During these crazy days, it is easy to get lost as to your real purpose in this world.

We are seeing Covid increasing at rapid levels once again and many hospitals are filling up

In fact, one of my High School classmates, Bubba Wood, needs your urgent prayers today

He is in ICU waiting for a respirator, which he desperately needs

When people are scared of death, they are usually more receptive to the Gospel

Therefore, we need to be ready to show people the truth of the Gospel

How can we make sure we are ready to share?

Be approved as a workman for Christ

However, there is a trap that we need to avoid

If we are lucky, we might make a difference or we might be remembered for a few years

Think about this, if we are good workmen for God, the outcome is the population of heaven will grow.

There will be people that change their final destination from Hell to Heaven because we worked for God

Are you a workman for God today?

Do you know Him in the first place?

Do you want to?

Have you ever had those days, weeks, months even years when everything went wrong?

It seems that no matter how hard you try, none of your plans work like you planned!

Alexander called this a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

Our week seemed to fall perfectly into that category

It is easy to fall into a state of depression or "woe-is-me" attitude

These things are really happening and some of them can be really bad

So how do we, as believers, handle these kinds of days or more?

After about the 5th thing in a row had gone wrong for us this trip, I began to get down

Suddenly God placed in my heart a song and some of the lyrics are:

"Hey, Hey it’s a good day, even if things aren’t going my way, Jesus is alive and I am saved; so hey, hey it’s a good day!"

That song reminded me of scripture and I want to share that with you today

He is telling them about the Holy Spirit who will come, and He is preparing them for hard times.

"In Me you will have peace but in this world you will have tribulation", Jesus said.

We have such amazing blessings in this world that when trouble comes we are shocked

The reality is that Jesus plainly told us that we will have trouble in this world

In the midst of all the things that went wrong this week, God said, "count your blessings!"

I began to look at that, instead of the trouble and, you know what, we had a lot of blessings

We were blessed with safe travel, we saw loving family, and hey, during this oppressive heat wave, we had AC!

There were way more blessings than trouble, and I remembered the other part of this verse

Jesus said “take courage, I have overcome the world”

We can focus on the negatives, and we will fall into dark places

Or, we can take courage knowing that no matter how bad it gets, Jesus has overcome the world.

You know, after God reminded me of this, things still went wrong

Grasping this scripture didn’t make things suddenly all go right

What it did do, was help me stand back, take a clear look, trust God, and carry on

When you begin to look for the blessings in the trouble, it is amazing how God gives you peace.

The question however is this, do you know the God that has overcome the world?

Because, if you do not know Him, you will have no peace.

Hebrews 10:38 - 11:6 KJV

^"38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

³⁹ But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

² For by it the elders obtained a good report.

³ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

⁴ By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

⁵ By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Mark 11:24-25 NASB

I believe that, as human beings, this is something we all struggle with.

No one wants to be treated in a way they feel is wrong.

Many arguments stem from simple misunderstandings or miscommunications

The result however, is not simple at all.

When we have a hard time with forgiveness, sometimes, we hold on to that unforgiveness for a lifetime.

Unforgiveness in our lives can have a very negative effect on our prayer life.

In our text this morning, Jesus is telling his disciples that prayer is powerful, if you have faith.

In fact, He says, when you pray, believe that it is already been given and it will be.

If we look at these two verses together, we see that unforgiveness will truly block our prayers

In order to have true faith, we have to believe that God can conquer all things

A word spoken to a fig tree caused it to wither, and Jesus says you can cause mountains to be cast into the sea

These things seem impossible, but we know that Jesus said they are possible through faith

If we can trust that He is able to do these things, don’t you think He is able to help us overcome unforgiveness?

Faith!
Faith!
Faith!

True faith means giving everything to God

We give Him our fears, our hurts, our joys, our struggles, and yes, we can give Him our unforgiveness

This passage is showing us that, if we are to pray effectively, we have to forgive first

Matthew 5 says leave your sacrifice at the altar go and be reconciled and then return to offer it

In other words, forgiveness has to happen before God will even accept our offerings

In our world today, there is much unforgiveness. Certainly this is one of the reasons for so much discord.

We ask believers to pray without ceasing about our Nation, but we also need to forgive without ceasing

In our individual lives, as well as the lives of our Nation, we must rid ourselves of the hate through forgiveness.

Today I’m asking you to examine your heart. If you find there is unforgiveness there, please ask God to help you forgive today

Perhaps you don’t understand how that can be because you’ve never asked for forgiveness from your own sin

God is offering full forgiveness today, but you have to repent of the sin in your life and ask Him to forgive you

He stands with open arms waiting for you today.

Today, as we celebrate Independence Day, I want to reflect on true Independence

People have longed to be independent since the beginning of time

The problem is, what do we want to be independent from?

Today, much of our nation truly wants to be independent from our creator, God

They seek an independence that allows them to have freedom

They think that God represents oppression

The truth is, mankind can never be independent from God

John 15:5 says, "apart from me you can do nothing"

See, to be out from under God places you squarely under satan

You see, those who are not under God, add sin to sin with their rebellion

What you take safety in, that is not God, will be your shame

"We are endowed by our creator", says the Declaration of Independence

Our creator is clearly a reference to God, the creator of all

Our founding fathers recognized that it is our creator that gives us everything

To seek independence from God is like saying I want to be free from breathing

As an Independent nation, we are independent from other nations

The reason we can be independent from other nations is our dependence on God

President Eisenhower recognized that, and pushed to add that language in our pledge

In fact, if we are not Under God, then we are against God

Matt 12:30 says “He who is not with Me is against Me; and

He who does not gather with Me scatters"

Your life, just like our Nation, must be under God

God, our creator, has a purpose for you, but you have to be under Him to find it

How blessed are all those who long for Him

A true celebration of Independence from foreign powers

Is actually a celebration of dependence on our perfect God

Will you choose, today, to be Under God or against God?

He gives that choice to ALL

Esther 4:1-17 NASB

The Jews were under constant persecution

They were still allowed to come and go and do business, but they were hated

Mordecai knew that one day all this would boil over

When his niece, Esther, was taken as a possible choice for Queen, he had hope

Not hope that she would be royalty, but that God would use her to help her people

2021 in the United States

God’s people are under constant persecution

We are still allowed to meet together and come and go, but we are hated

Those in power, as well as those who influence those in power, hate Christianity

Those against Christianity claim we should love everyone

Isn’t that exactly what Christians have quoted forever? Love conquers all!

The difference is the love we speak of is God’s love

Those who hate Christianity say love everyone except those of God

Mordecai was hated, and the King was tricked into calling for destruction of Jews

Esther was called upon to intercede with the King, but she was afraid

Mordecai reminded her that she too was a Jew

Perhaps the reason God had allowed her to become Queen was for this time

Christians around the Nation and the world are being complacent

Those who are not directly affected by the evil being called good just ignore it

If you are a child of God, the world hates you too

One day you will be greatly affected by this hatred of Christians

Esther asked her people to pray for her and, in that strength, she faced her fear

Today, in this country, we need to lift up one another in prayer

We especially need to pray for all those in positions of influence to be strengthend

Perhaps God has placed them in the position for a time like this

We need to consider how can we face our fears and stand up against this evil

God has given us the power to defeat evil but we have to face it

The power we have is the love of God

We face the evil by sharing the good and perfect love of Christ with ALL

Perhaps any situation you may be in, is the one you were put in for a time like this

We need to understand like Esther, that God uses all of us

Not to place us above others but to use us to reach others

Will you commit to pray for all believers to be used for God’s good

Will you conquer your fears and allow yourself to be used for God?

Luke 15:11-24 NASB

This passage is usually used to focus on the Prodigal son

Today I want to look at the Prodigal’s Father

As Fathers, we have an awesome responsibility to raise our children

To raise them in the admonition of the Lord

The problem is they grow and develop their own ideas, and become their own person

Sometimes, it seems that all your teaching falls on deaf ears as they stray away

In this passage we see a Father, who in trying to teach his son rightly, was wise

He was wise enough to let his son make his own mistakes and learn from them

Still you must wonder how hurt was the father by the son’s actions

Every time I read this story, I think of how far away from the Father I once was

My heavenly Father showed me love and kindness and I ran away from Him

Perhaps today you are thinking the same thing

I wonder how God feels when his children turn their backs on Him

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

Believers, too, still fall short and sometimes walk away from the Father

While he was still a long way off

We get that, while the father let the son leave, he was looking for his return daily

The father was wise enough to know that his son would learn from his mistakes

That when he realized he needed his father he would return

Sometimes, I wish that God would have designed us to only follow Him

No free will, but only able to do the right things

Then I realize, if we had no free will to choose, we would be like robots

I believe that God the Father is standing looking daily for those who have strayed

That, even though we turned our backs on Him, He will never turn His back on us

God loves us so much that He gave Jesus, His only son, as the perfect sacrifice

We had to have that sacrifice in order to be saved

While we were busy walking away, He was busy making a way for us to return

Perhaps you have turned on the live stream today because you were searching

Maybe you came in this building today as a last resort

I want you to know today, the Father is still waiting to receive you home with open arms

No matter how far away you have gone or how many bad things you have done

Jesus has made a way home to the Father for you

Will you come home today?

Proverbs 14:1-2 NASB 

We aren’t talking about a physical house here

What this is talking about is building her life

Our lives are built every day by the decisions we make

If we build wisely, our lives will be good and pleasing in God’s sight

If we are foolish, we end up tearing down

This whole passage is talking about building up for the sake of the body of Christ

The foolish tears it down with her own hands

You see, we have choices to make and they include building up or tearing down

In our world today, everywhere you look there is destruction in the name of prosperity

The family unit is being destroyed so individual pleasure can strive

Instead of teaching people that God’s love includes rebuke

Destruction is happening by accepting sin as normal

Instead of reaching out to people as believers, we are building walls of selfishness

The truly foolish thing is, this house is being torn down by our own hands

Believers, I am saying that our tearing down is why the world is distant from God

Instead of building up in God’s love, we became legalists

Instead of trying to edify we have been busy building a chasm

Am I saying we should be ok with the sinful world?

May it never be!!
We should build up by showing God’s love to a sinful world

Fear of the Lord is what we have forgotten

Instead, we practice deceit by acting one way on Sunday and different after

We tear down others by putting ourselves above them

This isn’t Godly rebuke through His love. This is worshipping self!

You can’t walk upright while tearing down someone else to build up yourself

If tearing down others is what you need to be built up, you aren’t walking in God’s love

If we spent our time building through God’s love…..

How much better could our world be here?

The wise woman and man builds

Today, are you full of wisdom or folly?

If you know God as Savior, are you trusting Him as you live?

Do you really know Him as Savior or perhaps you just know about Him?

It’s time to make wise choices, starting with giving your life to Him.