Being Faithful! - Psa 37:28

Being faithful!

July 28, 2013

Psalm 37:28

INTRODUCTION

• Story about couple, getting married, hard times, but commitment pulls them through
• When two people get married, what is it that goes without saying, at the core of their relationship? Faithfulness
• However, in life, things change
• Nothing is so constant as change
• In a marriage, over time, issues encroach on the relationship
• Today, over one in two marriages ends in divorce
• One of the major causes of divorce is marital unfaithfulness
• But faithfulness is far more all-encompassing than that
• Today we are going to look at some areas where God expects us to be faithful

OUR MARRIAGE TO GOD

• Relationships with God are expressed in terms of a marriage
• In the Old Testament, God was married to Israel
• Ezekiel 16 – God finds a cast-off baby in the field, takes care of it, it grows up to be a beautiful woman, at the appropriate time, God marries her
• Here he is speaking about ancient Israel
• Israel listened to the requirements of this agreement, and says “I do” - Exodus 19:3-8
• That marriage ceased, when Jesus died on the cross.
• In the New Testament we are the bride of Christ
• Rev 19:7-9 – wedding of the Lamb
• Eph 5:25-30 – our physical marriage is a type of our spiritual marriage to Jesus
• This spiritual marriage is no less real and literal than our physical marriage
• Faithfulness is an essential part of this marriage to Jesus
• The expression God is faithful, is mentioned many times throughout the Bible
• God expects us to be faithful to him, just as he is faithful
• Phil 2:5 – Let this mind or attitude be in you that was also in Christ Jesus

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH

• Our relationship to the church is also expressed in similar intimacy
• Eph 5:23 – we are a part of the bride, the body of Christ
• As a part of the body, we cannot be separated from it, without dying
• John 15:1-6 – the branches must stay connected to the vine
• 1 Cor 12:12-18 – each part of the body is exactly where he has purposed it to be
• Each part is needed in that place
• Otherwise the body is maimed and incomplete
• Our remaining present in the body, is a part of being faithful to God
• Heb 10:25 – Do not give up meeting together
• Stay committed to the part of the body where God has called you
• Come to church services
• Be at church events
• Exercise your particular gifts God gave you, to edify the Church

OUR COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT THE CHURCH

• Mal 3:8 – robbing God in tithes and offerings
• Tithing is the God-ordained way to support the work he is doing
• In the Old Testament this was the work of the Levites in the temple and religious ceremony
• In the New Testament that work is being done through the church
• When we are not obedient to God's command to give him his portion, we are robbing God
• Being faithful to God includes supporting the church

BEING FAITHFUL IN ALL AREAS OF OUR LIFE

• Being faithful is a state of being, not a single action of being faithful
• If I am faithful at work, I will most likely be faithful at home and in my spiritual life
• If I am unfaithful in my sexual life, I will most likely be unfaithful at work and in my relationship with God
• Psalm 37:28 – If I am a faithful person, God will be with me
• God supports his faithful ones
• Matt 6:33 – seek first the kingdom of God, and he will take care of you
• Here he is speaking of the necessities of life
• Paul needed financial support
• He was in prison, people had forsaken him, and he needed support
• The church in Philippi came through, and brought assistance to Paul
• Phil 4:19 – Paul tells the Philippians, and us, “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”

CONCLUSION

• So let's be known as a faithful person
• When Paul chose people for the ministry, he looked for people who were faithful
• In 1 Tim 3, 2 Tim 2:2 and Titus 1, Paul makes clear that the leaders of the flock must be faithful
• Faithfulness is one of the fruits of the Spirit – Gal 5:22-23
• And faithfulness is the commitment that keeps things unified and moving forward
• If we conduct our lives as faithful men and women, one day Jesus will tell us, as well as millions of others with us: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!"

The Voice of the Spirit! - Zech 4:6

The Voice of the Spirit

July 14, 2013
Zechariah 4:6

INTRODUCTION

• Told that when he went to be with the Father, he would send the Holy Spirit
• John 14:20 says that on that day” you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you
• In John 20, on resurrection evening, he tells the disciples, Receive the Holy Spirit
• For a further 40 days, Jesus teaches the disciples
• Then He ascends to heaven
• But before he leaves, he tells them to wait in Jerusalem for a climactic event, and event that would be huge in its impact
• Acts 1:8
• Then they stay in the upper room for 10 more days, praying
• Finally the day of Pentecost comes
  

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

• Lets read Acts 2:1-4
• They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them
• What kind of tongues were these?
• In the following verses we see that a further amazing miracle happens
• Jews had assembled for the day of Pentecost, an annual pilgrimage to the temple
• They had come from all over the known world. They represented a huge number of dialects and languages
• What happened, is that the apostles, who had no knowledge of all these languages, spoke in tongues
• And the people listening, each understood what was being said
• So there are two miracles here, one is that of speaking in tongues, and the second is that of people each being able to hear in their own language
  

The Importance of being Filled With The Spirit

• Jesus knew that we would be unable to follow through on the Christian life, without God's help
• The ancient Israelites were testimony enough to that
• They had said, all the Lord commands we will do (Exodus)
• But in the end, their unbelief and rebellion drew them away from God, till they had to go into captivity
• And when they came back, having learned a lesson, they became hypocritical in their legalistic obedience
• They missed the point entirely
• Zech 4:6
• It is the same with us
• We can come to Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit just as the disciples did in John 20
• But without being filled with the Holy Spirit, our Christianity will get us nowhere
• Jesus commanded the disciples to wait till they were imbued with power from on high
• Then, they would go out and be his witnesses, doing the works that he did, and the church would explode into the whole of the known world
• Without being filled with the Holy Spirit, we just do not have the power to impact this town
• We can have the most interesting plans and ideas for reaching Susanville, but unless The Holy Spirit is the vehicle for transformation, our efforts will be doomed to failure
  

Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit

• Mat 3:11
• Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit
• To baptize means to immerse underwater, to soak, to completely saturate
• When we are baptized after receiving Jesus, there is a meaning associated with it
• It symbolizes burying our old way of life, and being raised up again to a new life
• This happens when we receive the earnest of the spirit
• Eph 1:13-14
• We are now sealed, our inheritance is guaranteed
• There is now a deposit of the Holy Spirit
• But so many Christians today seem powerless
• They don't know how to do battle, they don't know how to be overcomers
• They are missing something
• The answer is that Jesus also came to Baptize with the Holy Spirit
• When we are immersed in the Holy Spirit, he leaves his mark
• Moses being in the presence of God 40 days left its mark in the glory of God attaching itself to him so that he had to put a bag over his head because people were afraid of the glory shining from his face
• In the same way, when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, he leaves his mark
• That mark is that we become able to speak in tongues
• This is a gift he gives to us
  

Our heavenly prayer language

• It is a way we now can pray to God, unimpeded by our natural fleshly thoughts and distractions
• This prayer language enables us to have a way closer contact and relationship with God
• The closer we are to God the more he can build us up in our spiritual walk
• It starts with being filled with the Holy Spirit, and then praying in the language of the Spirit, which is in tongues
• Through praying in tongues, we are built up in our inner man
• We are strengthened and emboldened, to accomplish Jesus’ purpose in and through us.
  

Invitation

We have a job to do! - Luke 10:1-2

We Have a Job to Do!

July 7, 2013
Luke 10:1-2

READING

- Luke 10:1-11, 17-20

INTRODUCTION

• It was around 1983 years ago, in the spring or summer
• Jesus was speaking to a large crowd of people, his disciples
• Jesus had a lot of disciples, not just the twelve
• Each of them had qualities Jesus recognized, and he chose them to represent him
• He gave them the tools and the authority to use them
• Then he sent them out, to prepare the way for his coming
• They did go, and they actually did all that Jesus had asked of them
• They prayed for people and they were healed!
• They preached effectively!
• They set free people who were oppressed by demons!
• They return with joy, in verse 17, and Jesus who sent them out was himself full of joy (v21)!
• When we are fulfilling our God-given task, there is joy and fulfillment!
• We have been called to complete the same task!
  

PROBLEMS IN SUSANVILLE

• Drug addiction is rife
• Alcoholism is a huge problem in this town
• These lead to violence in families and on the streets
• Many families move to Susanville, to be closer to their husbands in CCC or High Desert State Prison
• There is a sense of hopelessness, unemployment, inability to get over depression and anxiety
• This is known as a prison town, and this town itself is in prison
• These are people we associate with each day
• They are colleagues at work, they are our fishing buddies, they are our classmates at school, the people we hang out with
• They do not know the answer to their problems
• So they sink deeper and deeper into their addictions
• But we have answers to give them
• We can give them hope for change in their lives
• We too have been called to prepare the way of the Lord
  

OUR VISION

• During the last year, God sovereignly grew this church from a low point of 22 attenders, to the mid 60s today
• He increased our numbers by 40 people, and gave us hope for the future
• But his intention for us is that we go out and labor in the harvest
• It is our task, our job, our calling, to reach out to our community, and show people the way to Jesus
• We may think, but pastor, I could never do that
• How do you think the 70 felt when Jesus sent them out
• One moment they are listening to Jesus, he gives them an assignment, and then the meeting is finished, and what do they do now?
• But Jesus gave them the ability to do the job
• He gave them the gifts, and they went out doing what Jesus did
• We are going to do the same.
• I am expecting that by the end of this year we will have 80 people sitting in this service
• And at the end of next year, I am expecting in faith that there will be 120 people in this church
• The kingdom is a growing entity. The fields are white to harvest.
• There is no reason why this church should not be filled to the brim
• So I am setting a target for our church
• I know that it is not about numbers
• But there are so many hurting people out there needing Jesus
• Jesus sent us out
• John 20:21 – Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, I am sending you
• During the coming weeks, I will be outlining a strategy which will help us perform this task
  

WATCH BILLY GRAHAM VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYcmWleMaWs

• In November we will be taking up the Billy Graham challenge
• We are going to make an impact in Susanville!
  

INVITATION

• If you would like to be a part of this crusade against the darkness, please come forward now
• We will pray for you and you will receive power to do the job Jesus has given you
• We will go out into the highways and byways and invite people to the marriage supper of the lamb
• And God's kingdom will grow in Susanville!