You Are Powerful

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

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Many people are going through life fearing what lies ahead - afraid to speak and act - operating in a mode of timidity, uncertainty, and apprehension.

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Yet God, through His Spirit, offers a better way; power, love, and self-discipline.

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This means that we can - you can - be boldly confident - courageously assured in all things. We are given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. And we are called and commissioned to use this power to affect others for Jesus - in love - and to live a life of obedience to Jesus - through self-discipline.

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Today, own this. Be filled with God’s Spirit. Be powerful. Be loving. Be obedient. Be self-disciplined.  

Turn It Over

The other night my wife and I were talking and we began to talk about the kids and the school year ahead. This school year has us - and them a bit nervous. Shave moved to a new community - one that is double in size from our precious one - one that includes much more cultural diversity - one where they do not know many others. While there is excitement in this "newness", there is also some concern in all our minds. 

So, the other night my wife and I were talking about our concerns and stating that are most concerned about our oldest daughter - who she will befriend and how it might influence her. 

I told my wife, we will have to make sure that she is hanging out with a good group of friends. To which my wife responded, the problem is, we don't know who the good friends are. 

Hours later, as I laid in bed, drifting off to sleep, I thought more about this. It's true, we don't know who the good friends are - we don't know who to point her to  - but God does. And, if we believe that He is in control of every aspect of life - and if we believe that He cares for our children - and  if  we believe that He answers us when we call out to Him - shouldn't we ask Him? 

So, after talking to my wife - and after  worrying about this matter for several hours - I decided to submit it all to God.

Is there anything that is keeping you up tonight? Is there any situation that you wish you could let go of and find peace in? Is there a burden in your life that seems to weigh you down with anxiety or fear? 

Why not turn it over to God? Do it right away. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:6 NIV

What Would You Do?

On Sunday we started a journey in a sermon series we are calling “On A Plane”. As I think of the scenario of being on an airplane and the level of complete trust – complete faith – that is placed in the hands of an airline pilot, I cannot help but think of being behind the yoke of a commercial jet myself.

Can you imagine the responsibility of having to navigate a commercial jet safety to the ground while the lives of multiple others rest in your hands? What if this responsibility was thrust upon you without any prior training?

What would you do? Do you take the yoke of the plane and try the best you can? Do turn and run out of the cockpit – I’m not the person for the job? Do you scramble around, looking for instructions on how to fly? Do you cry out for help from someone – anyone – “HELP ME!” 

What would you do?

Although most of us will never find ourselves behind the yoke of a commercial jet – having to navigate it through the sky – we all face situations – everyday – that are more urgent and more serious than flying a commercial airplane with no training!

What do we do? Do we turn and run – throw in the towel – “God this is not for me!” Do we look within ourselves – “I have all the knowledge and strength – I can handle this all on my own!” Or do we cry out for help from the God that has created us, the God that loves us, the God that is powerful enough to lead us through? 

What do you do? What will you do?

Rejoice - Pray - Peace

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

This is a Scripture passage that I often struggle with. While I find it easy to be joyful in many of the circumstances of my life, I find it very difficult to be without anxiety. Often times I feel like this is just the way that I am, this is the way that God has made me. If you are struggling with anxiety this morning, if you have moments of your life that you are fearful of what is going to happen next or how you are going to find your way through a certain situation, this morning’s message is for you!

There are two commandments that we will look at this morning as we walk through this passage together, two requirements of a Christian that Paul writes of. The first commandment given to all Christians can be found in verse 4.

REJOICE ALWAYS!

Rejoice in the Lord always. This means that regardless of the day, whether it is dark or bright, whether it is difficult or easy, whether it brings problems and temptations or a clear path to success. We are commanded to rejoice. He repeats it, in case we missed it the first time: “again I say, Rejoice.” 

Joy is something that we cannot produce ourselves; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, sometimes we forget this! Many of us are familiar with the fruit of the Spirit, we rattle it off and go on with our lives, Galatians 5:22-33; “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This same chapter in Galatians gives a list of the characteristics that oppose the fruits of the Spirit and goes on to warn that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”. I would urge you to read Galatians chapter 5 this next week and gauge where you stand with the fruits of the Spirit. Gauge where you stand in your joyfulness.

You see, you can’t be a Christian with power if you lack joy, that’s what gets up the steam. Joy in the Lord is the source of power.  A successful salesman is a happy one. None of us have ever gone into a store to buy something and had some sad salesman begin to cry on our shoulder when we asked about something in the store! Of course not. He begins to smile and tell us how wonderful hisproduct is. On the same hand, how can we be good witnesses of what Christ is if we are not joyful, if the world cannot see the joy within our lives of the power that is Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior? 

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Paul believed that the Lord would soon return and he wanted to remind others of this truth. We should be willing and eager to do the same with joyful hearts.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

In his inaugural address Franklin Roosevelt said: “let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”. Perhaps this is where you are today. We have no lack of things to be fearful of and to be anxious about. But, you see, Paul took a different approach, which is where we find our second commandment of the passage. 

WORRY ABOUT NOTHING, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!

Paul says that we are to worry about nothing because we are to pray about everything. This means that we are to talk to the Lord about everything in our lives. Nothing should be left out.  If joy in the Lord is the source of power, prayer is the secret of the power.

The word “petition” caught my eye as I read this verse, by prayer and petition, other versions use the word “supplication” but I like the word petition. If we have a request, a need, God says bring it to me, I want to know what you desire, I want to know what needs you have so that I can meet them. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “approach the throne of grace, the throne of God, with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” When we think of a petition we think of a list of names brought before a person or a committee to show support or displeasure over something. When I think of praying by petition I think of bringing my request before God day after day, I think of sharing my requests with others and asking them to pray for me and with me over this request until I am clear on the Lord’s answer. ”. And God answers every request that we bring before Him, sometimes the answer is not yet, sometimes it’s just no. Often times the best answers that we receive for our requests is no. A prayer by petition lets the Lord know that this need is important enough to you to talk to Him about, that you believe that He is your source of hope, that you believe He is able to meet this need and you are trusting in Him to do so.

As believers we need to get in the habit of bringing everything to Him in prayer, nothing excluded. And Paul says that when we go to God with a request, thank Him. Thank Him right then and there. Paul never lets prayer become a leap in the dark. It rests on a foundation. 

Romans 10:17 says that faith comes through hearing and hearing comes from the Word of God. Prayer rests on faith and faith rests on the word of God. Romans 5 says “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ , through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” 

REJOICE ALWAYS!

WORRY ABOUT NOTHING, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!

Given these two commandments, what is the outcome? What will follow? Paul tells us in verse 7. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:7)

The Scripture speaks of other kinds of peace which we can understand. There is world peace. We have the assurance that someday peace will cover the earth as waters cover the sea. And it will come through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Jesus said in John 14:27; “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

As we close this morning allow me to summarize by saying, prayer does change things. But that is not the primary purpose of prayer. We entered this passage in anxiety, with worry, and we come out of the passage with peace. Between the two was prayer. Have things changed? Not really. The storm may still be raging, the waves still rolling high, the thunder still resounding. In our anxiety we want God to change everything around us. “Give us this.” “Don’t let this happen.” “Open up this door.” We should be praying, “Oh God, change me.” Prayer is the secret of power. We enter with worry, we can come out with peace. Joy is the source of power, prayer is the secret of power.

Promised To Abram

Reading from Genesis 12 this morning I was reminded of Abram and the promises that God established with him. 

I will make you into a great nation.

I will bless you.

I will make your name great.

I will make you a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you.

I will curse those who curse you.

I will bless all people through you. 

So, Abram left, as the Lord had told him to. Abram followed the call and the command of God and he set off for the land that God had promised to him. 

But, due to a famine in the land, Abram and his wife Sarai stopped in Egypt. And, despite all the protection and provision that God had promised him, Abram was afraid and decided to take matters into his own hands. 

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I would be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

Just to be clear, Abram, knowing God's promise - His plan, His protection, and His provision - was afraid for his life. And, out of fear and lost faith. Abram then decided that it would be best to abandon God's promises and give up his wife to save his own skin. This is not just selfish, this is sinful. 

And yet, we find ourselves doing this daily. Perhaps we don't act to this degree, yet we often abandon what God has called and commanded us to and act in our own wisdom. Perhaps we don't act to this degree, yet we often treat our loved ones abusively - emotionally, verbally, or physically - out of selfishness. 

Let us consider this account of Abram's life as an example. Let us remember on what God has called and commanded us to. Let us focus on God's promises - His plan, His protection, and His provision - over us.

Tired of The Construction

I don't want to complain BUT...the construction in our town is "driving" me crazy! Main Street has been torn up for over a month now.

·        there is a huge gulf on one side of the street that I'm afraid I'm going to catch my front tire on and flip my car over. 

·        there are those huge orange barrels that we have to navigate around to avoid

·        the main traffic light near our house has been a 4-way stop for a almost a month and you never know when you'll get stopped by the construction going on and add several minutes to any trip

·        many of the turn lanes through town are nonexistent - either that or the side roads are inaccessible due to the construction 

 

I'M TIRED OF IT!

 

I think about the construction on Main Street, and I consider the words of Isaiah 57:14; "Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."  Then it occurs to me that many of us try to live our lives in the midst of construction - in the midst of broken roads, huge orange construction barrels, stopped traffic and traffic jams, and inaccessible roads. 

I'M TIRED OF IT!

"Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."

 

·        When there is a huge gulf on the side of the road we operate in fear; fear of what might lie ahead, fear of being drifting off, fear of crashing. 

·        When there are huge orange barrels in the middle of the road we are restricted; having to carefully navigate; change lanes, take detours, restricted to the lanes these barrels keep us in

·        When there is constant construction traffic we are frustrated; we stop moving; we stop growing, we stop moving

·        When the turn lanes and side roads are closed, we lose access; to God's joy for us, God's power in us, and God's peace over us

 

I'M TIRE OF LIVING MY LIFE LIKE THIS! ARE YOU? 

 

"Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."

 

Build up the road to God – Remove the obstacles in your life

 

Isaiah 57 goes on to state that:

 

• God desires to revive your spirit and your heart (15)
• God desires to heal you and restore comfort to you (18)
• God desires to grant you rest and peace (21)

 

Build up the road to God – Remove the obstacles in your life

 

What are the obstacles in your life that keep you for true peace?

• What are the obstacles in your life keeping you for God?
• Let God remove these obstacles for you.
• Stop living a life of limitation
• Take full access of God’s life for you

Fear and Uncertainty In The Garden

As we draw closer to Resurrection (Easter) Sunday, I want to continue to bring focus to the final days - the final hours - of Jesus' life before His crucifixion. This week I wanted to look at the arrest of Jesus. Jesus' arrest is recorded in each of the four Gospels, however each of the Gospel writers included descriptive details that add to the account. So, below is the account of Jesus' arrest as told by the four Gospel writers to give us the most vivid detail of what happened on that night in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

John 18:2-12

² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.(swords and clubs) ⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” ⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ Again he asked them,  “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

Mark 14:44-45

⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 

Luke 22:48-49

⁴⁸ but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”⁴⁹ When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 

John 18:10-11

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) ¹¹ Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Luke 22:51

“No more of this!” And Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him.

Matthew 26:52-54

⁵² “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

John 18:12

¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him

Mark 14:48-52a

⁴⁸ “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me.

Luke:22:53b

But this is your hour – when darkness reigns

Matthew26:56a

But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled

Mark 14:50

⁵⁰ Then everyone deserted him and fled. ⁵¹ A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him,⁵² he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. (This is widely believed to have been John Mark)

After reading this account it is obvious that there was much fear. The soldiers and religious leaders were afraid of the crowds and/or a riot Peter was afraid of defeat. The disciples were afraid of embarrassment and/or persecution. But Jesus was confident in God’s will for Him and God’s plan for humanity.  

Likewise, there was an uncertainty in the air that night as Jesus was arrested and was led away by the Roman officials and the religious leaders of the day. This is what darkness - sin, evil, Satan - does, fear gives way to uncertainty and it drives a wedge between us and God. If we are not faithful to Him we find that we are running - scared and embarrassed - and we may find it difficult to return to The One who is able to comfort us, calm us, and saves us from our deepest fears and uncertainty. 

When God Says Go...

If you ever played games as a child, I'm sure you took part in "Simon Says" or "Red Light, Green Light". There are many more similar games that remind me of one important truth regarding life and following directions.

When God says "GO" you "go"!

I don't want to ever forget this, and I hope you don't either. See, it's often easy to go where God calls us - when it is apparent that He is calling us in a particular direction and when it is clear that He is saying "go".

What is more difficult it's to stay still when anxiety, fear, or discouragement are upon us.

Sometimes we just feel like running, we feel like hiding, we feel like going when and where God has not called us to "go".

But I don't ever want to "go" where God is not calling me. I don't ever want to run and hide because of fear or discouragement. 

When God says "GO" you "go". When He does not you "be still"

A Life of Freedom

The escaped prisoner is still on the loose (see previous post for more information) and he is reported to still be in the Robinson area.

My wife and I went driving around town this afternoon. As we did I could not help but notice the absence of people - especially children; very few people walking down the sidewalk, no one playing at the park, very few people out in their yards.

It occurs to me - as I sit in my living room, all of our doors and windows closed, not allowing our children to go outside - that many are acting as prisoners in their homes today. Many are sitting behind closed - some locked - doors in fear and apprehension of what could be.

The same is true for many as they live their lives in fear; so many are lacking the knowledge, so many are lacking the hope, so many are lacking the freedom that can be found in Christ.

And those of us that have the knowledge, understand the hope, and have experienced the freedom that is found on Jesus need to be sharing His truth with those  who are so desperately in need.

No one needs to live a life of fear!

No one needs to live a life of hopelessness!

No one needs to live a life of imprisonment!

 

Jesus has set us free!

Let us get out and share His truth with the world.

Be Alert and Stay Focused

The escaped convict from the prison is still on the loose (see previous post here). I wrote before that I was not afraid, I was not apprehensive, I was not fearful.

Last night my wife reminded me that I had forgotten to lock the car doors and she thought that it would be a good idea if I did. I walked out into the darkness of the night (with both the front porch light and the driveway post light shining brightly), the entire twenty feet from our front door to our car door I looked around as if someone were going to attack at any moment. After pushing the "lock" button and shutting the car door I began to walk confidently back toward the front door of the house. Just as I reached for the door knob the car let out a loud "BEEP"! As I quickly turned the door knob I was sure glad no one else was around to see the panic on my face and the hop in my step through the door.

Even today, as I put the dog out, take the trash out, walk over to the church, and do many of my routine actions, I would not say I am afraid, I would not classify it as fear. I would, however, admit to anyone that I talk to that I am on guard.

Knowing that this man is on the loose, that he has attacked an armed guard, and that he has made his way across town - probably coming straight through our neighborhood. I would freely admit that I am on guard. And this guy has no idea who I am or where I live. He does not want to attack me or my family. He is not my enemy and yet, here I am, alert and on guard against him.

Yet, the Bible states that we do have an enemy that is waiting to attack us and Peter  gives us - as believers - some instruction; Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith... (1 Peter 5:8-9).

What does this mean? It means that Satan is our enemy and he is plotting, he is planning, he is waiting - prowling to get closing, crouching in the shadows - for the most opportune moment to attack and devour you. Satan is looking for the moment that he can attack, eat you up, spit you out and move on to his next victim. And we are to be clear-minded and sober - not allowing anything else to take our focus off of Jesus - not allowing anything else to cloud our judgment. We are to be sober and alert - on guard - so that we can resist the attacks of our enemy and stand firm in Christ Jesus.

A Response To Fear

This Sunday's sermon covers the letter to the church in Smyrna from Revelation 2:8-11. As I read and studied today I was struck by the word fear. Not because it appears in the letter bit because it is something that predicates our culture today.

In the letter to the church in Smyrna, God basically states his knowledge of their suffering and persecution and offers them encouragement during this period of persecution.

But as I considered this letter, I kept coming back to "fear". Specifically, I was reminded of Matthew 10:28; "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell".

We fear a lot these days, but most of the things we fear are not to be feared at all. But, i drew comfort in knowing that although we fear a lot in our culture today, we are not alone and we are not the first. Reading in Genesis and Exodus this afternoon I was reminded of some of our fearful ancestors.

With all that happened to Joseph by the hands of his brothers and by the will of God. After all that Joseph did to bless and provide for his father and his brothers. Genesis 50:15 tells of the fear his brothers had following their father's death; "When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”

And in Exodus 1 we read of the fear of Egypt; "A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

Fear forces the fearful to respond. Joseph's brothers bowed and pleaded for their lives, Egypt's Pharaoh oppressed and murdered the Israelites. Yet both fears were unwarranted.

The first question for us must be, what do we fear. Next we should ask if it is a warranted fear. And finally we need to decide what our response to our fear is going to be.

Do Not Fear

It has been several months since our three-year old son had his mouth washed out with soap. It was the one and only time he tasted soap and it seemed to be the only solution for his new habit of biting anytime he was agitated or aggravated. And, although this discipline occurred several months ago, he seems to be living in fear that we will wash his mouth out at any time. Tonight, in fact, he broke out crying in fear that I would wash his mouth out with soap.

Fear was something I spoke about this past Sunday. The shepherds first response to the glory of God was fear or terror (Luke 2). Yet they had no reason to fear the glory of God, and neither do we! We are called to fear God out of reverence but not out if sheer terror of Him.

But, it seems to me that some people - even those who have believed and trusted in God for decades - seem to live in a state of fear. This does not make sense to me and I don't believe that God desires or appreciates this state of terror from His creation and His children.

In our world today we have plenty of people, places, and situations that we are told to fear. Yet the message of God is clear this Christmas; "do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy".