HIS WILL MINISTRY INT.
PASTORS INSIGHTS: a journal of the pastor's studies
SURVIVING WHEN THE WORLD IS CRUMBLING AROUND YOU, IS BASED ON WHOM YOU FEAR!
So I will make you a deal! Which do you want door # 1, door #2 or door #3?
So I will make you a deal! Which do you want door # 1, door #2 or door #3?
Proverbs 1:7 (NLT) 7Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.
A very true analogy starts that a true leader is the one who keeps his wits about him when all around him are losing theirs.
Larry Carter, told this true story when he was the President of Great Lakes Christian College. I remember when I was a kid, some 40 years ago, playing on a Little League Baseball team.
One of the things our coach did was host a picnic for the team at the beginning of the season. After we ate the hot dogs and burgers, he sat us down for a pep talk. He asked, "How many of you have a dream to one day play in the Major Leagues?" Almost every hand shot up. Every kid with his hand up believed he could do it. You could see it in their eyes. He then told us. "if that is to happen --- that dream begins now!"
I was so inspired by that challenge - all of us were-that we practiced and played so hard and we went undefeated for the next few years. All star teams from other leagues would play us and lose!
Some 25 years later I became a Little League coach. I brought all the kids together at the beginning of the season to give them a pep talk-the same one my coach had given me. I asked the team the same question, "How many of you have a dream to one day play in the Major leagues?" Not one hand raised. Not one kid believed he could do it. You could see in their eyes. I was speechless. The rest of my talk was meaningless. … What had come into our lives to steal our dreams? What had convinced them they would never be more than what they were?
Today I see an America and world I really do not recognize. I see a world and America of lost hope, lost dreams. America no longer fears the Lord God almighty. What is worse, I have to wonder how many Christians still do when I see Christians that are at wits end and see no hope to our future. The saddest thing I have read in many years was just the other day. Mary showed me a forum on one of the major Christian websites. This forum was a discussion on the world situation today. These are supposedly Bible believing, Spirit filled individuals and they were writing line after line of how they just could not take it anymore. All they wanted to do was go home. Some were even saying they were going to throw a temper tantrum and hold their breath until Jesus returned for them. I could be wrong but I have this gut feeling that that person will be waiting a long, long time. I have found that for every situation in our lives there is an answer in the word of God. Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV) "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. But, Christians seem to be buying into the spin doctors on how everything is collapsing around them. Yes, we are in bad financial times in this world. You may have lost your job. You may not be able to make your mortgage. But, who are you putting your hope in? Our new president, your continuing job, yourself or your Lord and Savior Jesus? Our Lord and Savior has come to the rescue of Mary and I more times than we can even remember.
Mary and I had to learned that we own nothing, that it all belongs to the Lord. We now have 100% faith in the fact that you cannot out give the Lord. Whether it is of your time or your wealth you cannot not give more than He will give back. A Christian without hope is a Christian without Christ. Let me say it again a Christian without hope is a Christian without Christ. Yep, I said it and I meant it. If you claim to follow Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and have no hope you are lying to yourself because you do not even know Jesus. Let's pull a couple of scriptures out of the hundreds on hope and examine them. Psalm 31:24 (NLT) So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the LORD! Do we?
Psalm 42:11 (NLT) Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again- my Savior and my God! Do we?
Romans 15:13 (NLT) 3So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you?
I have said it time and time again people it is time to get back to basics. The basics of the Word of God! Not the latest and greatest "new revelation" from the next rising star! No! but the word of God that has been good enough for all our needs for over 2000 years. I have said in many a sermon " that if it was good enough for Jesus it is good enough for me"! But I must be honest it has been way too long since this pastor got alone with God all night and as I write this I realize just how much I miss it. A very wise pastor once told me that all the work we do for God is worthless if we do not spend the time with the Lord we need to. My Friend you can be the busiest Christian working on the face of the earth but if you are not taking the time to be alone with the Lord you are doing it for the wrong reason. This Ministry is called His Will Ministry. How would anyone associated with the ministry have any idea what God's will was if we never spend time alone with Him? As always Jesus said it best. Matthew 6:31-34 (KJV)31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
I come back to the question I have asked so many times "Do you believe it?, You know God's Son's words?" If we look at the Greek to see if what we read is what Jesus wanted we find it is. When Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Ever wonder why he is referring to God is in small letters. Because it was added. So to really understand Jesus let's leave out "his" Seek you, I.E. us you and I etc, first, above all else, put it in first place, numero uno, the Kingdom of God and righteousness, here the Greek means to emulate God or be Holy. We know from even our most elemental Sunday school lessons that we cannot come before God as we are. Isaiah tells us through the Lord, Isaiah 64:6-7 (NLT)We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away. Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins. We must accept Christ as our Savior and be washed white by His Blood. Then and only then do we have a chance at seeking after the righteousness of God. Ok, here is where the rubber meets the road, do you? You know what I mean, do you truly seek God's kingdom and righteousness first? Or do you like so many "Christians" get caught up in the world? Or worse feel that it is the Pastors job to seek God's Kingdom and righteousness and then fill you in on what he found on Sunday Morning. My friends this is part of the sermon on the mount found in Matthew Chapters 5,6 and 7. This was preached to the everyday Joe not the Christians or Apostles, but the everyday Joe and Jill who was listening. So, Jesus was telling this people if they would spend the time seeking first and foremost the Kingdom of God and righteousness they would receive what they needed for food, water and clothing, didn't He mean it for you and me in troubled times? We need to get back to the basics and take our Lord at His word.
Ok where am I going with all this, well let me give you an example. Years ago when I was young there was a television game show called "lets make a deal". At the end of the show one person was given the opportunity to pick one of three doors. Behind one of those doors resided the grand prize, behind one was a so so prize and behind one was a flop. Where am I going with this. Well God puts before us many doors that we seem to be afraid to open. Let's look at a few scriptures concerning whom we should truly fear. For example we will use the wisest man to ever live. Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) 10Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding. And Proverbs 15:33 (NLT) 33Fear of the LORD teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor. So God is telling us that if we fear Him with a true reverent fear it is the beginning of wisdom and therefore understanding but, He goes further than that in if we become humble it will lead to honor. So we will be wise and honored just from fearing the Lord. Ok that is door # one lets see what is behind door # 2. Proverbs 14:27 (NLT) Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Wow, so now we are told that fearing the Lord is life-giving. Again Jesus said it best. Matthew 10:28 (NLT) 28"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Do you get it yet? Ok, Let's look into door #3 Proverbs 19:23 (NLT) Fear of the LORD gives life, security, and protection from harm. One translation uses a good nights sleep in place of security. So here the fear of the Lord give us again life but adds security or a good nights sleep and protection from harm or evil. I will let Solomon sum it up. Proverbs 22:4 (KJV) By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
So I go back and ask the question I asked at the beginning "do you want door number one, two or three?" Do you see with the Lord is does not matter which one you take you are a winner. It is not like the world, if you pick the wrong door you lose. Nope! If you fear the Lord, He will put all these things upon you. You do not need to fear the world. You do not need to fear losing your job. You do not need to fear anything but God and He will take care of the rest. True story, since Mary and I truly learned what it means to have a reverence and fear of our Holy God above we have never needed for anything. We have always had a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes to keep us warm, enough money to pay the bills and very good health for two old overweight people.
Again I ask do you really, truly believe the word of God and the promises that are contained within it? Mary and I do and we are living epistles of just how powerful God's word really is.
God Bless.
Larry Carter, told this true story when he was the President of Great Lakes Christian College. I remember when I was a kid, some 40 years ago, playing on a Little League Baseball team.
One of the things our coach did was host a picnic for the team at the beginning of the season. After we ate the hot dogs and burgers, he sat us down for a pep talk. He asked, "How many of you have a dream to one day play in the Major Leagues?" Almost every hand shot up. Every kid with his hand up believed he could do it. You could see it in their eyes. He then told us. "if that is to happen --- that dream begins now!"
I was so inspired by that challenge - all of us were-that we practiced and played so hard and we went undefeated for the next few years. All star teams from other leagues would play us and lose!
Some 25 years later I became a Little League coach. I brought all the kids together at the beginning of the season to give them a pep talk-the same one my coach had given me. I asked the team the same question, "How many of you have a dream to one day play in the Major leagues?" Not one hand raised. Not one kid believed he could do it. You could see in their eyes. I was speechless. The rest of my talk was meaningless. … What had come into our lives to steal our dreams? What had convinced them they would never be more than what they were?
Today I see an America and world I really do not recognize. I see a world and America of lost hope, lost dreams. America no longer fears the Lord God almighty. What is worse, I have to wonder how many Christians still do when I see Christians that are at wits end and see no hope to our future. The saddest thing I have read in many years was just the other day. Mary showed me a forum on one of the major Christian websites. This forum was a discussion on the world situation today. These are supposedly Bible believing, Spirit filled individuals and they were writing line after line of how they just could not take it anymore. All they wanted to do was go home. Some were even saying they were going to throw a temper tantrum and hold their breath until Jesus returned for them. I could be wrong but I have this gut feeling that that person will be waiting a long, long time. I have found that for every situation in our lives there is an answer in the word of God. Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV) "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. But, Christians seem to be buying into the spin doctors on how everything is collapsing around them. Yes, we are in bad financial times in this world. You may have lost your job. You may not be able to make your mortgage. But, who are you putting your hope in? Our new president, your continuing job, yourself or your Lord and Savior Jesus? Our Lord and Savior has come to the rescue of Mary and I more times than we can even remember.
Mary and I had to learned that we own nothing, that it all belongs to the Lord. We now have 100% faith in the fact that you cannot out give the Lord. Whether it is of your time or your wealth you cannot not give more than He will give back. A Christian without hope is a Christian without Christ. Let me say it again a Christian without hope is a Christian without Christ. Yep, I said it and I meant it. If you claim to follow Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and have no hope you are lying to yourself because you do not even know Jesus. Let's pull a couple of scriptures out of the hundreds on hope and examine them. Psalm 31:24 (NLT) So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the LORD! Do we?
Psalm 42:11 (NLT) Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again- my Savior and my God! Do we?
Romans 15:13 (NLT) 3So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you?
I have said it time and time again people it is time to get back to basics. The basics of the Word of God! Not the latest and greatest "new revelation" from the next rising star! No! but the word of God that has been good enough for all our needs for over 2000 years. I have said in many a sermon " that if it was good enough for Jesus it is good enough for me"! But I must be honest it has been way too long since this pastor got alone with God all night and as I write this I realize just how much I miss it. A very wise pastor once told me that all the work we do for God is worthless if we do not spend the time with the Lord we need to. My Friend you can be the busiest Christian working on the face of the earth but if you are not taking the time to be alone with the Lord you are doing it for the wrong reason. This Ministry is called His Will Ministry. How would anyone associated with the ministry have any idea what God's will was if we never spend time alone with Him? As always Jesus said it best. Matthew 6:31-34 (KJV)31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
I come back to the question I have asked so many times "Do you believe it?, You know God's Son's words?" If we look at the Greek to see if what we read is what Jesus wanted we find it is. When Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Ever wonder why he is referring to God is in small letters. Because it was added. So to really understand Jesus let's leave out "his" Seek you, I.E. us you and I etc, first, above all else, put it in first place, numero uno, the Kingdom of God and righteousness, here the Greek means to emulate God or be Holy. We know from even our most elemental Sunday school lessons that we cannot come before God as we are. Isaiah tells us through the Lord, Isaiah 64:6-7 (NLT)We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away. Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins. We must accept Christ as our Savior and be washed white by His Blood. Then and only then do we have a chance at seeking after the righteousness of God. Ok, here is where the rubber meets the road, do you? You know what I mean, do you truly seek God's kingdom and righteousness first? Or do you like so many "Christians" get caught up in the world? Or worse feel that it is the Pastors job to seek God's Kingdom and righteousness and then fill you in on what he found on Sunday Morning. My friends this is part of the sermon on the mount found in Matthew Chapters 5,6 and 7. This was preached to the everyday Joe not the Christians or Apostles, but the everyday Joe and Jill who was listening. So, Jesus was telling this people if they would spend the time seeking first and foremost the Kingdom of God and righteousness they would receive what they needed for food, water and clothing, didn't He mean it for you and me in troubled times? We need to get back to the basics and take our Lord at His word.
Ok where am I going with all this, well let me give you an example. Years ago when I was young there was a television game show called "lets make a deal". At the end of the show one person was given the opportunity to pick one of three doors. Behind one of those doors resided the grand prize, behind one was a so so prize and behind one was a flop. Where am I going with this. Well God puts before us many doors that we seem to be afraid to open. Let's look at a few scriptures concerning whom we should truly fear. For example we will use the wisest man to ever live. Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) 10Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding. And Proverbs 15:33 (NLT) 33Fear of the LORD teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor. So God is telling us that if we fear Him with a true reverent fear it is the beginning of wisdom and therefore understanding but, He goes further than that in if we become humble it will lead to honor. So we will be wise and honored just from fearing the Lord. Ok that is door # one lets see what is behind door # 2. Proverbs 14:27 (NLT) Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Wow, so now we are told that fearing the Lord is life-giving. Again Jesus said it best. Matthew 10:28 (NLT) 28"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Do you get it yet? Ok, Let's look into door #3 Proverbs 19:23 (NLT) Fear of the LORD gives life, security, and protection from harm. One translation uses a good nights sleep in place of security. So here the fear of the Lord give us again life but adds security or a good nights sleep and protection from harm or evil. I will let Solomon sum it up. Proverbs 22:4 (KJV) By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
So I go back and ask the question I asked at the beginning "do you want door number one, two or three?" Do you see with the Lord is does not matter which one you take you are a winner. It is not like the world, if you pick the wrong door you lose. Nope! If you fear the Lord, He will put all these things upon you. You do not need to fear the world. You do not need to fear losing your job. You do not need to fear anything but God and He will take care of the rest. True story, since Mary and I truly learned what it means to have a reverence and fear of our Holy God above we have never needed for anything. We have always had a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes to keep us warm, enough money to pay the bills and very good health for two old overweight people.
Again I ask do you really, truly believe the word of God and the promises that are contained within it? Mary and I do and we are living epistles of just how powerful God's word really is.
God Bless.