July 2, 2015

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14

Let’s get more specific with the “ifs” and “thens” of this great promise from God to His people!

There are three “ifs” God requires of His people in order to enjoy His four “thens”. Let’s review them together!

“if my people, who are called by my name, will HUMBLE themselves”

Humility is a natural and appropriate response when His people remember who He is and who they are. He is THE Holy, Righteous, Almighty, Everlasting, All-Wise, Ever Present God of the universe and you are a fallen, flawed, arrogant, self-centered, sinful wretch. It is only His grace that has kept you from being destroyed and sent to a horrific hell for eternity.

If you have trouble humbling yourself before God you may have lost touch with the reality of Who He is and who you are. When you put Him in His rightful place it will put you in your proper realization and that should put you on your face before God.

“…if my people…..PRAY….”

God’s people, the people who are called by His Name, are people who pray!

Prayer is how His people talk to Him and hear from Him and involve Him in their daily lives.

How can you be in a relationship with someone, especially someone as significant as God, unless you often pray?

“….if my people…..SEEK MY FACE….”

God’s people humble themselves.

God’s people pray.

God’s people seek His face.

What does it mean to seek His face?

It means to prepare your heart so you are able to come into His presence and find His pleasure. When you want to establish intimacy with someone you must look into his face. That’s the great desire of those who are called by His Name!

“….if my people….TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS….”

You cannot bring your sinful attitudes and desires into the presence of God. To call upon Him and seek His face requires confession of sins and turning from sinful practices.

Repentance is the evidence of a deep and sincere sorrow over the sinfulness of your heart and the evil that results from that. Repentance is an intention to turn away from those sins and call upon God to change your heart and your mind.

IF you will do these four things He desires, these four things that will allow you to have an intimate relationship with Him, THEN He will keep His promises!

It’s your move!

July 1, 2015

“ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14

God’s love is unconditional but His promises aren’t. There is always an “if, then” condition in the promise. He has always delivered on the “then” when people act on the “if”.

The second part of this promise identifies who the promise is addressed to “if MY PEOPLE, WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME”.

Are you one of His people?

Are you called by His Name?

You are if you have received Christ as your Savior by repentance, confession and faith.

If so, this promise is for you!

God’s promises are always directed to His people.

God’s plans are always executed through His people who keep His promise.

God’s power is demonstrated through His people who keep His promise and carry out His plan.

How can God work if He can’t work through His people?

How can He work through His people if His people won’t keep His promises?

How can people be called by His name and not keep His promises?

Obviously it happens and that is what leads to the need for repentance and forgiveness.

Only a person who is called by His name can be guilty of disobedience because they know what is required of them.

So, are disobedient people who call themselves by His name partially responsible for the ills that befall their nation?

If so, what should they do?

If so, shouldn’t they do it soon?

What will you do?

When?

June 30, 2015

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14

This is one of the best known verses to guide us in intercessory prayer for our Nation. Since we plan to devote time for that in our service this week it is worth devoting time to this week!

Before I begin sharing my thoughts on this verse, I want to share some encouraging news to illustrate the power of intercessory prayer. It was my privilege to have lunch with a missionary and his wife who worshiped with us at FredWes yesterday. They serve with YWAM in the south east part of India. As we visited I asked him if he has experienced what missionaries in Africa and other Muslim areas are reporting – Christ appearing to Muslims in visions and dreams leading them to convert to Christianity. He exclaimed, “Oh, yes!”

As we speculated on this exciting phenomenon we agreed that it must have something to do with many prayers of intercession being offered up for the salvation of these Sons of Abraham.

James said it best, “The prevailing earnest prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16

We believe prayer is powerful because it connects us to an all-powerful God! That’s why the little to letter word at the beginning of this verse is significant! “IF”! “If my people….”

That phrase is powerful because:

1) It promises a “then”! If you will call on me THEN I will hear and answer! To get a THEN you must offer the IF!

2) It prescribes a commitment to faith and action. The Founder of our movement, John Wesley said, “Nothing happens except for prayer.”

3) It provides hope for His people in difficult times!

For these reasons and others we are calling the FredWes family to prayer in both services this next Sunday! We are doing this as a last desperate act of fearful people we are doing this as a faithful people who are fully convinced that when we commit to the “IF” God will commit to the “THEN”!

Sunday, July 5^th, we will honor our nation by giving ourselves to intercessory prayer for her. "IF" you can join us, then we will have more effective results!

June 29, 2015

"For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars, he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."  Psalms 33:4-11

These words were written centuries before the United States of America was ever thought of, so to apply the Psalm directly to our nation is foolish. However, truths and beliefs that are declared are timeless and bear resemblance to the principles upon which our Founders built our great nation.

I will highlight some of those for you in this post and I think you will see what I mean.

The Principles of Our Nation

Two of the founding principles upon which our great nation was established are mentioned here: righteousness and justice. Righteousness essentially means that we look to God to determine what is right and wrong and justice is the implementation of right and wrong. A sincere wholesale return to righteousness and justice would sure help restore our nation today!

In addition, there are a couple of big concepts mentioned here that were embraced by the Founders and contributed to the greatness of the USA.

"For the word of the LORD is right and true"

The "word of the Lord" refers to the Ten Commandments. Those commandments were highly regarded by many of the Founders and would form the foundation for our system of justice, morality, and in defining our God-given rights. For example:

The first four commandments form the basis for the following rights: The Freedom of Speech, The Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Religion.

Commandments five and seven form the foundation for the Sanctity of marriage and the primacy of the family.

The sixth commandment forms the right to life while the ninth suggests the right to justice under the law.

And the eighth and tenth commandments are the basis for the right to pursue, possess, and protect private property.

A representation of Moses with the Ten Commandments is etched on the wall of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.

A statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments is featured in the rotunda of the Library of Congress.

The Ten Commandments are symbolized in the floor of the National Archives Building in Washington , D.C.

Any objective scholarship will show the powerful impact that the Ten Commandments had on the Founders as they forged the founding documents upon with their new nation would be established. The "Word of the Lord" has proven "right and true" for generations of free Americans over its 235 years of existence.

Little did Moses know the incredible influence of those words God etched on the tablets he carried down from his encounter with God on Mt. Sinai. Several great nations have been built upon their timeless truths.

But Commandments are not kept or carried out by nations, they are observed by people - individuals like you and me. Each time you obey God's commandment and put it into practice you not only benefit yourself but you strengthen your nation! What better way to prove the "Word of the Lord right and true" than to do right and live in His truth? Are you doing that? Will you?

June 28, 2015

"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, does not boast, it is not proud." I Corinthians 13:4

Would you rather have a porcupine or a puppy for a pet?

Have you ever tried to cuddle a porcupine? Well, don't!

However, cuddling a puppy has been proven to be good for your emotional and mental health!

You may be thinking, "Brad, what are you talking about? How do you get porcupines and puppies out of this verse?"

"Love is patient, love is kind" means that God's love gives you the ability to take grief from someone and give them grace in return. That sounds like a puppy to me! No matter how mean you are to your dog it will always come back ready to lick your face.

Not so with porcupines. They can't even cuddle with each other because of their sharp quills that cause pain to whomever they get close to. 

That reminds me of jealousy, boasting and arrogance. Those attitudes manifested in your life make it hard for you to get close to other people without hurting them.  Others will find it hard to get close to you as well.

Love is patience and kindness.

Love is not jealousy, boasting or arrogance.

Patience is not jealousy, boasting or arrogance.

Kindness is not jealousy, boasting or arrogance.

So, if love is the "more excellent way" and you don't have it that's a problem!

Some of the problems created by jealousy, boasting and arrogance are:

- Comparing yourself to others always putting yourself in a more favorable light
- Competing with others to make you look better and others look worse
- Conspiring to undermine the success of others so you appear more successful
- Controlling situations and trying to control others so you will feel like you're in charge

None of those individually will make you more cuddly. Each will tend to push others away. All of them or any combination of them turn you into a full-fledged porcupine!

What should you do? How do you become a puppy and not a porcupine?

- Realize - you need God love and you haven't received it.           
- Repent - tell God you are tired of your jealousy, boasting and pride
- Receive - empty yourself and receive the fullness of His love by faith
- Readjust - live differently in the power of His Spirit and begin to love:

When tempted to compare I will compliment instead!

When tempted to compete I will celebrate instead!

When tempted to conspire I will contribute instead!

When tempted to control I will commit it to God instead!

If it were only that easy for real porcupines!

June 27, 2015

“Love is patient, love is kind. Love envies not; love flaunts not itself and is not puffed up.” I Corinthians 13:4

The Christian Faith is all about relationships, that is why love is such an indispensable factor in faith. Faith begins with a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and then must be expressed in fellowship with other Christ-followers.

That is also why attitudes like jealousy, boasting, and arrogance are so negative – because they harm relationships. It is hard to love someone who is jealous or boastful or arrogant. Some people are all three. If you have ever tried to live with such a person you know what I’m talking about.

Today I am focusing on arrogance. The Greek word for arrogance has the idea of “puffed up or inflated like a balloon”. So an arrogant person is one who is “inflated with self-importance” or you could say he is a wind bag.

My Mom has a saying about an arrogant person. She posits, “If I could buy him for what he is worth and sell him for what he thinks he is worth I’d become a millionaire!”

I admit that’s a bit harsh, but an arrogant person suffers with an overblown idea of his own importance and therefore struggles to appreciate the value of others. An arrogant person also has a hard time realizing his need for God or the love of God.

It was attitudes like jealousy, boastfulness and arrogance that caused the Apostle Paul to write Chapter 13 of the Corinthian letter. The church was being divided by competing selfish interests and out of control egos. Rather than completing each other they were competing against each other. A church in this condition cannot long survive.

Take the time to study the Chapters leading up to this chapter and you will understand why Paul felt compelled to teach these believers about “the more excellent way”. This most excellent way begins with patience and kindness. It is impossible to be patient or kind with a heart filled with jealousy, boasting and arrogance.

God loves the Church and designed it so it can only operate in the power of His love. He designed it to operate with a diversity of gifts that can only survive and thrive when united in His love through the Holy Spirit. Individual egos must be consecrated to God’s will, cleansed by the blood of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. Only then can believers complete each other rather than compete. It is the only hope for the Corinthian Church or for FredWes.

How is your attitude?

Do you have your ego under control?

Are you competing within your church or are you completing it?

June 26, 2015

“Love is patient, love is kind. Love envies not; love flaunts not itself and is not puffed up.” I Corinthians 13:4

Love is a big idea. It is so big that it could only come from God.

So love must me expressed in large yet simple terms.

Week one I summarized the big ideas of love being patient and kind this way – “Love gets grief and gives grace.”

We two I will sum up the negative traits of envy, boastfulness and arrogance in this phrase – “Love completes not competes”.

What do I mean by that?

Envy or jealousy is zealous to get what others have and to guard what it thinks others want to take.

Boastfulness throws a parade for itself! It flaunts and promotes itself above others.

Arrogance is the soil in which the seeds of envy and boasting grow and bear fruit.

A heart that harbors envy, boastfulness and arrogance has little room for love as great and pervasive as God’s love. Such attitudes lead you to compare and compete with others. You measure your self-worth and net worth in comparison to theirs. If you come out well in the comparison you will feel superior and if you don’t you will feel threatened. Take this story for example:

Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other's business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival. One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?" The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"

Those are the attitudes of envy, boastfulness and arrogance in action. As you can see, there is nothing even remotely loving about them. When you allow these attitudes to remain unchecked and you choose not to deal with them you will end up in a similar state as this merchant. It never ends well for those who live to compete and not complete.

Envy, boasting and arrogance are written into our nature. It is what we have inherited from Adam and Eve. These were the attitudes that led them astray. This “unholy trinity” is the cause of the majority of sinful acts committed by those who have not discovered the “more excellent way”. The presence of these attitudes denotes the absence of God’s Perfect Love.

God called you and me to complete each other not to compete against each other. He offers us a love that can so radically change us that we will become as happy for the success and prosperity of others as we would be for our own success!

Wow!

That’s hard! That’s a totally different spirit! It would take a miracle for that to happen!

Exactly!