OCTOBER 1, 2006 AM
WHOSE TABLE
ARE YOU FEASTING?”
SCRIPTURE READING:
I CORINTHIANS
11:23-32
SCRIPTURE TEXT: 1
Corinthians 10:21 (KJV) Ye cannot drink the
cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be
partakers of the Lord's Table, and of the table of
devils.
INTRO:
One of the
strongest temptations facing Christians in the
Western World is trying to keep one foot in the
Church and the other in the world.
Throughout the
Scriptures, God’s Word tells us that we must make a
choice between the things of God and the things of
Satan or this world.
Jesus tells us in
Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV) Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
for where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.
Matthew 6:24 (KJV)
No man can serve two masters: for either he will
hate the one, and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot
serve God and mammon.
The choice is
clear. Do we serve God or material things?
There are only
two treasures: the earth and its treasures or God
and His treasures, physical and material things or
spiritual and eternal things.
The more we find
ourselves eating from the devil’s table the further
we have travel down the road of backsliding.
Revelation 3:15-17
(KJV)
I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would
thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee
out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and
increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable,
and poor, and blind, and naked:
Joshua set forth
this challenge to the Children of Israel just before
his death.
Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,
choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the
gods which your fathers served that were on the
other side of the flood, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and
my house, we will serve the LORD.
Elijah gave the
same challenge to the Children of Israel at the top
of Mount Carmel.
1
Kings 18:21 (GW)
Elijah stood up
in front of all the people and asked them, “How long
will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is
God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” The
people didn't say a word.
James 1:8 (KJV)
A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
James 1:8 (NLT) They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in
everything they do.
I.
THE TABLE OF SATAN.
NOTE: The table of devils, Satan, is made up of the things that we worship;
hold as more important, than God.
The Christians in
the church at Corinth was faced with the problem of
physical idolatry, today’s Christians are faced with
the problem of spiritual idolatry.
What is idolatry?
Exodus 20:3-6
(KJV) Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep
my commandments.
Anything that
comes between us and our relationship with God is
idolatry.
The table that
Satan sets before us is filled with many different
kinds of delicious looking food.
Genesis 3:6 (NLT)
The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh
and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she
ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her
husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too.
We receive our
strength, both physical & spiritual from what we
eat.
The more we eat
at the devil’s table the less room we have to eat
from the Table of the Lord.
II. THE TABLE OF
THE LORD.
1 Corinthians 10:16
(KJV)
The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood
of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ?
1 Corinthians
11:23-25 (KJV)
For I have
received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in
which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had
given thanks, he brake it, and said, “Take, eat:
this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in
remembrance of me.” After the same manner also he
took the cup, when he had supped, saying, “This cup
is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft
as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
NOTE:
Unlike the devil’s
table that is attractive to the natural eye, the
Table of the Lord is repulsive to the natural eye.
Isaiah 53:1-3 (KJV)
Who
hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of
the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry
ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should
desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we
hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.
John 6:53-58 (KJV)
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For
my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living
Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he
that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is
that bread which came down from heaven: not as your
fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth
of this bread shall live for ever.
John 6:66 (KJV)
From that time many of his disciples went back, and
walked no more with him.
III.
THE CHOICE IS UP TO US WHICH TABLE WE FEAST FROM.
NOTE:
The thing we must
not forget is that we can’t eat from both tables.
|
DEVIL’S
TABLE |
LORD’S
TABLE |
|
Immorality |
Holiness |
|
Dishonesty |
Truth |
|
Bitterness
and Anger |
Forgiveness
& Peace |
|
Hatred &
revenge |
Love and
forgiveness |
|
Selfish
Gratifications |
Self-denial |
|
Gossip &
Backbiting |
Encouragement & Support |
|
Lust |
Compassion |
|
Greed |
Generosity |
|
Materialism |
Spirituality |
|
Temporal
|
Eternal |
1
Corinthians 10:21-24 (NLT)
You cannot drink
from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons,
too. You cannot eat at the Lord's Table and at the
table of demons, too. What? Do you dare to rouse the
Lord's jealousy as
Israel did? Do you
think we are stronger than he is? You say, "I am
allowed to do anything"—but not everything is
helpful. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"—but
not everything is beneficial. Don't think only of
your own good. Think of other Christians and what is
best for them.
Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT)
Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good
impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others
as better than yourself. Don't think only about your
own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and
what they are doing. Your attitude should be the
same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he
did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He
made himself nothing; he took the humble position of
a slave and appeared in human form. And in human
form he obediently humbled himself even further by
dying a criminal's death on a cross.
CONCLUSION:
The table of the
devil is centered on self and what is in it for me,
the Table of the Lord is centered on God and others.
The life of a true
Christian is a life of, service, self-sacrifice and
obedience just as the life of Jesus was.
Which table will
you feast from?
OCTOBER 1, 2006
(PM)
“GOOD THOUGHTS
DURING DIFFICULT TIMES”
SCRIPTURE READING:
PSALM 12
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Psalm 12:6-7
The words of the
Lord
are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them,
O Lord,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation
forever.
INTRO:
We often wear a mask
of faith to hide what is really going on in our
lives.
Times of:
v
Fear and doubt
v
Loneliness and despair
v
Failure and defeat
Everyone, sooner
or later will go through difficult times.
I. WE OFTEN FEEL
ALONE DURING THESES DIFFICULT TIMES.
NOTE:
Satan wants to convince us that we are the only ones
going through these kinds of struggles.
He wants us to
believe that we are all alone.
He than wants to
makes us feel guiltily for feeling this way.
In the end he
wants us to give up.
A. WE ARE NOT
ALONE IN FEELING THIS WAY.
NOTE:
God wants you to
know that you are not alone in your hour of pain.
Others have gone down this road before you.
David felt alone
in his struggle.
PSALM 12:1
Help, Lord;
for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail
from among the children of men.
Elijah felt that he was the only one left who had
not turned away from God.
1 Kings 19:10 & 14
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord
God of hosts: for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and
slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I
only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it
away.
It is easy during
these times to feel totally lost, not knowing what
to do or which way to turn.
It is in these
times we need a compass to guide us through these
turmoil’s of life.
II. THE PROMISES OF
THIS WORLD ARE EMPTY.
Psalm 12:2-4
They speak vanity every one with his neighbor:
with flattering lips and with a double heart do they
speak. The Lord
shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue
that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our
tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is
lord over us?
A. THE PROMISES
OF THIS WORLD TELLS US WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables.
NOTE:
There are those who
would rather listen to what sounds good than what is
true.
ILL:
It all began in the
Garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:4-5
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not
surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
B.
THEY
EXALT THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS WHILE HIDING THEIR TRUE
CHARACTER AND PURPOSE.
Proverbs 7:6-23
For at the window of my house I looked through my
casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I
discerned among the youths, a young man void of
understanding, Passing through the street near her
corner; and he went the way to her house, In the
twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark
night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the
attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is
loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in
wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and
kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
I have peace offerings with me; this day have I
payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee,
diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,
with carved works, with fine linen of
Egypt. I have
perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love until the
morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For
the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long
journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and
will come home at the day appointed. With her much
fair speech she caused him to yield, with the
flattering of her lips she forced him.
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox
goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the
correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through
his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and
knoweth not that it is for his life.
NOTE:
If we
seek to fulfill our lives through the promises of
the world, they will turn our hearts from God and
will lead us into destruction.
Proverbs 14:12
& Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof are the ways of death.
III. IT IS THE
PROMISES OF GOD THAT MUST BE OUR COMPASS.
Psalm 12:5-7
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing
of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord;
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at
him. The words of the Lord
are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O
Lord,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation
forever.
A. THE
LORD HEARS OUR CRIES.
PSALM 34:15
The eyes of the Lord
are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto
their cry
PSALM 94:9
He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he
that formed the eye, shall he not see?
ISAIAH 59:1
Behold, the Lord's
hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither
his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
ISAIAH 65:24
And it shall come to pass, that before they call,
I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I
will hear.
1 PETER 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous,
and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the
face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
B. HE WILL
DELIVER US.
Job 5:19
He shall
deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there
shall no evil touch thee.
Psalm 91:3
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of
the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Isaiah 46:4
And even to your old age I am he; and even to
hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will
bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
1 CorINTHIANS 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
2 Tim. 4:18
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil
work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day
of judgment to be punished:
Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but
the Lord
delivereth him out of them all.
C. HIS WORD IS
PRECIOUS.
Psalm 19:7-11
The law of the Lord
is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of
the Lord
is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of
the Lord
are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of
the Lord
is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord
is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord
are true and righteous altogether. More to be
desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine
gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in
keeping of them there is great reward.
NOTE:
Hiding the promises of God in our hearts is like
having a saving account for a rainy day.
D. GOD’S
PROMISES ADDRESS ALL OUR NEEDS.
Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
NOTE:
We often limit this
promise to just our financial needs but it covers
much more.
In the
Thomson-Chain Reference Bible there are over 45
different categories of Divine promises.
E. HE WILL KEEP
ALL HIS PROMISES.
Romans 4:21
And being fully persuaded that, what he had
promised, he was able also to perform.
E. HIS PROMISES CAN
NEVER RUN OUT.
EphesIANS 3:20
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that worketh in us,
CONCLUSION:
God ends
this Psalm with a warning.
Psalm 12:8
The wicked walk
on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
Who or what a
person is is far more important that what they have
promised or accomplished.
Do we put our
trust in the false promises of this world or do we
rely on the precious promises of God?
OCTOBER 8, 2006
“WHAT BRINGS
TEARS TO YOUR EYES?”
SCRIPTURE READING:
LUKE 19:37-44
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Jeremiah 9:1 (KJV) Oh that my head
were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that
I might weep day and night for the slain of the
daughter of my people!
INTRO:
Jeremiah was known
as the weeping prophet.
He spent much of
his time weeping over the condition of the hearts
and lives of the people of Judah.
We can tell all
about a person by knowing what makes them laugh and
what makes them cry.
There are some
who seemed to have no sense of humor and there are
those who never seemed to be moved to tears.
Why do people try
and keep their emotions under raps?
God has given us
our emotions for a purpose.
Our emotions are
a way of releasing what we are feeling.
Proverbs 17:22
(KJV)
A merry heart doeth
good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the
bones.
It is good to
laugh and enjoy life but there comes a time when we
should weep and mourn.
Ecclesiastes 3:4
(KJV)
A time to weep, and
a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to
dance;
There may be many
things that may stir our human emotions, but the
question I want to ask you today is, “What stirs
your spiritual emotions to tears?”
Matthew 5:4 (KJV) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
What are some of
the things that should touch our heart stir our
emotions and bring tears to our (spiritual) eyes?
I. SIN
NOTE:
Above all else, sin
should break our hearts and cause us to morn.
A. SIN IN OUR
OWN LIVES.
Joel 2:12-13 (KJV)
Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to
me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with
weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and
not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God:
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
2 Corinthians 7:10
(KJV)
For godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented
of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
B. SIN IN THE
LIFE OF OTHERS.
Joel 2:17 (KJV)
Let
the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between
the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy
people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to
reproach, that the heathen should rule over them:
wherefore should they say among the people, Where is
their God?
NOTE:
We cannot shut our
eyes and close our hearts to those who are dying and
going to hell all around us.
Proverbs 24:11-12
(KJV)
If thou forbear
to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those
that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold,
we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart
consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not
he know it? and shall not he render to every man
according to his works?
C. FOR WHAT SIN
PUT JESUS THROUGH.
Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed.
Galatians 3:13
(KJV)
Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree:
1 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
For
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit:
D. SIN HINDERS
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
Psalms 66:18 (KJV)
If
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not
hear me:
Isaiah 59:2 (KJV) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your
sins have hid his face from you, that he will not
hear.
II.
THOSE WHO REJECT THE SALVATION GOD OFFERS.
Luke 13:34 (KJV)
O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets,
and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often
would I have gathered thy children together, as a
hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye
would not!
NOTE:
Our hearts should
break as we see time after time, those who reject
the Salvation that God has provided through Jesus
Christ.
Jeremiah 9:1 (KJV)
Oh
that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain
of tears, that I might weep day and night for the
slain of the daughter of my people!
Philippians 3:18
(KJV)
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and
now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies
of the cross of Christ:
NOTE:
It should
break our hearts when we see those who come against
Christianity, not for ourselves but rather for their
souls.
III.
WE SHOULD WEEP BECAUSE OF THE ETERNAL HELL THE
UNGODLY WILL OCCUPY.
Matthew 13:41-42
(KJV)
The Son
of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,
and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
Luke 16:22-23 (KJV)
And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried
by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Revelation 20:11-15
(KJV)
And I saw a
great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened,
which is the book of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged
every man according to their works. And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
CONCLUSION:
We have the
awesome responsibility and privilege, through
prayers and tears, to reach out to those who are
bound for hell.
Psalms 30:5 (KJV)
For
his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is
life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh
in the morning.
Psalms 126:5-6
(KJV)
126:5 They that
sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with
him.
Are we willing to
weep for our own relationship with God and for those
who are lost in sin?
OCTOBER 15, 2006 AM
“FIVE
DIFFERENT KINDS OF BELIEVERS”
SCRIPTURE READING:
JOHN 3:1-21
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
John 3:18 (KJV) He that believeth on
him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.
INTRO:
What kind of
believer are you?
There are five
different kinds of believers.
What kind of
believer they are, are reflected in their lives.
Hypocrisy is one
of the great sins of our day.
Many claim to be
one kind of believer yet in reality they are another
kind all together.
I. THE CARNAL
BELIEVER.
Romans 8:7 (KJV)
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be.
NOTE:
The Carnal Believer
never considers God and there is no place in their
lives for God.
Psalms 14:1 (KJV)
The
fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They
are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there
is none that doeth good.
We can divide the
Carnal Believer into two main groups.
A.
A
BELIEVING ATHEIST
NOTE:
A believing atheist
is someone who believes there is no God.
B. A PRACTICING
ATHEIST
NOTE:
A practicing atheist
says, “There is no God for me”.
The carnal
believer never considers God in anything they do.
One denies the
existences of God the other never considers God.
II. THE CASUAL
BELIEVER.
NOTE:
The casual believer
is one who says they believe in God but does very
little to demonstrate their belief.
I often call this
kind of believer, a C E Christian.
They come to
church only once in awhile.
They say they
believe but there is no fruit in their lives to
demonstrate their belief.
III. THE CONVENIENT
BELIEVER.
NOTE: This kind of believer uses God and the Church for their convenience.
They want all the
blessings of being a believer but refuse to accept
any responsibilities.
IV.
THE CONTENTED BELIEVER.
NOTE:
This kind of
believer is contented in their own personal
relationship with God and their position in the
church.
They have no
desire to grow into a deeper relationship with God.
ILL:
Its like someone who
is engaged but never wants to get married.
Their attitude
is, leave well enough alone.
They see no
reason to grow in their faith.
They don’t want
to be disturbed.
They resist
change in either their personal life with God or
their collective life in the church.
V.
THE COMMITTED BELIEVER.
NOTE:
The committed
believer is the back bone of the Church.
There are
committed in two different ways:
A.
THEY
ARE COMMITTED TO A PERSONAL DEEPER WALK WITH CHRIST.
·
Their relationship with God is top priority.
·
They seek ways to grow in to a closer relationship
with Jesus.
·
They are daily into the Word of God.
·
They spend time in prayer each day.
B.
THEY
ARE COMMITTED TO THE CHURCH.
NOTE:
A committed believer
rejoices in the good times and weeps in the bad but
remains faithful in site of difficult
circumstances.
A committed
believer is not control by the winds of adversity or
the storms of conflict.
·
In
their fellowship.
Hebrews 10:24-25
(NIV)
And let us consider
how we may spur one another on toward love and good
deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some
are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one
another--and all the more as you see the Day
approaching.
NOTE:
We should be
committed to the Church not only for our own benefit
but for the benefit of others.
·
In
their service.
NOTE:
A committed believe
is one who seeks to get involved in furthering the
work of the Church and is not contented with sitting
on the sidelines.
Not all service
is what some would call Spiritual service.
None of us can do
everything, but all of us can do something.
·
In
their giving.
Malachi 3:10 (KJV)
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now
herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a
blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
(KJV)
But this I
say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also
sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall
reap also bountifully. Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a
cheerful giver.
CONCLUSION:
The driving
force behind a committed believer is love; love for
God and love for God’s Church.
OCTOBER 15, 2006 PM
“THE SUMMER IS
OVER”
SCRIPTURE READING:
John 4:1-42
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Jeremiah 8:20
The harvest is
past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
NOTE:
There have been
many people who have experienced missed
opportunities and have spent a lifetime regretting
them.
v
Business
ILL:
Walt Disney gave Art
Linkletter the chance to buy property next to
Disney Land.
v
Financial
v
Relationships
v
Family matters
ILL:
“Who I Am Makes A Difference”
The greatest lost
opportunity is a person’s salvation.
Hebrews 2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great
salvation;
Matthew 16:26
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the
whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a
man give in exchange for his soul?
There are
countless people around us everyday that are missing
the opportunity of Salvation because they have not
been told.
Romans 10:13-14 (GW)
So then, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved." But how can people call on him if
they have not believed in him? How can they believe
in him if they have not heard his message? How can
they hear if no one tells the Good News?
Not only are
there many who are missing out on Salvation, many of
us are miss out on the opportunity to tell them of
God’s love.
There are three
things I want us to consider in this story:
-
What the Woman
Did.
-
The Result of
Her Actions.
-
Jesus’
Instruction to His Disciples.
I. WHAT THE WOMAN
DID.
A. SHE BELIEVED
WHAT JESUS SAID.
NOTE:
You will never be
able to convince some else of something you do not
believe yourself.
v
Do
we believe that all are lost?
v
Do
we believe that there is a Heaven to gain and a Hell
to shun?
v
Do
we believe that the cross of Christ is the only way
of Salvation?
If we truly believe
this, than why are we more involved in share this
news with others.
B. SHE
LEFT HER WATER POT.
NOTE:
The spiritual became
more important that the natural.
The things of the
natural man are temporal while those of the
spiritual man are eternal.
Yet we spend more
time with the natural things than we do with the
spiritual.
C. SHE SHARED
WHAT SHE HAD EXPERIENCED.
NOTE:
She went
back to those who knew her and that she knew.
Our first and
strongest area of influence is among those closes to
us.
Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth.
If we are
unwilling to share the Gospel with those we love and
hold dear, how then will we share the Gospel with
those we do not know.
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear:
II.
THE RESULTS OF WHAT THE WOMAN DID.
NOTE:
The disciples
had just returned from the very town the woman went
back to, but no crowd followed them.
Often times it is
the newly converted that bring others to Christ.
A. MANY CAME TO
HEAR JESUS.
NOTE:
Often,
people only need a little nudge to come to Church.
B.
SOME
BELIEVED BECAUSE OF THE WOMAN TESTIMONY.
NOTE:
Our daily lives
is the Bible that many read and we can lead many to
Christ if we will live a Godly life in front of
those around us.
C.
SOME
BELIEVED BECAUSE THEY HEARD THE WORDS OF JESUS.
NOTE:
Often time’s
people will come to church and hear the Gospel and
accept Christ as their Savior, but remember they
were there because someone invited them.
III. JESUS
INSTRUCTIONS TO HIS DISCIPLES.
John 4:35-38
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then
cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your
eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white
already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth
wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that
both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice
together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth,
and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon
ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye
are entered into their labours.
NOTE:
Jesus gave His
disciples three instructions.
A. OPEN YOUR
EYES AND SEE THE NEED.
NOTE:
The disciples
were more concerned with their own physical needs
than with the spiritual needs of those around them.
B. DO NOT
DELAY.
NOTE:
The
longer we delay the more will go into a Christ less
eternity.
Genesis 6:3
And the Lord
said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,
for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an
hundred and twenty years.
There will come a
day when God will close the door.
C. GO AND GATHER
IN THE HARVEST.
NOTE:
“Those fields
will be sacrificed, the fruit will be wasted, the
souls will be lost, unless they are reaped and
brought into the Heavenly harvest.”
Matthew 28:19-20
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen.
Mark 16:15-16
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned.
OCTOBER 22, 2006 AM
“HAVE TRIED
REASONING WITH GOD?”
SCRIPTURE READING:
ISAIAH 1:1-20
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Isaiah 1:18-20 (KJV) Come now, and let
us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat
the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye
shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of
the LORD hath spoken it.
INTRO:
The book of Isaiah is sometimes called, “The Gospel
of the Old Testament”.
The book of
Isaiah has three main issues: History, Prophecies
of God’s Judgment on Israel and Judea as well as
different Gentile nations, and Prophecies concerning
God’s redemption plan.
Jesus quoted
from Isaiah several times during His earthly
ministry.
The name Isaiah
means JEHOVAH IS HELPER or SALVATION IS OF THE
LORD.
How does the book of
Isaiah fit in with the Church today?
There are three
groups of people in the world today:
-
Those who
have never accepted Jesus as their personal
Savior.
-
Those who
have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior.
-
Those who
have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior but
are no longer seeking to serve Him.
The book of Isaiah
addresses each one of these groups.
In the first
chapter, Isaiah is addressing those who once had
followed the will of God but were no longer doing
so.
God, through
Isaiah, invites them to come and reason with Him
considering their state.
But with this
invitation there is a warning of danger.
Our daily
lives are filled with many dangers:
-
Accidents
-
Sudden
sickness
-
Terrorist
There is one
danger that we experience over and over again but we
seldom recognize our vulnerability.
ILL:
The Danger of Delay.
“DANGER OF
DELAY”
A lady had a very
important lawsuit on hand for which she needed the
services of an advocate. She was strongly urged to
secure the help of a very prominent and well known
lawyer, but she could no make up her mind to entrust
her case to anyone. Time passed on, and at last she
was compelled to take steps to secure an advocate,
and called upon the great lawyer who had been
mentioned to her.
He listened whil3
she expressed her wish to engage his help, but in a
few minutes he said with a grave face: “Madam, you
afraid too late; had you come to me before, I would
gladly have been your advocate, but not I have been
called to the bench, and am a judge, and all I can
do is to pass judgment upon your case.”
Now is the day of
grace, and the Lord Jesus Christ is our Advocate,
ever pleading the merits of His precious blood, but
the day will come when He will be the Judge of
sinner, and must pass sentence upon them.
HEARTWARMING BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS: AMG Publishers,
Chattanooga, TN 37422 pg. 288
In the first 20
verses of the first chapter of Isaiah can be divided
into three sections:
-
THE SPIRITUAL
CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.
-
THE EMPTINESS
OF THEIR WORSHIP.
-
THE
INVITATION GOD OFFERS.
I. THE SPIRITUAL
CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.
Isaiah 1:2-9 (KJV)
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD
hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up
children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox
knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib:
but Israel doth not know, my people doth not
consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with
iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are
corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have
provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are
gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any
more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head
is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole
of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness
in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying
sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment. Your country is
desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your
land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it
is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the
daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard,
as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged
city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a
very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom,
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
NOTE:
In Isaiah’s day this
was directed to the nation of Judea, today it could
be addressed to the United States, to the church in
general and to us as individuals.
A.
THE
PEOPLE ARE REFERRED TO AS GOD’S CHILDREN. Vs. 2
NOTE:
They were born of
God.
1.
Israel
was born of God following the exodus from Egypt.
Israel became a
great nation under the leadership of David but from
his death until Isaiah,
Israel than Judea began a
downward spiral.
2.
The
United States was born as a godly nation following
the revolution.
Our nation is no
longer a God fearing nation.
3.
The
Christian Church in general has turned their backs
to the teaching of the Bible.
In many churches
across America today, the Bible is no longer
consider the guideline we must follow.
The Blood of
Christ has been removed from their hymnal.
They no longer
teach the virgin birth.
Salvation is by
membership or good works.
4.
Individual Christian that had started their walk
with Christ has turned away back into the world.
2 Timothy 4:10
(KJV)
For Demas hath
forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is
departed unto Thessalonica…
II. THE EMPTINESS OF
THEIR WORSHIP.
Isaiah
1:11-15 (KJV)
To what purpose
is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith
the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams,
and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the
blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When
ye come to appear before me, who hath required this
at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain
oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the
new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I
cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn
meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am
weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your
hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye
make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are
full of blood.
NOTE:
There are many
who are living in sin and think that just because
the come to church that everything is OK.
Isaiah 29:13
(KJV)
Wherefore the Lord
said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but
have removed their heart far from me, and their fear
toward me is taught by the precept of men:
(Matt. 15:8 &
Mark 7:6)
Titus 1:15-16 (KJV)
Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them
that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure;
but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They
profess that they know God; but in works they deny
him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto
every good work reprobate.
NOTE:
We cannot
continually practice sin and remain in fellowship
with God.
Isaiah 1:16-17 (KJV)
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your
doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the
widow.
III. THE INVITATION
GOD OFFERS.
