February 25, 2014

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Hebrews 11:3

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

Between now and Easter, many in the FredWes family will be reading through the New Testament. I don't think we have any idea how that will bless our fellowship!

During this Lenten period I will be preaching a series of messages about the Bible, why I believe in it and why you should give it very serious consideration.

When you strip away all the complexities of 21st Century life (and that's not easy) life comes down to two great questions. Those questions are:

What is real?

What is right?

Maybe you have never taken time to think about it like that but you should. Here's why, whatever defines your reality and determines your morality will control your life.

I have chosen to allow God, primarily through His Word, to define my reality. I decided based on the clear proclamation of the Word of God that God is my Creator. 

Who better to depend upon to define my reality than the One who created me in the first place? Do you have a better idea?

Who better to build my reality around that the One Who has always been and always will be? It makes sense to me that whatever is eternal is more real than something temporary. Do you have a better idea?

Who better to base my reality upon that the only God Who revealed Himself in person in the person of Jesus Christ? He was real enough to be born, to live a humble but remarkable life, to die on a cruel Roman cross, and then to rise from the dead three days later.

What is more real than life?

What is more real than death?

And what is more reliable than a God Who is able to raise His Son back to life following His death? If He can overcome death, then He is more real than death is, right?

I know death is real. I have seen people die. So if Jesus Christ is more real than death, then He is a trustworthy person to define my reality! 

That seems real sensible to me!

What are you doing to get real?

February 24, 2014

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody."  Romans 12:17

Evil is easy to recognize in others.

But when it comes to owning up to the evil in you, that is a little tougher. You have your weak areas and your struggles, but you are not really evil. Right?

Let's see what Jesus has to say.

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell." Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:27-28

Would you admit that any person who would commit a murder is an evil person? Certainly you would admit that murder is an evil deed.

Well, Jesus said if you have ever been angry at another person you have an evil in you that is capable of murdering someone.

And He is also saying that if you have ever lusted for a woman, that indicates you have a evil that is capable of committing adultery.

So, getting angry or lusting after a woman indicate an inner evil resident within you. Are you evil? If you have done either or both of these then you have evil in you. Yes, you.

In this very chapter evil is defined and identified.

In verse one, evil is refusing to surrender spiritually to God.

Verse two identifies evil as being conformed to the world.

The third through eighth verses indicates evil is using your gifts for yourself rather than serving others. Or, it is not using them at all.

Verse 9 mentions embracing evil as something evil.

Verse 10 indicates that self-centered love is evil.

The rest of the chapter reveals that being overcome by evil is evidence of evil within you. Refusing to do the good thing or the right thing or the godly thing opens the door for evil in your life.

Then the question becomes, "What am I going to with that evil?"

Will you tolerate it? Will you ignore it and hope it goes away?

Or, will you confess it and repent of it and resist it every day? Admit that you are evil and ask God to cleanse it out of you by His blood and His Spirit.

February 23, 2014

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody."  Romans 12:17

When the writer of Romans penned these words I think he assumed that his readers would know what evil is. Nowadays that may not be the case:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liiD1XaRvqM

 Is evil a noun or is it a verb?

There is much confusion over that these days. Is evil something that is done by you or to you or is evil something you are? Is it a dark and powerful personal force within you or is it the harmful and hurtful things you do? That confusion contributes to many of our problems in our world today.

If we are going to overcome evil, obviously we must have a clear and actual understanding of what evil is.

A study of the whole 12th chapter will give you a good concept of what evil is.

V.1 - Evil is refusing to surrender your sinful nature to Christ.

V. 2 - Evil is conforming to the "world" or the "cosmos" in your thinking and your values.
          Evil is not desiring the will of God.

V. 3 - 8 - Evil is failing or refusing to serve God with your gifts and talents.

V. 9 - 13 - Evil is self-seeking and despising others.

V. 14- 20 - Evil is being conceited, spiteful and retaliatory toward those who disagree with you.

You will either overcome evil or it will overcome you. And until you deal with the evil that controls your nature, you will be overcome by evil.

So, evil is a noun.

It is a nature that dwells in you from the time of your birth. Being born evil you are also born separated from God. And that spiritual separation from God is the essence of your evil.

But, evil is also a verb!

It is because of the evil that dwells in you, evil guides your thoughts and decisions. Evil thoughts breed evil attitudes that are expressed in evil actions.

God calls you to be delivered from evil. You can choose to allow Him to deliver you and cleanse you from evil.

Or, you can be overcome by evil. Which will  it be today?

      

February 22, 2014

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

We know that Peter recovered from his "Peter moment" of failure and denial of Jesus to be enjoy a "Peter movement" as he launched the Church of Jesus Christ.

We know that Peter went from being a fan of Jesus to becoming a follower of Jesus.

We need to know how those transformations happened. How did Peter "power up"?

He "powered up" by the power of the Holy Spirit!

What is the power of the Spirit?

The power of the Holy Spirit is the power to worship. "...we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh." Phil. 3:3

The power of the Holy Spirit is the power of His will. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

The power of the Holy Spirit is the power to walk. "So I say, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

The power of the Holy Spirit is the power to witness. "And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

The power of the Holy Spirit is the power of wisdom. "But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth....." John 16:13

The power of the Holy Spirit is the power of oneness.  "All the believers were together and had everything in common." Acts 2:44

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and he was never the same! When he received the Spirit he received the holiness of God and love of Jesus.

Peter powered up! 

Have you been filled with His Spirit? 

Have you experienced the power He brings?

Receiving the Holy Spirit changed Peter from a fan to a follower.

Are you a fan of Jesus or are you His follower?

February 21, 2014

"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you. ”Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  John 21:15-19

As we finished up our fourth day of patching and painting a large recreation room in the lower level of the teen boy’s group home, I confess that I was wrestling with questions of, “Is this really worth being away from Barbara and my church family (and of course, Tyrod?)”

But then the Spirit checked me and reminded me that it was worth it to Him to have a nice bright place for His troubled, neglected and rejected teens to relax for a while.

He also reminded me that I had prepared the team members that much of ministry work is doing ordinary things with an extraordinary attitude. What sounds glamorous at first “A Mission Trip”, often comes down to doing pretty ordinary things that may seem insignificant at the time.

God called to my attention what Jesus said to Peter in this portion of Scripture. In fact, He said it three times! “Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep.”

When I listened to what Jesus says to Peter here and then meditated on it I understood Jesus was essentially telling Peter, “Peter, if you want to experience my love, make sure you express my love to others!” And those expressions of love usually happen in ordinary ways during ordinary days.

I would prefer to express His love in spectacular and supernatural ways, but usually the opportunities He gives me to demonstrate His love is in ordinary ways.

The types of things we have been doing for a few days here at Hephzibah are done every day by the committed staff of this necessary ministry. So, if we get bored by the ordinary imagine what it must be like for them!

God revealed to me through the Scripture portion above that the way to serve ordinary people in ordinary ways on ordinary days without losing the passion of our purpose is this – stay connected to the EXTRAORDINARY love of God! Experience it every day in the midst of the ordinary and express it each day through the ordinary tasks of life!

Will you connect with God today?

Will you experience His extraordinary love today?

Will you express that extraordinary love to someone on this ordinary day?

February 20, 2014

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

Imagine you have a glass that is partially filled with dirt. What will happen if you pour fresh cool water into that glass?

Or, if you have a glass of clear cool water and you dump a few tablespoons of dirt into that glass, how will that work out?

In either scenario you will end up with a glass of muddy water.

So, how do you get a glass filled with clear, cool water?

If you want it clear you must empty the dirt and clean the class.

And if you want it full of water you must empty everything else out of that class.

Only a clean empty glass can be filled with pure water.

So it is with the Holy Spirit. You cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit unless you are emptied of your sinful and selfish nature. 

And you can't receive the Spirit until you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

That is what happened to Peter that changed him from a fan of Jesus to a follower of Jesus.

It is what happened to Peter that changed him from denying Jesus to becoming a disciple.

Becoming Spirit-Filled is what filled him with "agape" love because God's Spirit is His perfect love! So, being filled with the Spirit is being filled with His love.

God's love IS the power of His Spirit!

The power of the Holy Spirit changed Peter from having a "Peter Moment" to starting a "Peter Movement".

Have you emptied yourself so you can be filled with His Spirit?

February 19, 2014

"The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. ”Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."  John 21:17

This is a DTR moment.

You have had them and I have had them and they are often awkward.

DTR stands for "define the relationship".

If you have been in a dating relationship for several months or more you have experienced a DTR moment where you sense that you are more than friends but you are not sure if she (he) is feeling the same way. So, you initiate the conversation to bring some definition to your relationship. The outcome of that conversation will determine if the friendship deepens, if it remains the same or if it ends. Each of those conclusions brings a definition to the relationship.

It is impossible for any relationship to grow and deepen without these DTR moments.

Jesus knew that Peter was confused and struggling in his faith since the devastating day that he denied Jesus three times. Not only had he lost confidence in himself but he was unsure of where he stood in his relationship with Jesus. 

So, Jesus came to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to find Peter and define their relationship. He did this because He had huge hopes for Peter and He needed to restore him. Peter needed to know how much Jesus loved him and he needed to admit his insufficient love for Jesus.

When that brief conversation was over Peter knew exactly where he stood in his relationship with Jesus and he knew exactly what he must do for the relationship to grow and deepen.

Since being a Christian is a relationship, DTR's are essential.

It takes a DTR to become a Christian. You have to confess that you have no relationship with Jesus because you are a sinner and you must ask Him to forgive your sins. When your sins are forgiven you can enter into a relationship with Jesus.

Then it requires daily DTR's to continue to develop your relationship with Christ. Your DTR moments will occur as you spend time in His Word and in prayer. It is nearly impossible to connect with God through the Word and through prayer and come away confused about your relationship with Him.

Have you had a DTR with God this morning?