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.

"Prayer" Tagged Sermons

ARE YOU CONTAGIOUS?

Chuck Swindoll in his book “The Church Awakening” wrote:
“It is precisely these four areas the adversary will attack so he can disrupt and, if possible, destroy the church. That’s why it’s important to keep our priorities straight. It’s essential that we do not get distracted by all that we CAN do as a church…and stay focused on only what we MUST do as a church. Otherwise we may be attracting a crowd for the wrong reasons.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book “Life Together” wrote:
“The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we ARE sinners! But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says:
You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He wants you alone. “My son, give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner.”
Warren Wiersbe in his book “On Being a Servant of God” writes:
Christian service means invading a battleground, not a playground; and you and I are the weapons God uses to attack and defeat the enemy. When God used Moses’ rod, He needed Moses’ hand to lift it. When God used David’s sling, He needed David’s hand to swing it. When God builds a ministry, He needs somebody’s surrendered body to get the job done.”

LIVING BY BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES

Question of the week:
We all know that the Bible clearly states that we are Ambassadors of Jesus Christ, that is, we are representative of the Heavenly Kingdom on this earth. As such, we do not have authority beyond what has been bestowed upon us to represent the King of Heaven. Why is this kingdom principle of uttermost importance to make a wife/husband relationship fulfilled and blessed? You may want to study John 5:18-23 to find the kingdom principle at work.

THE SAME GOD STILL REIGNS

Jonah was sent back by the Lord to fulfill his ministry to the arch enemy of Israel. Remember, Jonah was a patriot. He was a prophet to Israel. He knew that their God is in the business of restoring Israel no matter how bad they treated God and how often they followed idols. But that same mercy and forgiveness did not belong to those who invaded Israel and where bend on destroying them for good. But a prophet of God has no business to formulate his own message. If we like the message or not does not matter.
Remember, the Apostle Paul was once a persecutor of God’s people, the follower of Christ, just as the Assyrians who lived in Nineveh where enemies of Israel. Never forget, God is in the Restoration business. 40 days and it’s all over was the message. You deserve judgment for your wicked deeds. And Jonah liked the message. He understood the meaning of the number 40.
Jonah is watching all this unfold before his very eyes. He cannot believe what he sees and hears. Must be a foxhole conversion. I know these people. They are evil to the core. Their ancestors are evil and their founding father is no other than Nimrod. Impossible!
God looked at the heart of the people in Nineveh. They genuinely repented and sought the Lord for mercy. Jonah could not believe such a thing. Salvation in done in the heart of people. Jonah was not long ago resurrected from the dead by God’s power, he was in Sheol and yet he did not see what God was doing in the heart of men. That’s God’s business. God decides where he is reigning. The people of Nineveh repented and because of that their hearts were right with God. As a matter of fact, God gave this city another 100 years before they finally were defeated in the famous battle of Carchemish, 605 B.C.
Jonah knew how merciful God is because he himself experienced that mercy on many occasions. But extending that mercy and compassion on his enemies was more than he could handle. Jonah had his own plan how God should reign in the lives of those inhabitants of Nineveh. Now Jonah changes his prayer. He asked God to let him die. This time for good. He has done his job. He made it to Nineveh and he preached God’s message. I am done, he said to God. Jonah rather would die than see the enemy of Israel experience God’s compassion. In other words, Jonah believed that moment that it would be better to die than physical life in a world dominated by the hated Assyrians.
I am glad God reigned in the life of Jonah and he still reigns in our life. Jonah once again experiences God’s mercy and compassion. The Lord was not finished yet with his prophet. God gently rebukes his prophet with a question: “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Then God teaches his prophet another lesson. Jonah knew how to prophesy and how to preach God’s messages. But he did not yet understand God’s love and God’s grace. So God uses a simple plant and a tiny worm to teach his prophet the next lesson. With great compassion, just as the Lord PREPARED a great fish, He also PREPARED a plant, He also PREPARED a worm, and He also prepared a strong east wind. Who do you think reigns supreme here? Jonah or God Almighty?
God prepared all these things just for Jonah. He calling and his ministry was never in question. What God was doing is showing Jonah how compassionate he is towards all people, towards Jonah as well as the people in Nineveh. He has a purpose for everyone.
Why did Jonah not get it? He was more interested in BEING RIGHT than being a tool in God’s hand.
The same God that called Jonah to go to Nineveh is the same God who calls us to be witnesses unto Him. He still reigns the same way He did during the time of Jonah. We have been set free, but we are not free to do what we want to do, but rather what HE has commanded us to do. Doing His will is experiencing absolute FREEDOM. HALLELUJAH!!!

IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD

In the World, but not of the World!
These are hard sayings and for many of us difficult to understand. Yet, at the same time, it is imperative that we take a closer look at the words spoken by our Savior Jesus Christ during His great intercession recorded here in the Gospel of John.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus was constantly a witness of God’s faithfulness. Whatever He said, whatever He did on this earth, it always pointed to the Father’s faithfulness.
Let me explain a very difficult subject regarding glory. When we seek glory, we do so at the expense of the glory of God. Not so with Jesus, because the glorification of the Son is the glorification of the Father. In other words, when the Son is exalted, so is the Father, because they are ONE. Here in this prayer, Jesus simply asked the Father for His glory back because He knew that He must be lifted up on the cross in order to be lifted up in the sight of the angels.
Jesus was ready to go home to be with His Father once again because His work on earth for which He came was about to be finished. He was the witness of the Father’s faithfulness without exception. He finished the work the Father has given Him.
According to Jesus own words found in verse 17, sanctification comes through the Word of God. The Word of God is the instrument God uses to separate us from this world system we are living in. It is that truth that eventually defines godly relationships. Or saying it another way, you cannot have godly relationships without being in the truth. And you cannot understand what a godly relationship looks like without understanding the content of the Gospel, the Word of God.
Neither can you and I understand what it means to LIVE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT BE OF THE WORLD apart from understanding the Word of God. It is the Word of God that will separate us, that will sanctify us, that will protect us from the Evil one.
This world may call us whatever they want, but a Christians true IDENTITY is not found in this world, but is FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE. We may live in spiritual Babylon today, but we are not OF SPIRITUAL BABYLON.
Understanding and Obeying the truth, the Word of God, will sanctify us, will separate us, will protect us from ever becoming a part of spiritual Babylon, becoming a part of this world. Daniel understood this and so should we. We are living in this world to glorify God. We can endure all things THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US. Daniel could endure, so can we. Daniel never compromised the Truth, instead he studied and obeyed the truth.

Mothers Are Made By God

The Apostle Paul is telling the church at Ephesus that as followers of Christ, we must HONOR OUR FATHER AND MOTHER, which is the first commandment with promise.
What is the promise? That it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. That does not mean that everything in life will go according to our plans. NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE, Jesus prayed to His father. And yet, Jesus Himself HONORED HIS MOTHER ON THIS EARTH.
Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was truly blessed among women, yet God made this women the faithful mother she was. So does He with every women who is willing to respond to God as Mary did: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Mother’s you are specially made by God with a very specific purpose.
When God brought you through it all, your job is not yet done. There is one more thing God will bless you with, and that is to become a TEACHER, AN EXAMPLE, TO THE YOUNGER MOTHERS WHO SO DESPERATELY WANT TO PLEASE THE LORD AND FULFILL THEIR CALLING

Release The Four Angels

Remember, when this trumpet judgment occurs, the time for mercy will have passed; that’s the reason John sees the altar of mercy that has now turned into the altar of judgment. In other words, the complete rejection of God’s offer of salvation will now bring forth the final judgment of sin.People always say, the God of the Bible will never judge anyone. He is loving and merciful, forgiving forever. They forget, that the time of love and mercy will run its course, not because God wants it that way, but because MAN WANTS IT THAT WAY.
This is a picture of those who watched Jesus walking this earth, doing good, performing miracles, feeding thousands by multiplying bread and fish, healing the sick, raising the dead, YET AT THE END THEY ALL CRIED WITH ONE VOICE, CRUCIFY HIM. They have chosen to harden their hearts when they heard the Good news, when the Prophets of Old warned them they laughed, because they have chosen to worship DEMONS. But until that day, we are to proclaim the truth that the same God who will judge this world one day, is the same God that still extends mercy and grace to all humanity so that we might snatch them out of the fire.