Declare What God Has Done for You

 

Sermon June 23, 2013    Declare How much God has Done for You

The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3). In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is not merely a reaction from coming into His presence - Praise is a vehicle of faith which brings us into the presence and power of God! Praise and worship is the “gate-pass” which allows us to enter the sacredness of His glory. The psalmist writes, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalms 100:4).

I Kings 19:1-15

Here is a story of a Mad Crazy Woman. She plotted and deceitfully acquired property for her husband last week.  Elijah had all the False prophets Killed. So she is puffed up with arrogance and pride threatening the Man of God.

Instead of acting in Faith Elijah allowed FEAR to enter his heart and he fled in terror hiding out to stay out of the path of Jezebel’s wrath. He was even asking God to let him die.  Weary he laid down and fell asleep and the Lord sent an angel to wake him and feed him for the journey God had planned for him.

When Elijah arrived to the place God sent him He stood on the mountain for God to pass by….

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking the rocks in places before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence……

God was clearly showing Elijah that even in the midst of a storm like a tornado, earthquake, a fire or the fury of this womans wrath….God is still God. You may be facing the worst storm of your life but remember ….God is still God. Be still and Hear the word of the Lord.

Don’t be buried in self pity and sorrowfulness…… Like Jonah, and Elijah…….Remember Jonah went out and wallowed in self pity after Nineveh repented when he carried the message.?

So afterwards we find Elijah In a cave hiding, The Word of the Lord came to him. “What are you doing here, Elijah? Even after the mighty demonstration of the Lord He was still fretting and worrying about the Israelites forsaking the covenant tearing down altars and killing the prophets with the sword.

Psalm 42-Is your soul longing for God? Have you been through a dry weary period when you thought God had left you? Do you find your self talking to yourself as the psalmist…..Why are you cast down, O my Soul, and whay are you disquieted in me?.......The answer -à Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God:   PRAISE Is always the answer when you are down.

Galatians 3:23-29-For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. Remember your baptism. Remember who you are in Christ.  Remember that you are on the winning side. Read the back of the Book and discover that we win.  We are all one in Christ Jesus. You belong to Christ…and if you belong to Christ , then you are Abraham’s offspring, HEIRS according to the promise.

So Praise Him. Give God the Glory for all that He has Done for YOU. Everyday is a blessing Day.

Psalm 68:19  Blessed be the Lord, who DAILY loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. SELAH.

Luke 8:26-39-When the man possessed by demons saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torment me…..

Even demons recognize who Jesus was.  But in our society of a Godless generation mankind will not acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. Church we have our work to do.

The world criticizes us. They make fun of us. But one day ALL will bow their Knee to Jesus Christ and acknowledge that he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We have a good picture of this presented in II Timothy.

II Timothy 3:1-5

 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

⁴ Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

⁵ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

When the world is shouting praises about their ungodly sins…..the Church should be making a louder noise Praising God and DECLARING What God Has Done for Them.

SEE What God tells us  in I Timothy 4 1-2

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

² Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Many scream and say….I don’t care what the Bible says…..we are not going to listen to that ancient book.

Once Jesus was confronted by the Pharasees because they claimed that the disciples were not following tradition…..Jesus responded like this which is found in Mark 7 : 6-13

Well hath Esaias prophesied of you Hypocrites, as it is written, this people honoureth me with their Lips, but their heart is far from me.  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of  men, as the washing of pots and cups and many other such like things you do……

v. 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Sounds much like what is happening all around us in mainline denominations. Folks the light of the Gospel has gone out in many churches today……They do not want a preacher that will preach the pure unadulterated Word of God…..they want some tickling ear sermon.

BUT the Word of God that I Know. The Word of God that I was raised up on…..The Word of God which I have in my heart has this to say:

HEBREWS 4:12- For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart

Jezebel   reminds me of the fools in the street crying…..homosexuality is natural. We want to change the Word of God to suit us. We want the Word of God to be nice to us so that we can sin and do our thing and say that is alright.   Jesus said….v. 13 Making the word of God of none effect

When Jesus was confronted by the Devil he was quick to say…..IT is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God…..Luke 4:4…In Matthew it says every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.

When he tried to get Jesus to worship him…Jesus said  Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve….Luke 4:8

When he tried to get Jesus to jump off the pinnacle…Jesus said  Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Luke 4:12.

Today the World is screaming at us to change the Word of God so they can continue in their sins…They want us to join the party…..they want us to forget what Thus Sayeth the Word of God……….We need to declare what God has done for Us.

Be sober, be vigilant, because our adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour….I Peter 5:8…..Don’t be moved by the devils roar……or by those that try to bring fear such as Jezebel.

The devil is trying to convince you that you are ok…..Remember the devil cometh to steal , kill , and destroy…….. DECLARE WHAT GOD SAYS.  DECLARE THE WORD OF GOD>

The greatest deception of Satan today is to convince you that you are OK.  No need to make any changes. No need to have a relationship with Jesus Christ that paid the price for your salvation.

That took the stripes upon his back for your healing. That was beaten and smitten for you.

Jesus laid down his life for you. When was the last time you shared how much He did for You?

Look at Heberews 11: 1-3

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

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.

In the first chapter of Genesis we see how God created and set up this planet…..And God Said, And God Said, and God said……The very world that we live in was spoken into existence by the very WORD OF GOD.

Declare unto those that want to Live in sin……What Thus Saith the Word of God.

Declare unto the world What God Has Done for YOU!!!!

Prayer: Oh God, stir our hearts once again to declare your word. Rekindle the flame within our Souls to share what you have done in our lives. Give us courage. Give us strength in these last days to be what You would have us to be declaring your Word once again. In Christ name. Amen.

He Said Your Sins are Forgiven

June 16, 2013 Sermon   He Said: Your Sins are Forgiven

 

Old Testament I Kings 21:1-21

Deceit- v.20-21 Ahab said to Elijah, “ Have you found me, O my enemy?”  He answered, “I have found you.  Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. I will bring disaster on you.  (consequences of evil)

God Almighty , The Holy One, stands against all systems that commodify and destroy the lives of human beings.  Because God is merciful, empires founded on blood and exploitation are doomed.  The story of Ahab’s greed offers eloquent testimony to God’s mandate that believers practice compassion and justice in their economic dealings. Consonant with this testimony are the Beatitudes of Jesus, the prophetic witness of liberation theology (Not Liberalism but liberation as in setting free from oppression), and the robust cultural critique of postcolonialism.

The evangelist Luke reminds us that the poor are blessed heirs of the Kingdom of God (Luke 6:20).  Matthew’s testimony that the poor in spirit are blessed (Matthew 5:3) may be seen not just as a spiritualization of Luke’s tradition but as an assertion that poverty of spirit is beloved of God.

Liberation theology preaches that the focus of God’s saving work has always been the lives of the downtrodden.  From Israel’s deliverance from slavery in ancient Egypt to Central American peasants’ struggles today for economic dignity, we see redemption afoot in God’s grace to the poor…..The voices of Scripture declare:  the Living God is known through solidarity with the weak and powerless.

Jesus declared it at the beginning of His Ministry in Luke 4: 18-19 and had been prophesied in Isaiah 61:2

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

 

Psalm 5

v.4 You are not a God who delights in wickedness….

In verses 4-6, the psalmist describes the oppressors as wicked, evil, boastful, evildoers, speakers of lies, bloodthirsty, and deceitful and affirms that God does not delight in such folk, will not tolerate them, and will destroy them.

How do you feel when you see others abusing others? Righteous anger swells up. Thats God.

These verses contain the words of trust of Psalm 5.  God has provided in the past; God will provide in the future.  The psalmist knows that God will not tolerate those just mentioned.

This knowledge  may come from firsthand experiences of the psalmist, or it may come from the stories about God’s workings in the lives of the ancestors in the faith.  The God of the past and the present is a God of Justice and provision.

Epistle- Galations 2: 15-21 Paul gives us a clear message.

v. 19  For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Gospel -Luke 7: 36- 8:3

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love……He said to her and all of us, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Some people continually consider their sins as unforgiveable. We may take into account our personal failures, the seemingly unforgiveable sin, and may struggle with such good news, wondering, “  But did Christ die for this, too?”

No sin is an  addendum to the cross.  Not stubbornness or stupidity. Not addictions or depression. Not guilt or greed. God’s grace is unconditional. That is why it is called Good News.

The word on the street is that churches are seen as a place of judgment and bad news, avoided by those who are troubled and struggling …the addict, the divorced person, the homeless.  Why would I want to go there? They would just make me feel worse.

We can all quote John 3:16 but open your bibles to that passage.…For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…….

So often the next verse is not mentioned……v. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

The word “ Whosever” is key in John 3:16.

God clearly tells us in the next verse that Jesus was not sent to condemn.

Not only do sinners live under condemnation but Church members as well can live under condemnation because they do not Clearly understand Who They ARE in Christ Jesus.

Now read v. 18

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.

The UNFORGIVEABLE SIN is NOT BELIEVING IN JESUS>

 

 

NOW Look at John 3:19-21

KJV ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.²¹ But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

AMPLIFIED ¹⁹ The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.

²⁰ For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved.

²¹ But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence upon Him].

^{NIV 19} This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

John Wesley asked this question in his daily small group meetings:

How is it with your soul today?

IS there something that is troubling your Soul? Have you fallen off the path of righteousness?

Do you find yourself asking the question – Am I saved? Have you wondered about your Relationship with God?

Are you tired of wondering?

Are you tired of carrying around this burden?

Are you tired of living in your sins?

Are you feeling weak and powerless this morning.

Today can be your 2^nd chance at Life Everlasting.

Today is the day of Salvation.

Some of you may have never had a chance to say the sinners prayer.

This morning I want us to all pray together the Sinner’s Prayer….just repeat after me.

 

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you in the name of Jesus.

Your word says, “….him that cometh to me      I will in no wise cast out,    but You take me in and I thank You for it.

You said in Your Word, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

I am calling on Your Name,      so I know You have Saved me now.

You also said “.,..If thou shalt confess…..with thy mouth…..the Lord Jesus…..and shall believe…in thine heart…. that God hath raised him from the dead…..thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart….man believeth unto righteousness……and with the mouth …

confession is made .unto salvation “ (Rom. 10-9-10).

I believe in my heart….Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

I believe that he was raised from the dead….for my justification,

and I confess Him Now as My Lord.

Because your Word says, “  with the heart man believeth unto righteousness…” 

And I do believe with my heart……I have now become the righteousness of God

 in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)….And I am saved!!! Right Now ….for all Eternity. Amen.

Thanks be to God. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.

Speak the Word

June 2 2013    Speak the Word

Proving the power of God to worshippers of Baal (Satan)

Old Testament- I Kings 18:20-39

³⁶ And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

³⁷ Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

Elijah could have sung this verse from Psalms 96
“The Lord is greatly to be praised, he is to be feared above all gods.

This story amplifies a theme that runs through Scripture: that God’s purposes are furthered through the prophetic mediation of divine intervention in human life. Because false prophets are ever at hand to lead people astray.

 Elijah shows us that God is indeed among God’s people and will act. Jesus came and showed us that the power is in our tongue and the words of our mouth. The bible speaks non- stop about the power of the tongue.

Think of the three words I use often…..ASK (using Words)  - Believe (the Words you speak which should line up with the Word of God ---Receive…(Words from God that we can have what we say).

Psalm 96

 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

² Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

³ Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

⁴ For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

 

Epistle- Galations 1:1-12

⁸ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

⁹ As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Attitudes that hamper Present-Day congregations:

Apathy-ism…not so much as anti-God atheism but passionless Apathy

The Gospel of Jesus Christ often operates LESS as the radical and motivating center in the lives of believers, and more like a hobby to dabble in on the side at their Convenience.

We have so many translations now that most people don’t know what translation to use. Some translations have gone so far as to take out the diety of Jesus Christ. And Don’t mention the Blood we don’t want to offend anyone. HOGWASH!

The ONLY thing that will set our country back on its Feet is The Word OF GOD. It has been proven from Genesis to Revelation for nations that turned their backs on God and then and only then when they got back to the Word of God and Thus saith the Lord did they recover.

All things that we have today came from The Word of God that started in Genesis when God Said….God said…God Said…God said……

This nation has turned far away from the Godly principle it was founded upon which was Gods Word.

Gospel Reading ( Please Stand if Able)  Luke 7:1-10

⁶ So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” ¹⁰ Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Faith Comes by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God.

Without the Word of God there is no Faith. When we are full of Faith we speak Faith filled words. …..REMEMBER with me now the Power of Faith Words.

The centurion has sense enough to know that his Authority is derived from those he represents…When he said  “Go” his subordinates go, and when he orders them “Come” they come.

By simple analogy he knows that if his power derived from human authority, can direct human will, then the one whose power is derived from God is capable of even more.

You and I are ambassadors for God Almighty Creator of heaven and earth.

He commissioned us to go and do and speak for Him in the Great Commission.

Go Forth and Speak the Word.

Prayer

Oh Lord, we understand your instructions to go into all the world and preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Help us to realize it is by your authority that we can speak. Help us today to make that quality decision that from this day forward we are going to be your People that Speak Your Word..Your Word is your Will. Have thine on Way in us.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.