Oct 10, 2021
Let’s Be Builders
Series: 2021

Division

This seems to be the word of the 21st century

Every time you read a news story some group is angry at another group and unwilling to come together

We know that the lost world will always be this way but it is not how the church is called to be

In today’s world the church is just as much divided as the lost world

Do you know that almost anyone can do demolition but it takes skill to build

Look with me to
1 Thes 5:11-25 NASB
 
The very first verse of this passage is encouraging building one another up

Let’s be builders within the church and those outside the church will notice

When I say the church, I’m speaking of the church universal, meaning all God’s people

This is something that 21st century Christians do not do very well. Build across the spectrum of all believers.

 
“Live in peace with one another”

Are you getting this, we are to build up the whole body not just one arm and demo is not a good thing

 
This is called building up of the body of Christ

As I said before it takes skill to be a builder

You aren’t going to find a video on YouTube on being a builder of the body.

There isn’t a book at Lowes or Home Depot that can teach you.

How do I attain the skills to be a builder of the body?

 
This is exactly how you become a good builder

Notice the first steps are “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing”

If we follow those two steps, then what we are really doing is living in Jesus so he can teach us.

Something modern believers find very hard to do is give thanks in “everything”

We only want to be thankful for the “good stuff”

God uses all things to teach us how to be good builders

Vs 21 – 22 sound so easy but in this world these are areas we struggle in

When we do not abstain from evil we are tearing down and not building up

Satan is throwing everything he can at you to help you fail

But ultimately we are the ones that give in to evil or not

When we overcome the evil, through constant prayer it is God sanctifying us to continue to build

The greatest thing we can do to help each other in this endeavor is vs 25
 
Pray for one another

Are you a demolition specialist or are you ready to build?

WatchNotesDownloadDateTitle
  • Oct 10, 2021Let’s Be Builders
    Oct 10, 2021
    Let’s Be Builders
    Series: 2021

    Division

    This seems to be the word of the 21st century

    Every time you read a news story some group is angry at another group and unwilling to come together

    We know that the lost world will always be this way but it is not how the church is called to be

    In today’s world the church is just as much divided as the lost world

    Do you know that almost anyone can do demolition but it takes skill to build

    Look with me to
    1 Thes 5:11-25 NASB
     
    The very first verse of this passage is encouraging building one another up

    Let’s be builders within the church and those outside the church will notice

    When I say the church, I’m speaking of the church universal, meaning all God’s people

    This is something that 21st century Christians do not do very well. Build across the spectrum of all believers.

     
    “Live in peace with one another”

    Are you getting this, we are to build up the whole body not just one arm and demo is not a good thing

     
    This is called building up of the body of Christ

    As I said before it takes skill to be a builder

    You aren’t going to find a video on YouTube on being a builder of the body.

    There isn’t a book at Lowes or Home Depot that can teach you.

    How do I attain the skills to be a builder of the body?

     
    This is exactly how you become a good builder

    Notice the first steps are “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing”

    If we follow those two steps, then what we are really doing is living in Jesus so he can teach us.

    Something modern believers find very hard to do is give thanks in “everything”

    We only want to be thankful for the “good stuff”

    God uses all things to teach us how to be good builders

    Vs 21 – 22 sound so easy but in this world these are areas we struggle in

    When we do not abstain from evil we are tearing down and not building up

    Satan is throwing everything he can at you to help you fail

    But ultimately we are the ones that give in to evil or not

    When we overcome the evil, through constant prayer it is God sanctifying us to continue to build

    The greatest thing we can do to help each other in this endeavor is vs 25
     
    Pray for one another

    Are you a demolition specialist or are you ready to build?

  • Oct 3, 2021Rest
    Oct 3, 2021
    Rest
    Series: 2021
    The word rest brings many different thoughts to people Some immediately think of sleep Some a vacation Some even think of Retirement I want to look at why rest is important for the Human body 1 in 3 adults are not getting enough sleep according to a new study by CDC The American Psychological Association says that one large factor of sleep deprivation is STRESS WebMD lists stress as a factor in Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and even alzheimers disease No wonder rest is something people say they want
    Look with me today to Matthew 11:27-30 to see what the scripture says about rest
     
    First of all Jesus says “ALL things have been handed over to me by my Father”
    In vs 28 Jesus says “Come to Me” “Come to Me” doesn’t mean swing by for a minute. It means to live in Him. When we live in Christ daily we give Him everything. “All who are weary and heavy laden” are you tired, worn out, at the end of your rope? “come to Me” Jesus says and “I will give you rest” This isn’t a temporary rest. It’s not a day that you can sleep late or a vacation or even a day to just relax. This is permanent rest. He will give you rest by you living in Him daily. Vs 29 says “take my yoke upon you and learn from me” Jesus is telling you if you come to Him to live in Him daily He will give you rest by teaching you to give all your troubles to Him In order to take His yoke…..we have to let Him remove ours. “you will find rest for your souls” The burdens, the weariness, all this can be overcome if we allow Christ to remove our yoke and place His on us Again however, I want to remind you this isn’t a picture of a brief rest and then back to the grind This passage is showing us that Jesus wants us to live in Him and let Him be our Lord every day and night When we say Jesus come be my Lord, we have to let Him, every day
     
    “My yoke is easy and My burden is light”
    Doesn’t that sound much better than to be overloaded and burdened down? If you have never come to Jesus, He is calling you today, to give Him your life If you have asked Him to be your Lord already then strive to live in Him everyday, it is what He wants from us. Are you ready to Rest today?
  • Sep 26, 2021First Place
    Sep 26, 2021
    First Place
    Series: 2021
  • Sep 19, 2021Outside The Camp
    Sep 19, 2021
    Outside The Camp
    Series: 2021
  • Sep 12, 2021We Will Never Forget
    Sep 12, 2021
    We Will Never Forget
    Series: 2021
  • Aug 29, 2021The Cowardly Lion
    Aug 29, 2021
    The Cowardly Lion
    Series: 2021

    This morning we are all keeping our eyes on the weather. Hurricane Ida is making her presence known

    For most of us the words “Hurricane headed for the Gulf Coast” are words that bring fear

    Goliath:
    Over 9 feet tall
    Armor weighed 125lbs
    Spear was over 12 ft long
    Spear head weighed 33+ lbs

    David:
    Less then 6 ft tall
    Still a teen
    Used a sling and a rock

    I give you all this information because I want you to get a context of this story

    The point I want you to take away from all of this is: “the battle is the Lord's”

    How did David, a young teen, have the courage to face the giant with only a sling and a rock?!?

    He knew he had the power of God on his side, and nothing is impossible for God!

    God is described as the Lion of Judah

    Why the Lion?

    Because the Lion is the fiercest animal in the Kingdom

    David showed the courage of the Lion because, in God, he had that same power

    Understand this, when you accept Jesus as your Lord, you too are given the power to overcome the world

    Believers today have been given that same power to overcome the world

    Christians you have the strength of the Lion

    I spoke with the children this morning about the cowardly lion from “The Wizard of Oz”

     
    He was the King of the jungle but he lacked the one thing he needed most...

    Courage

    How could this be?!? He was a lion!

    Somehow, something had happened to the Lion, and he lost his courage and believed he was forever weak

    This gave him a paralyzing fear

    Believers, today we are walking around in this world in some paralyzing fear believing we can’t

    The one thing that can change all that, is remembering this fact: "the battle is the Lord’s"

    David could look at that giant and know that he physically wasn’t able to defeat him

    But, he knew that, without a doubt, God was able and the battle was His anyway

    As believers, we wonder sometimes how someone can say “I don’t need God”

    Then we turn around and live our lives as if “we don’t need God all the time”

    Most days we think "I got this on my own"

    When trouble strikes, we call on God. "Ok God, I need you this time."

    The fact of the matter is that apart from God we can do nothing – John 15:5

    When we trust in our own strength, we run around like a cowardly Lion,

    Afraid to engage people in conversation about Jesus

    Afraid to take a stand for our Heavenly Father

    Afraid to do the mission that we were given as Christians – Go and Tell

    We are the offspring of the Lion of Judah! Stop being a cowardly lion and walk in the power of God!

    You can’t do that if you don’t know Him

    Would you like to know Him today?

  • Aug 22, 2021God Knows You
    Aug 22, 2021
    God Knows You
    Series: 2021

    Psychologists say that, as a people, we typically only allow a few people to truly know us

    That means that, we show most people what we want them to see instead of our true self

    This includes close friends and family as well

    As a result of that behavior, we sometimes believe that we can do the same thing with God

    If we only behave a certain way around our church or our friends, surely God will believe this is how we are truly.

    In fact, sometimes we try so hard to convince others that we believe the lies we tell ourselves

    However, there is only one truth of who we are, and I promise you, God Knows you

     
    “You have searched me and known me”

    In other words, God has looked in all our hidden places, and He knows us intimately

    He knows us fully and completely, better than we even know ourselves

    Look at vs 5-6
     
    This means that God has us grasped in His hand. He didn’t make us and leave us.

    He is protecting us from every side and He wants us to grasp that fact

    The next several verses say; where can I go from your Spirit? The answer is nowhere

    In other words, God is always with us. No matter what we get into, He is there

    Sometimes, people believe that they have just strayed too far and God can’t reach them

     
    There is no place too dark for God to reach you. God knows you completely and He loves you.

    Why?

    Why does God love me and why does He care?

     
    God hand-made you personally

    We aren’t a mold that a factory uses to mass produce things

    God spent time individually making every person in this world. He made us with His love.

    “And my soul knows it very well”

    The reality is, that deep down we know that God made us and He loves us

    However, we allow ourselves to believe the lies of the world

    Satan and the world say that you are better than God and you don’t need God

    Those are all lies and truly our soul knows it, if we listen

    God made you to have a relationship with Him

     
    For everyone of us, this should be our prayer daily

    As humans, we lie, and we lie even to ourselves, but God Knows you

    He is always with you no matter where you go

    Won’t you give yourself to Him today?

  • Aug 15, 2021Beware Of Imitation Armor
    Aug 15, 2021
    Beware Of Imitation Armor
    Series: 2021

    We live in a world where Satan is the Prince of this world
     
    That means that everyday Satan and His army are trying to defeat God’s children
     
    He knows he can’t snatch us out of God’s hand
     
     
    Since satan knows there is no way he can get you, he tries to make you ineffective
     
    How does he do that?
     
    He attacks you on every front that he can, to find a weakness to make you confused and hurt
     
    If he can do that, you stop working for God and spend all your time worrying and upset
     
     
    Put on the full armor of God
     
    I want you to understand that this armor has to be God’s armor otherwise it doesn’t work
     
    Let’s look at what God’s armor includes
     
    Gird your loins with TRUTH
     
    Everything satan does is calculating and he will try to convince you to use imitation armor
     
    He says what is truth, isn’t that relative to each person. Your truth can be whatever you want it to be.
     
    Put on the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS
     
    Imitation armor doesn’t work.  Just ask the Army.
     
    Do you really want to protect your heart with imitations
     
    God’s armor is actually impenetrable
     
    Shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of PEACE
     
    The military spends millions of dollars on boots.  They understand that if a soldier’s feet are injured the soldier is immobilized
     
    If satan can immobilize us, he gets a win because how many others won’t hear the gospel
     
    The imitation we rely on is that someone else will go
     
    When you put on the full armor of God satan is defeated and the Gospel is spread
     
    The SHIELD of FAITH
     
    This shield is able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one
     
    What if your imitation shield was hit by one of satan’s arrows
     
    The imitation shield is believing that satan isn’t going to bother you
     
    Satan deploys many demons throughout the world and we are all in danger of a satanic attack at any time
     
    The HELMET of SALVATION
     
    The biggest thing that satan does, is try to tell you that you are not saved and unworthy to be saved
     
    When you know that you have received salvation hold onto that hard
     
    Make sure that you are sure
     
    One way to continually live in salvation and battle the evil one is to use the SWORD of TRUTH
     
    There is no substitute and imitations will fail
     
    A good soldier spends a lot of time making sure their weapon is in great condition and ready always for battle.
     
    When is the last time you cleaned your weapon and gave it a good inspection
     
    Satan will throw every kind of imitation at you and if you put on imitation armor you can’t battle
     
    Accept no substitute, only use the armor of God!
     
    Now the question is do you know Him in order to receive that armor?
     
  • Aug 8, 2021Workmen For God
    Aug 8, 2021
    Workmen For God
    Series: 2021

    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?

    Look with me to 2 Timothy 2:15 NASB
     
    KJV says: "Study to shew thyself approved"

    Be approved as a workman for Christ

    How are we workmen for God? Look back to vs 10-14
     
    I want us to break down each of these verses
     
    Now think about all these things in the context of being workmen for Christ

    However, there is a trap that we need to avoid

     
    We spend years serving our earthly bosses in jobs, trying to do our very best

    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?

  • Aug 1, 2021When It All Goes Wrong
    Aug 1, 2021
    When It All Goes Wrong
    Series: 2021

    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

     
    This whole chapter, Jesus is telling His disciples of His going away and coming again

    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”

    Now when we put this whole verse together;
     
     
    We see that Jesus is telling us; it will get bad but my children I will take care of you

    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.

  • Jul 25, 2021To Live By Faith
    Jul 25, 2021
    To Live By Faith
    Series: 2021
     

    "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.

    11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

    For by it the elders obtained a good report.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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."

  • Jul 18, 2021The Most Beautiful Bridge
    Jul 18, 2021
    The Most Beautiful Bridge
    Series: 2021
    Bridges are built for the purpose of closing a divide. They are built over any gap, water or land that needs to be closed. Some bridges are not pretty to look at, but they do their job.
    Other bridges are built with grand architecture that makes you just want to stare at them; they are so beautiful.
     
        
    These bridges are all amazing, both in engineering and in beauty The purpose of all these bridges is the same as for any bridge. It’s purpose is to close a gap. Some gaps are very large some, not so large, but they are all impassible without a bridge
     
    You see, there is a great gap between God and man; and that gap was created by sin
    It is a man-made gap that is so huge, no engineering will ever be able to close that gap.
     
    I want to be clear. In the beginning, God was with man and there was no gap,
    until man committed their first sin. At that point, there became a separation that man couldn’t close
    "Well, I guess that means I have no hope. If no man can bridge that gap, then certainly I am without hope."
     
    There is one mediator between God and man, and He is the Hope that we can have. He is the bridge for the Gap we can’t close. John 3:16 says “for God so loved the world that He sent His only Son”
    This is Jesus! Jesus paid the price we were unable to pay on the cross at calvary, therefore, bridging the unbridgeable gap!
    This is the Most Beautiful bridge, because it leads to LIFE! There is one thing, however; Have you ever heard of a toll bridge? In order to cross it, you must pay a price. Jesus has paid your toll to cross this bridge. You just have to accept the gift, and you will be allowed to cross Jesus shed His life blood on the cross in order to bridge the gap for you Will you accept this gift and cross over that bridge to reconciliation with God today? This is the only way the separation between God and man can be closed. Are you ready?
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