, instead of reconciling yourself to it, you will compromise with it and say that it is of no use to battle against it. Have you taken this “hour, and the power of darkness” into account, or do you have a view of yourself which includes no recognition of sin whatsoever? In your human relationships and friendships, have you reconciled yourself to the fact of sin? If not, just around the next corner you will find yourself trapped and you will compromise with it. But if you will reconcile yourself to the fact of sin, you will realize the danger immediately and say, “Yes, I see what this sin would mean.” The recognition of sin does not destroy the basis of friendship— it simply establishes a mutual respect for the fact that the basis of sinful life is disastrous. Always beware of any assessment of life which does not recognize the fact that there is sin.
Jesus Christ never trusted human nature, yet He was never cynical nor suspicious, because He had absolute trust in what He could do for human nature. The pure man or woman is the one who is shielded from harm, not the innocent person. The so-called innocent man or woman is never safe. Men and women have no business trying to be innocent; God demands that they be pure and virtuous. Innocence is the characteristic of a child. Any person is deserving of blame if he is unwilling to reconcile himself to the fact of sin.
Enduring Word
Enduring Word
1 Peter 1:22-25 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
I just love it when God tugs me out of bed. I needed my really early time with Him this morning and had such an expectant heart. He showed up in a way only He and I know, and I am humbly thankful for it. There is nothing special about me, he will do the same for you when you humbly seek him with your heart. I had the partial scripture “word endures forever” in my head; and the word search began. I found myself in 1 Peter again, and found myself wrapped up in His Sovereignty in the context of the passage. Peter had quoted from Isaiah 40 of how all of our lives are temporary; we fade as the grass and the flowers of the field. Satan tries to get us to focus on the worries of the day, and he really succeeds when our anxieties grow into tomorrow and beyond; we are not guaranteed another breath, much less tomorrow. James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
In the few years that God has really gotten ahold of me, one thing that has affected me greatly is the understanding of Bible study in the context it was written. Sadly, many of today’s teachers simply pull scripture out of context and use what feels good, and twist it into what works for them. I witnessed on a game-show last night Philippians 4:13 ( I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.), on the back of a competitors shirt. He was quoting scripture, yet owned three (successful) liquor stores in NY. He was claiming scripture out of context, and living his life out of context. Philippians 4:13 is truly the apostle Paul preaching contentment in whatever place God has him in his life; he was writing it from prison. Teachers today take scripture out of context and pack pulpits preaching feel good messages, but leave out the painful conviction of sin. Christ did not begin his ministry with the feel good ministry; Mark 1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
If you look a little deeper into that passage, you will get a glimpse of our Almighty, Sovereign God’s design. 1 Peter 1:20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Everything you need to know, everything God wants you to know is found in His Word, and through his Word and belief in His Son. The Holy Spirit that comes to you as a believer in Christ will open up the Bible to you and reveal God to you in the context of scripture with a pure heart that desires to truly understand. Pray and seek Him today, for he has something for you there today.
Sermon Link: It wasn’t even rained when Noah built the ark!
Sermon LInk
I am trying to transition (blend) manuscript style into an outline style.
Praying for me is greatly appreciated!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i2m5jkmruufv6aw/Obedience%20%201Peter.docx
Sermon Link
I am trying to blend my sermons from manuscript into outline form.
This is a combination of both.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ib6v3isgfc1u43a/Father%27s%20Day%20Balancing%20Act.docx
Maturity
Maturity
1 Peter 2:2-3 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
I have really struggled over the last month with getting up early and getting my alone time with God. The hectic pace of the cooling business, coupled with the rest of my life is taking it’s toll on me; I have found it hard to get out of bed. Yesterday I took a day off and got rest. This morning I felt God stirring in me early, and even felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me the book of 1st Peter. I came out here and prayed for God to reveal to me himself, and behold he did. I came to where Peter was encouraging the brethren to genuinely have love for one another, and to genuinely love God’s Word. Peter shares the gospel and how we are “born again” with our faith in Jesus Christ. This is one of the few times that phrase is used in the New Testament.
Peter writes for us to seek God in his Word so that we may grow through his Word. I wrote in this weekend’s sermon how we must at some point mature as Christians. Have you? Are you spending time in God’s Word to mature? That is where you mature; that is your spiritual food for spiritual growth. The answer to the maturity question is found in relation to your time spent in God’s Word. Let me be more specific; if you are not reading his Word every day you are still a child. The good news of Jesus Christ is so simple a child may understand, but you are also called to grow in your faith and be able to teach to others; to become a disciple yourself.
The deeper you go into God’s Word the more he reveals himself to you. Knowledge of God is not found through wisdom gained in study, it is found through revelation while in study. The revelation is of God himself to you; it is an experience of God while in his Word, and it is something that you will begin to earnestly desire. The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Paul had just written about a life dedicated to Christ; Paul had just written about living a life focused on the next life; this is the work God does in the heart of a person who seeks to grow in their faith through his Word.
Sermon Link
Don’t go the wrong way down a One Way Street
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ljxvd22hp4fib4/John%2014-6.docx
oneminuteministry 