Hello Everyone,
This is one of the most wonderful times of the year…it’s just a few days until Christmas and a lot of people are waiting with anticipation to see what gifts they getThe gifts are wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper, and then decorated with bows, and tinsel, and pretty ribbonsAnd the sad part is, there almost seems like a let down after you have unwrapped all of your giftsNot because you didn’t get what you wanted…but there is something magical about unwrapping those gifts in anticipation and excitement as to what is in the box beneath the bow.And probably most of us…if I were to ask…couldn’t remember what we got for Christmas last year. But I want all of us to know that there is a gift that we can unwrap everyday of our livesIt is “THE GIFT THAT TAKES A LIFETIME TO UNWRAP”…and I want us to look at that gift this week as we are on the doorstep of the celebration of Christmas.
First, I want us all to see that on that day…when baby Jesus came…He gave us all…AN INSTANT GIFTLuke 2:6-7 “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son”.Because of the birth of this baby…because of the life that now existed in Him…we all instantly received the gift of life…to never have to die againMatt 1:21-23 says: She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." It is an instant gift that God promises to all who would ask for it…John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
This gift “The Son of God” comes with an eternal warranty.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor Phil
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hello Everyone,
Do you know anyone who cannot sit still? They always have to be doing something. Even when sitting, their motor is running [leg shaking]!The Apostle Paul was like that…he always had to be preaching or witnessing or discipling or visiting.
He could have settled down comfortably in the large church at Antioch, but he didn’t…not as long as there were more people who needed to be reached, he had “itchy feet.”He didn’t view the church as a parking lot, but as a launching pad!We see in Acts 15:36-16:5 the beginning of Paul’s 2nd Missionary journey…and we’ll see here some essentials of effectively reaching the one:Number one thing that we need is The Right Passion.Today we would say “drive.” Some people are just driven…some have a passion for money…some for fame. And Paul’s passion was reaching the lost.1 Cor. 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
He’s saying, don’t pat me on the back because I witness and preach …I have to do these things…it’s in my bones!He’s saying, for me, witnessing is not an option…reaching the lost is not a suggestion…it’s a command! He was passionate about it.Another word for it is enthusiasm, which comes from 2 greek words: en and theos… “in God”! We can’t go wrong with enthusiasm.
It helps us do anything and do it better. Col. 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
You can’t have too much enthusiasm.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
Do you know anyone who cannot sit still? They always have to be doing something. Even when sitting, their motor is running [leg shaking]!The Apostle Paul was like that…he always had to be preaching or witnessing or discipling or visiting.
He could have settled down comfortably in the large church at Antioch, but he didn’t…not as long as there were more people who needed to be reached, he had “itchy feet.”He didn’t view the church as a parking lot, but as a launching pad!We see in Acts 15:36-16:5 the beginning of Paul’s 2nd Missionary journey…and we’ll see here some essentials of effectively reaching the one:Number one thing that we need is The Right Passion.Today we would say “drive.” Some people are just driven…some have a passion for money…some for fame. And Paul’s passion was reaching the lost.1 Cor. 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
He’s saying, don’t pat me on the back because I witness and preach …I have to do these things…it’s in my bones!He’s saying, for me, witnessing is not an option…reaching the lost is not a suggestion…it’s a command! He was passionate about it.Another word for it is enthusiasm, which comes from 2 greek words: en and theos… “in God”! We can’t go wrong with enthusiasm.
It helps us do anything and do it better. Col. 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
You can’t have too much enthusiasm.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Hello Everyone,
What does “Complete Surrender” look like? Read with me:
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
This brings with it the understanding that there is a breaking of my INDEPENDENCE with my own nature and a complete surrendering to the SUPRMANCY of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point every day of the year, but He can not put me through it.
It means the breaking of my carnal, natural desires, the breaking of my independence from God.
It is bringing my personality into oneness with Him, not for my own ideas, but for absolute loyalty to Christ.
Any thing else less than a total break from the old life is fraud.
This is what we must decide will I give up, will I surrender to Jesus Christ, and make NO conditions whatsoever of how the break comes.
As soon as the break from this world and my own desires comes, at that very point in time, the supernatural takes place at once, and the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable- “I have been crucified with Christ”.
The passion of being a believer is that I deliberately give up my own rights and become a bond-slave of Jesus Christ.
Until I do that, I do not begin to be a disciple of Christ.
One person a year who hears God’s call is reason enough for God to put our Church here.
As an organization the church is not worth anything, it is for nothing else but for God to help Himself to lives.
The questioned is, is He going to help Himself to us, or are we busy with our own agenda?
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
What does “Complete Surrender” look like? Read with me:
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
This brings with it the understanding that there is a breaking of my INDEPENDENCE with my own nature and a complete surrendering to the SUPRMANCY of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point every day of the year, but He can not put me through it.
It means the breaking of my carnal, natural desires, the breaking of my independence from God.
It is bringing my personality into oneness with Him, not for my own ideas, but for absolute loyalty to Christ.
Any thing else less than a total break from the old life is fraud.
This is what we must decide will I give up, will I surrender to Jesus Christ, and make NO conditions whatsoever of how the break comes.
As soon as the break from this world and my own desires comes, at that very point in time, the supernatural takes place at once, and the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable- “I have been crucified with Christ”.
The passion of being a believer is that I deliberately give up my own rights and become a bond-slave of Jesus Christ.
Until I do that, I do not begin to be a disciple of Christ.
One person a year who hears God’s call is reason enough for God to put our Church here.
As an organization the church is not worth anything, it is for nothing else but for God to help Himself to lives.
The questioned is, is He going to help Himself to us, or are we busy with our own agenda?
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hello Everyone,
After you put your faith in Christ you will only want to do what pleases God. Anyone can receive this faith. How?
The answer can be found in the rest of verse 6 of Hebrews 11“because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”Number one thing I must come to Him.Notice what he is not saying. I must come to church. I must come to Christ.Secondly I must believe that He exists.I believe that He exists only in the moments I want to please Him.If I do not want to do what pleases Him I do not believe that He exists.
If you or I are deliberately doing something that does not please God and do not want to turn away from it then we don’t believe God exists.
You don’t believe a Holy God exists. You don’t believe in a God who says through the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19-21 “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Lastly I must earnestly seek Him.I must be serious about wanting to please God by receiving His Son Jesus Christ.
I must be more interested in pleasing God than in pleasing myself or others.
He only rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 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.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
After you put your faith in Christ you will only want to do what pleases God. Anyone can receive this faith. How?
The answer can be found in the rest of verse 6 of Hebrews 11“because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”Number one thing I must come to Him.Notice what he is not saying. I must come to church. I must come to Christ.Secondly I must believe that He exists.I believe that He exists only in the moments I want to please Him.If I do not want to do what pleases Him I do not believe that He exists.
If you or I are deliberately doing something that does not please God and do not want to turn away from it then we don’t believe God exists.
You don’t believe a Holy God exists. You don’t believe in a God who says through the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19-21 “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Lastly I must earnestly seek Him.I must be serious about wanting to please God by receiving His Son Jesus Christ.
I must be more interested in pleasing God than in pleasing myself or others.
He only rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 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.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Hello Everyone,
The phrase that we need to look at in Hebrews 11:6 is …and without faith…It is impossible to achieve my purpose in life which is to please God without faith.“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)Faith in what God does for me in Jesus.Jesus pleased God in everything that He did.
When anyone places their faith in Christ God credits that person as someone who also pleased God in everything they did. In Hebrews 11 the names of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab the prostitute, Gideon, Samson and David are listed.
Reading about them only in Hebrews 11 you would think they only did what pleases God. You never read about one thing they did wrong? Question: Did David ever do anything that displeased God? Did Moses? Did Abraham? God forgives and God forgets when we put our faith in Jesus.After you put your faith in Christ you will only want to do what pleases God. Anyone can receive this faith. How?
The answer can be found in the rest of verse 6 of Hebrews 11 and that will be our thought tomorrow.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
The phrase that we need to look at in Hebrews 11:6 is …and without faith…It is impossible to achieve my purpose in life which is to please God without faith.“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)Faith in what God does for me in Jesus.Jesus pleased God in everything that He did.
When anyone places their faith in Christ God credits that person as someone who also pleased God in everything they did. In Hebrews 11 the names of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab the prostitute, Gideon, Samson and David are listed.
Reading about them only in Hebrews 11 you would think they only did what pleases God. You never read about one thing they did wrong? Question: Did David ever do anything that displeased God? Did Moses? Did Abraham? God forgives and God forgets when we put our faith in Jesus.After you put your faith in Christ you will only want to do what pleases God. Anyone can receive this faith. How?
The answer can be found in the rest of verse 6 of Hebrews 11 and that will be our thought tomorrow.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
Monday, November 2, 2009
Hello Everyone,
My e-votion is a few days late I have been running be hind for the last few days.
We left off last week looking at Hebrews 11:6 “How to please God”.
The only way into heaven is by pleasing God.Now we said this phrase “and without faith it is impossible to please God” contains some bad news in the middle…what is that bad news?...It is impossible to please God… “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-11) The world and many even in the church have found an unbiblical way around this bad news in the middle of our phrase. How?
They say “If it is impossible to please God then let us just change god. Let’s change god into a nicer, kinder, gentler god. Let’s make this new god pleased with everything the old god wasn’t pleased with. Lets make this new god ok about sins the old god wasn’t ok about. The old god was all for our holiness but lets make this new god all for our happiness. And if anyone says to us you can’t do that lets make the argument that all we are doing is replacing the Old Testament God with the New Testament God. The problem with that argument is that our verse is not from the Old Testament but the New Testament. Paul said to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:3-4)“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Our purpose in life is to please God. If you want a purpose driven life that is it.
Unless you and I please God we will not go to heaven. But it is impossible to please God.
So unless there is another part to this phrase no one is going to heaven.
That is what we will look at tomorrow.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
My e-votion is a few days late I have been running be hind for the last few days.
We left off last week looking at Hebrews 11:6 “How to please God”.
The only way into heaven is by pleasing God.Now we said this phrase “and without faith it is impossible to please God” contains some bad news in the middle…what is that bad news?...It is impossible to please God… “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-11) The world and many even in the church have found an unbiblical way around this bad news in the middle of our phrase. How?
They say “If it is impossible to please God then let us just change god. Let’s change god into a nicer, kinder, gentler god. Let’s make this new god pleased with everything the old god wasn’t pleased with. Lets make this new god ok about sins the old god wasn’t ok about. The old god was all for our holiness but lets make this new god all for our happiness. And if anyone says to us you can’t do that lets make the argument that all we are doing is replacing the Old Testament God with the New Testament God. The problem with that argument is that our verse is not from the Old Testament but the New Testament. Paul said to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:3-4)“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Our purpose in life is to please God. If you want a purpose driven life that is it.
Unless you and I please God we will not go to heaven. But it is impossible to please God.
So unless there is another part to this phrase no one is going to heaven.
That is what we will look at tomorrow.
Oh How HE Loves Us!
Pastor phil
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