COMMITTED to train men and women
to have minds for the Lord Jesus,
hearts for the truth, and
hands that are skilled to the task.

Sermons by Pastor Ernest Amstalden (Page 44)

What Do You Long For?

What about those who call themselves followers of Jesus, people who have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and who want to follow the Lord wherever he goes, what is their deepest desire?
Of all the people who received an inheritance in the Promised Land, Caleb was the only one to completely drive out the enemy. And remember, it was Caleb who faced some of the most formidable enemies in the entire land. GIANTS WHERE LIVING THERE. Caleb had the longing to live where God promised him he would live one day. His longing was stronger than his physical limitations. Caleb longed to have fellowship and communion with God and God’s people. Caleb never longed for the approval of man, but he longed for the approval of God. He was not afraid of what the consequences would be if he longed for God’s approval and therefore would lose most friendships.

Revelation of His Treasures

When we walk with God like the prophet Jeremiah did, we can expect God to answer when we call upon Him. His treasures which are made available to His children are many times not in our reach, because we do not CALL ON THE LORD WHO WILL ANSWER.
“I don’t need another book on prayer. I know enough about prayer. I simply must take time to pray. We will never FIND TIME, we must TAKE TIME. Lorne Sanny
Listen, if you are equal, humanly speaking, to your responsibility, you don’t need God.

Walking With God

The question is: Was this walk with God the exclusive privilege of a few super saints? Did God pre ordain who can walk with him and who cannot walk with him? Could it be that many people who call themselves Christians cannot walk with God, because they have never been born into God’s family by the Holy Spirit? And so it is with those who believe by having put their faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of counting on their religious self-effort.
What assurance do I have that I am a child of God?
“The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field.” Vince Lombardi
There is no such thing as a secular job or sacred job. 7 days a week we are all responsible to glorify God by OBEDIENCE TO HIM. That’s walking with God.

The Blessings of Goshen

Joseph divinely positioned and prepared for such a time as this by God himself, he is inviting his family to move to Egypt, and there they would live in a land called Goshen, which means: ‘DRAWING NEAR’.
But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. In other words, Jacob and his entire clan was exposed to incredible evil. That’s one of the reasons God wanted Jacob and his family to be separated from these people. When they went down to Goshen, the place was prepared by God for them. When we draw near to God, which means we are separated from the wickedness of this world. The Hebrew writer is telling us that Jesus’ blood allows us to enter into God’s presence at any time. There are blessings in Goshen, blessings we can only receive when we DRAW NEAR TO GOD. Separation from the ways of the world. Provision by God Himself. Protection from the judgment of God upon this world.

Are You Bearing God’s Image?

I would say, Joseph was bearing God’s image. This does not mean that Joseph was perfect. No human being is, except the man of God, Jesus Christ. Bearing God’s image means: Having a powerful faith in God and a positive response to others.
Judah and his brothers went from intellectual faith, to emotional faith, and eventually to transforming faith.They are now bearing the image of God. They are now acting according to God’s Word. Now it’s not just faith, now it’s faith that works according to God’s Word.
They all passed the exam of attitudes.
Humanly speaking, the average Christian would not bear God’s image when faced with people who have done them such wrong. We would demand from the guilty to feel some of the humiliation and shame we felt when they did wrong. We know that they don’t deserve anything good coming their way. BUT LISTEN TO JOSEPH, a man who bears the image of God.

A Feast of Grace

Instead of presenting Benjamin to the Egyptian ruler and with that releasing Simeon from Prison and the charges of being spies being dropped, THEY RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO A BANQUET.
William Shakespeare, in King Henry VI, WROTE: “Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” Listen, guilt will always do that to all of us. Guilt has the power to cause us to say strange things at strange times. An Egyptian explaining to God’s chosen people what their God is doing. They could not see it, because they feared the worst.

We Have A Higher Calling

Jacob’s sons had a past that needed to be addressed by the Lord because their conscience constantly condemned them for what they had done. And as God’s chosen people, they have to confront this issue head on. Because GODLY CHARACTER IS A PREREQUISITE TO RULERSHIP. God will spare no pain in bringing us back to where we belong. Jacob’s sons are about to enter into God’s recovery program. There is no recovery from guilt and sin without facing them. The fruit of a grapevine is always on the new growth. This is the reason for pruning the vine. Without new growth there is little or no fruit.
God is always reminding his children that they have a higher calling than just making a living down here on earth. He is training them for ruler ship and insecurity is something that needs to be dealt with. Receiving God’s grace always brings us to a position of conviction of our sins. The gift of grace should always bring us to the place of repentance, a place that reminds us of our higher calling. Living for God and bringing Him glory.

Be an Outlet for God’s Blessings

The sovereignty of God. But what does that mean. It means that God has a very specific plan and purpose for all of us. It is always perfect in it’s wisdom and perfect in it’s timing.
HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE RULED BY SOMEONE WHO KEEPS ALL THE BLESSINGS FOR HIMSELF AND TREATS HIS SUBJECTS WITH CONTENT?
Joseph said to Pharaoh, listen, I am not the one who has the wisdom and knowledge to interpret dreams. Such wisdom belongs to God. He is the one who will give Pharaoh the answer, not me. He probably will use me to do it, but it does not come from me. Apart from Him, I am nothing. Joseph did not receive such honor to absorb it for his own good and to bake in the Egyptian sun of power and prestige. God wanted Joseph to be an outlet of His blessings. He now had all the power to provide and protect for all the people under his care.

Do Not Be A Dimmer-Switch

Studying the attitudes of Joseph and his two fellow prisoners will teach us a great lesson of God’s way of preparing us for ruler ship. Nothing will dim the light of God in and through us faster than murmuring and complaining. The Bible reveals to us that such attitudes will hinder the Holy Spirit to work through us, and without Him we cannot shine the light of God into this dark world. How did Joseph manage not to be a dimmer switch, not to turn the spiritual light down, but to shine brightly in a dark prison, surrounded by complaining people? Joseph was God’s servant who refused to become a dimmer-switch. Spiritual maturity is not something which we receive when we finally give up our selfish life and surrender it to Jesus Christ.
As born again believers, we become candidates for spiritual maturity, but it is God who designs which classes we have to take and what circumstances we have to face. PROBLEMS ARE GOD’S GIFTS TO US TO MAKE US STRONGER. PROBLEMS ARE THE BLESSINGS TO MAKE US MATURE. Your circumstances do not make you the way you are. Negative situations do not make us, they simply reveal who we are. Believing and embracing what God has promised to us will make us loving Him more and through this love He will manifest himself through us to the world.

The Value of Hard Times

In 1963, an Anglican bishop by the name of John Robinson, published a book entitled, HONEST TO GOD, in which he coined the term: NEW MORALITY. Three years later, in 1966, Robinson was joined by Joseph Fletcher, the former dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Cincinnati. Both, Robinson and Fletcher suggested that the new morality allowed a person to choose a loving response for any situation. In other words, the New Morality took authority from the hands of God and placed it in the hands of men, allowing selfish permissiveness that suggested, “If no one gets hurt, anything goes!”
As we are being prepared to rule and reign with Christ on day, studying Joseph’s life will give us insight what kind of schooling we need and WHAT KIND OF TESTING WE WILL HAVE TO FACE. Prosperity and success is not a matter of CIRCUMSTANCES, but a matter of CHARACTER. When a man begins to develop a sense of satisfaction in his accomplishments, he opens himself up to temptation. And as we learn from Joseph, it takes a man of character to defeat that sort of temptation.
Joseph overcame because he had a conviction and he was loyal.