Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Last week we learned about meditating on God's Wrod. What should be the focus on today's passage? Is it that the Lord is my shepherd? Is it that you will lack nothing? Depending on what you focus on the meaning will be different. If you call Jesus your shepherd, then what do you become? You are confessing that you are nothing more than an animal. Do you see yourself as this? Do you call out to God so that you will get what you want, to be led by quiet streams to be lacking in nothing? Do you see that when you call out to God to get what you want you must let Him lead you first? Do you lack nothing? Does that mean you really have everything? Does it not mean that you are abandoning yourself to Him, so that even if you are hungry that you are not concerned about yourself, but you are concerned about what He wants? We say that we will go where He leads us, but the moment things get difficult how much is it that you complain? We love this Psalms but do we really understand it? Do you know why it is that you will fear no evil even though you are in dark valleys? It is because your eyes are only on Him who leads us, but we do not live like this, we let the worries of the world consume us. We desire that God does His work in us that will lift us up, to put us above others and to be recognized by others. In 2 Corinthians Paul tells us of his suffering that he endures for Christ. He abandons his life for Jesus and realizes that Christ alone will decide when he will die or live and whatever he does until he is called will be to do His will. Where is Jesus in your life? You complain when things do not go your way. You argue and fight because you are not content. We are called to proclaim Jesus. Stephen was stoned for his confession of Jesus. You, in your own families, do you represent Christ? You think that you can act holy, but your spouse knows how you really are. Have you ever stood up for the gospel? Have you ever taken a stone for Christ, or do you leave and cower when the opportunity rises? You may see Stepehen as a failure because he lost his life, but we know that God was pleased. Are you one who can call upon the name of our LORD? We do not believe to reap rewards here on this earth. We follow Christ so that He may be glorified through our lives. When God saves us He will do so according to His will. Like Peter who was freed from prison twice. The first time to go to the temple area to preach and the second time to flee and save his life. It is God's desire to free you for His purpose. David had two enemies. Goliath and Saul. He did not take on both enemies in the same manner. Depending on the enemy the way you address them is different. When you have difficulties in your life the way you address them depends on what God desires. You must do it according to God's will so that He way be glorified. In our garden the hot peppers have been doing what they were created to do, even though the weather has cooler than normal. The peppers do not give up, they do what they can with all there might so that they will pass in their seeds and keep living. They would normally grow about 6 inches but because it has been cold they stopped at an inch. They did not die, but turned red as if mature to spread their seeds. Do you have the discipline to do all that you can to fulfill your purpose and follow God with all your strength? Like the peppers, although they did not reach full potential, they struggled to do their best, do you struggle to give God your best? To be victorious in this life means you will be victorious in the next life. I pray that you will be able to achieve the life that God has purposed for you.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Psalms 1 Pastor Howard Park

Psalms 1. 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. The hymn we sang Nearer My God to Thee confesses to God that we will bear the cross and still sing nearer my God to thee. This is the song of a true believer. In our walk when we face difficulties those moments are when we are to persevere and keep going forth, but rather we give up and put the cross down. Why do we do this? It is because we are being fooled by the devil to think that this is not the way. When we look at a situation we can see it either as a challenge or something to complain about. The cup is either half full or half empty. You are here in a country of abundance but rather than giving thanks for what we have we complain of what we lack and continue to want more and more. The life I have been given by God, the place I have been put, if I am able to see the hand of Gd doing His work in me I can go forth with gratitude but if I only see what I am lacking then the path I go down in destruction. Today's passage says "blessed is he" if we are blessed then why do we complain? Do you step with the wicked, stand ithe way of sinners or sit in the company of mockers? It says the one who is blessed will meditate on the law of the Lord day and night. If you remember all the things that you have been doing wrong, and those thoughts are binding you and you cannot free yourself from the worries of life, could it be that you are failing to do what the blessed one is supposed to do? I frequently give examples of the gardening that I do. I spend hours clearing out the weed to plant the vegetables but the next morning the weeds will come back. The plants that start to grow are eaten by the birds and the insects that feed on them. If I am not able to remove the weeds completely they will grow back. If the plants I desire to grow are not deeply rooted into the ground then they will die quickly. The world is against you. It is dangerous. We are told to love but we don't love completely. We are told to forgive but we don't forgive completely. Instead of following God completely we pick and choose how we will follow Him. Is that then the right way? In the study of genetics if we change the genes is the product the same? If we are changing the truth is it the truth? If the bible is specific but I interpret it in my own way what do you call that? If the bible does not specify a certain matter and I am free to become the measuring line, is it not a dangerous situation? Are you prepared to answer for the choices you make? Are the choices that you will make be according to what God desires or what you desire? Do you look to God to show you the way that will give Him glory or do you look for solutions to your problems that make it the most comfortable for you? Do we not call it grace when we follow the path that God shows us and find comfort in doing what He says is right rather than what we think is right? Grace is undeserved. It is God's love for us given to us freely. God's love was given to us when He sent His Son to die on the cross for us. Grace is not something that you feel, it is the revelation of knowing that God has forgiven you for your sins and that you a now free to have eternal life through Jesus. If all I do is recieve the gift of Jesus dying on the cross but do not participate in the death and resurrection then there is no use. I must be convicted in my heart and seek to find the path that will glorify God for the gift of grace. That is conversion. To know the depth of God's love I must do all that is within me to pursue it though mind, spirit and strength. We all desire to satfisfy ourselves. It is foolishness. We would rather hurt ourselves pursuing our pleasures rather than restrain ourselves and receiving the blessing from it. When I am hurting because of physical negligence, then those around me also suffer. If I am able to restrain myself and keep myself well, then those around me are free to not worry about me. I must be able to let go of the things of this world and jump freely into the grace that God has given me so that I am able to live free in Him. Grace does not mean that we can use it as an excuse to do what we want. Grace affords us the opportunity to do what God wants when we surrender to Him. The bible has no record often at we are to recieve grace. It is recorded that we are to recieve teachings, sufferings, faith, healing....but it never mentions grace. We misunderstand what grace is and it causes us to live a life that does not give God glory. Instead of being transformed by the gift of grace we think grace is continuously given to us daily and instead of changing we sit in confort and use grace as an excuse to do nothing. If grace does allow us to do nothing then what use is it? I has no power, it means nothing. But if it does cause us to change, then we can say we have recieved the gift of grace. If I do not meditate on the law of God, and do not discipline myself I will not recieve the blessings that God has for me. Peter acted on His faith and jumped onto the water. The cripple was healed when he stood up to walk. You must act upon your faith. The blessing will only come after you act upon your faith. Even Peter doubted and started to drown. Do not believe 99.9 %. That is not complete faith. You must believe 100%. If you read things in the bible that do not make sense to you but you put all your strength into doing it, you will be blessed. When you do the things that God desires, God will receive the glory. It is for God's glory that we are here. It is for His glory that we are to live free of worry and stress. Though no one else follows after me, I must follow God and live the life that proclaims His love. May you all live the life that will give God he glory and recieve the blessings that He desires for you.

John 3:30 Pastor Joy Park

He must be more and I must be less. John the Baptist knew that Christ must be victorious and that he himself must fade away. John confessed that he was not even worthy to tie the sandals of Christ, but what type of attitude do we have? Rather than have Christ shine in our lives we prefer to shine. Instead of giving Christ the glory we want to take it. We want to succeed in life and desire to attain the things of this world. With wisdom and knowledge you can succeed in this world. You do not need Jesus. If you say that you are a believer and use your own wisdom and knowledge then you did not live like a believer. Do you live your life trusting Jesus or do you trust in yourself? When in business the world tells us to be cuthroat. W do not share our secrets with others and try to hide all the good products for ourselves. When I did business I bought products for other vendors to sell so that they could make a profit. The things I gave them sold well. People said I was crazy for doing business this way. Later those people would come and find me and ask me why I did this. I asked them if the products sold well, they said the products sold really well. I told them then to do one thing only and that was to go to church. I used business as a means to share the gospel, to get people to find Jesus. Whenever we needed money for the church we were attending. We prayed that God would give to us what we needed to provide for the church. GOd always gave us what we needed. It w because we did not pray for what we needed but for what the church needed and the church was given all it needed. When we took over the business at that time it was failing and we did not have much money. We had to sell things in the morning with the little money we had to go buy more things to sell with the mornings profit to ell things in the afternoon. I had no idea how to do business but the one thing I did was always ask God to show me what to buy to sell. Everything He showed me always sold well. We were making profit and the things I bought I shared with others to sell for themselves also. God may give us things that seem like they are falling apart but He is leading the way. We all want to be famous and have nice things but is it about you or do you really want Christ to shine? Are you willing to let Christ do what He desires with your life or are you going to to do what you want to do? How long are you going rebel? When will you turn to Him? Do you think that you have eternity to turn back? It does not matter that Christ comes tomorrow, you must live right before today, now. Even though the world goes on for a thousand years you will die soon. Today you are to be living according to the word. We desire to be acknowledged and praised, but when we are not we get upset. What does that do for us? We are to live in humility and not look for praise. Rather than lift us up we are to lift up the name of Jesus. We do this by sharing Jesus with others. When we a concerned about Jesus He will take care of you. He will provide you all that you need in abundance but you must first say yes to Him and live according to His word. It is through sacrifice, tears and perseverance that you will be able to live this life. One time someone came to see me, and afterwards the lady left an envelope. Before I even opened it God told me to give it to someon else. We had nothing at that time to eat, but went and gave the envelope to the person. That evening someone came to our house with a pot of beef stew. She said God led her to give us this food. God provided of us. Sometime later, God sent us someone with an envelope and we were given money in order to pay the rent that month. He kept us from being evicted from our place. God will provide everything you need but it is only when you trust Him and perservere through faith. Are you going to life Christ up or are you going to lift yourself up? Everyone sees how our children are doing all they need to do even though it is not the way the world sees it. They go to school and are provided everything. God will lift you up when you live to lift Him up. May you also trust the Lord to provide you as you live the life to lift Him up.

Ruth 1:17 Pastor Howard Park

Ruth 1:17 1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelek, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. 3 Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. 8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord 's hand has turned against me!" 14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." 16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." Today we celebrate Mother's Day. We call it Mother's Day but it is actually the Lord's Day. I have a problem with this because why is it necessary to call it Mother,s Day when it is actually the day to worship our Lord? Is it possible that this can be twisted and the focus taken away from God? We should look to worship God and see how as a mother one can give glory to God. In today's passage we see the story of Ruth and her mother Naomi. We see that they are in the midst of making a decision of where to go. Ruth is decisive in her decision to follow her to the end. Do you as a mother have this kind of decisiveness? Ruth confesses that the God her mother in law serves will be her God and her people will be her people. What kind of life did Naomi show Ruth that gave Ruth the decisiveness to follow her? Let us add the fathers into this also. Do you as a father live a life that makes others desire to follow the God you serve? If you did not then you have failed. On Friday we learned that Jesus is our Master. We are His servants. Then why is it that we do not live according to the way the Master desires but rather we live the way we want. We have been deceived by Satan and live recklessly and without focus. Our society has been deceived and now we can see why our society is falling apart. We have lost the heart of service and rather we are only concerned about ourselves. It is our selfishness that lacks regard for others and in this disregard we do not care about how the st of the world ends up as long as one is doing well. If we were to care for others as we cared for ourselves then we would have a better family, community and country. Instead of being selfish we should serve others. Naomi lived a life that showed Ruth how to live a life that pleased God. It is so much so that her name has been recorded in history for us to see. Is there any greater gift than the gift of faith? When we hear things that bother our conscience we get angry because why we hear is contrary to what we desire to do. If everything were to be the way you wanted you would never get angry. You get angry because you are the deciding line of what is right and wrong. You pretend to not hear the truth, you act as if the word does not apply to you, you come and go to church when you feel Ike it. If you say that you serve God, then do you truly believe Him when He tells you that He will show you the way to find life and help you with all your problems? There a times when the word gives you such relief, at times such hope, and at times it convicts us. When it convicts us rather than forgetting what it says you should read it over again and apply that conviction into your life. There is a man in Korea who owns 62 patents. He says that when he sees a problem he will keep staring at it until the solution presents itself. He says that he is not highly educated, but the answer is not in the education but in finding the answer to the problem. Do you have a purpose that you desire in your life? Is it to be a followeer of Christ? If that is your goal, then are you doing everything in your power to live the life and make the changes that will bring about the change? Are all you actions in line with you goal? If you live this life that is completely devoted to serving God then you will be victorious in your pursuit of God. The God will give you all the blessings that your heart desires. You will have a happy home. The reason you do no is because what you desires and what your actions show are not working together. Y say you want to follow God but you pick and choose what you will do and not do. You pick and choose what you believe and not believe. Do you have any less than Naomi? Are you still complaining to God? Do you know when the most important time in your life is? It is now. It is the people you are with now. If you see this then you should live your life as it is the most important opportunity to do the things that will make the difference tomorrow. Rather than complaining about your spouse, work, and others, lie your life and make ue of this time to make the changes that will impact your life. Stop wasting time complaining and arguing. You accomplish nothing. You are being foolish. What has changed in your life? Naomi lived in complete obedience to God. Is the Old Testament easier to follow or the New Testament? The OT is easier because all you. Had to do was show acts of obedience, but the New Testament showed that it was not only your actions but the condition of your heart. In the OT even if you killed someone you were able to be forgiven but in the NT even if you had hated someone you were guilty of murder. Do you see this? Can you come to worship before God when you constantly argue with your wife? Will God accept your worship? Why do we worship on Sunday rather than Saturday? It is easier to come to God after the week is over and ask for forgiveness, but we have changed the sequence. Now we worship God first on the first day of the week and say that we will live a life that glorifies God. How much more are we responsible for our actions? The NT says that God looks at our hearts. God sees everything. The OT was concerned with outward appearance but now we are held to a higher standard. God desires those who worship Him I spirit and truth, but how many times do we worship out of our emotionally driven motives. We must be able to be discerning. We must live like Naomi did, and to obey God in everything. We all have the ability to do so, but you can only do so when you surrender completely to Him. May you all live your life to be a blessing to the who follow after you.

"Servants" Pastor Joy Y Lee

The servant who listens to his master is the proper servant. We are servants to our Matser Jesus. In the past the owner of the servant could do with the servant as he wished. Even if death was put on the servant there was no consequence to the master. If Christ is your master then what should your life be? It was not that long ago that people owned slaves and had servants. We compare our lives to that of a servant, but how obedient are we to our Master? In our places of work, we have people who oversee us. They are the owners and if we do not work to please them then we are fired from our positions. What about those who think that they are smarter than their bosses and create problems? You cannot argue your way past the owner, you will be fired and someone who can work to please the boss will take that person's place. Yes, there are those who follow and obey God, but there are also many who do not. At school, the teacher is the master over the students. The teachers are knowledgeable and can teach the students, but what about the students? Do they listen to their teachers? How obedient are you to Jesus? Have you changed the things that God has told you to change? Are you still comparing yourself to others and think that you are better than them? People are having visions of heaven and telling us that famous preachers are not in heaven. What does that mean to you? You cannot work your way to heaven. You can never do enough and you can never be better than the other person to get there. Comparing youself to someone else does not get you into heaven. Everyone has things that one must change. Over and over again you are told to chnage yourself, but you do not listen. Is Jesus really your Master? Are you the one telling your Master what you will and will not do? Are telling Him that you know better than Christ? There are many CEOs who do not have a college degree, but people still work for them. Can you work for someone who is less educated than you, or does your pride get in the way? Do you think that you are better than them? Would you starve because of your pride? Do you love Jesus? You say you do, but do you really want to spend every minute with Him and not be apart from Him? We are do good at singing love songs to Him, but the moment we turn around we have no thoughts of Jesus. Why is this? Do you really want to follow Christ? Why is it that you refuse to give up the things of this world to Him? You can take nothing with you when you die, do why do you hold on to it and refuse to let go? Nothing is yours. Everything belongs to God. What use is it if you are buried with your favorite clothes or in an expensive casket? Will it matter when you are dead? Should you not live the life that please your Master? If God tells you to witness on the streets but you refuse and rather preach in churches, will God be pleased? If God sends you to Africa to witness to a few, but you go somewhere else and preach to millions, will God be pleased? He will not. You have disobeyed. He does not care about numbers, He desires obedience. For years we had only a few people in our church, and many people told us to close our church, but I did not do it because I did not have the church for people, but we had the church because God told us to. Like everyone, I also desire to have a big church, but that means nothing. What is important is doing what God says. If God tells you to take two steps do not go three. It is easy to obey God as long as you get rid of your pride and arrogance. God has taken care of our family all these years. He has fed us and clothes us. We have not starved. God knows what we need. God does not give you according to what you desire but He gives you according to His will. Change the way you think. Let go of your stubborness. Live your life to please God. Live your life to please Jesus who is your groom. We must maintain the heart of the servant and serve God as our Master. If you desire to serve God as your Master then you must know what it is that you must do as a servant.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Luke 9:57-62

May 6, 2012 Luke 9:57-62 57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Jesus has given us many life lessons, today we will look in detail about what He has taught us. He says that no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service. Einstein once said that work that requires six hours can be achieved in 30 minutes if they are focused. Also, work that requires 30 minutes cannot be completed in six hours if you do not commit and are not focused. Edison also said that when you are focused on one thing then you too can achieve success. Are we focused on the following Jesus? Are we focused on the bible? When we see those who are successful in life we see that these people a following the lessons that Jesus has taught. Why did Jesus teach in parables? In the parables are the secrets to life. If we would listen and follow then we too, would be victorious in our lives. If I were to be in Christ and Christ in me then I would be a successful Christian. It is not this way and that is why we fail. We fail because instead of being in Christ, we instead go ahead of Christ and look back at him once in a while. When we take a plant or a tree and uproot it and move it to another location, the tree does not bear fruit immediately as if it had not been moved. In your spiritual life, when you go from non belief to a follower of Christ, do you think that you can bear fruit easily? Just because you fertilize your plants does it mean that suddenly everything will grow beautifully? It may not be so. You can harm the process of growth if you are not careful. Going from a life of nonbeliever to belief is not easy. You may say that you have believed Christ your entire life since childhood, but have you ever come to the point where you realize that all that you believe must now be put into action? Have you ever considered that the lessons you have learned all these years must start to bear fruit in your life? Even if you could not put into practice all these lessons, could you put into practice one lesson whole heartedly? Are you willing to suffer the pain that comes with transitioning simple belief into action? Just as a plant will suffer from being moved are you willing to suffer to grow? Just as it takes effort and pain to discipline the body to become stronger, it takes discipline and effort to follow Christ. If you know that you are the Cild of Christ and that He has saved you form your sins then the life you live must reflect that belief. You must Iive out your faith. Their are certain guidelines that the bible has set for us to follow to live the life of faith. Of you want to be a doctor or lawyer you must meet the requirements and pass the exams to be one. Is it any different for following Christ? Christ desires to use you to glorify him, but are you living the life that brings him glory? Are you following the guidelines that he has set for you to follow? If your earthly father wants you to be a certain way, but you are rebellious to him, will people think that you are the child of your father? As a plant suffer to survive again once it is moved, we too must suffer but we refuse to do so. The amount of discipline and suffering I am willing to suffer will dictate the amount of success or failure one will attain as a believer. To live a life as a believer is frustrating in the beginning. It is not easy. But because of the frustration if I do not persevere, then I am only uprooting myself again, putting myself in harms way, making it more difficult for me to be grounded and rooted ithe place I should, because of my lack of discipline and patience. Is salvation something that is attained just because I have confessed that I am saved, or is it because I have attained a position in the church? When I say that I am saved I am confessing that I have a new Master. Has your life been filled with the suffering that comes with following your new Master? Or are you here still after years of coming to church only out of habit and bearing no fruit of belief? I am told to love my wife, but instead of loving my wife I complain. Does Jesus count that to my credit as belief? It does not matter what all 7 billion people on earth believe, if Jesus says it is so', then it is, and if he says it is not so, then it is not. In a business or company, the manager tells the emplyee what to do. If he tells you to buy and sell something youare not the one too say yes or no, youare only to do as you are told to do. If Jesus is the manager of your lfe and he tells you to love, but instead of loving you say you cannot, then what do you think will happen to you? Is this not the kind of life you live? Instead of doing you tell the manager of your life what you can and cannot do. You do not live the life of faith. You live according to your own thoughts and desires. Plowing a field is very difficult. It takes much strength and skill for the plowman to do this task. One must be aware of the direction of the cow and the depth of the plow. It is not a simple task. It is said that once you have mastered the plow then you have acquired the skills of a farmer. Why did Jesus compare the life of faith with plowing the field? It is because when you plow the field you are preparing it for a new harvest. That means you are preparing yourself to change a live a new life. You cannot lie this live plowing deeper in one area and less somewhere else. You cannot plow a field going straight in someplaces and crooked in others. If you desir to follow Christ then you must first plow the field of your soul and make the path straight. If you do not put all your strength into doing this then Jesus tells us that you will not be able to enter into the kingdom. Jesus taught us how to pray, in which we say 'hallowed be thy name', but what does this mean? In order to bless the name of God, the one who is blessing it must be holy to bless the name of God. It means whe we pray we ar confessing to God that we a going to live a life that is holy. If I say this prayer then I must live the life. When a woman said that blessed is the woman who raised him, Jesus replied that the one who is truly blessed is the one who obeys the word of God. If you want to be blessed you must obey the word of God and live this life. In order to receive the gifts of eternity, you must not only study the word of God but you must put it into action. You must live a life that people will acknowledge and that God will acknowledge. You must be complete in you life. Your word and action must be one. It is because God is complete and He is one. May we all grab hold of the plow and live the life that is complete in word and action that we may share in the life that Christ has for us.

The Acts Of Believers

May 4, 2012 How will those who do not believe know that we are believers? Unless I tell someone that I am a believer or go to church, will others be able to see that I am one who follows Christ? How does your life show that you are a believer? Is it your clothing? Is it because you dress a little bit more modest than others? How do people know that you are different? Do people look at you and wonder what it is about you that they desire to find out why you are different? Or do people look at you and say that if that is a believer than I want nothing to do with Christ? There are so many false believers out there in the world today. Do you think that because you have a title in church that you are special? Why do people call you by your title when you are out drinking? Does it give you status? Are these positions for your status or is it a position given to you by the curch to serve the church and have nothing to do with your pride? People speak terrible things about their church, they speak terrible this about their pastors and elders and other church members. Who would want to be a follower of Christ when it is the very people who claim to follow Him, that curses those in the church? Fifty or sixty years ago there were not many believers but when people saw you they knew that you were a follower of Christ because you were different. Today so called Christians are found in the bars drinking and smoking and calling each other by their church titles. This is wrong. What kind of life do you think that you must live? What happens to all those times that you spend reading the bible, singing hymns, and praying? Do you really do it to worship and grow or is there no thought when you do these things? Children do not follow God because you fail as a parent. You do no set the example of how to follow Christ and then when they fail in life you the parent cry about the troubles that your children suffer. You do not teach according to the word, rather you teach according to your emotions. Where is the stability? Of course there a those who set great examples but the children still refuse to follow. These children are rebellious. They desire only to do what they want. The bible tells us to not spare the rod. This does not mean to beat them because you ae angry, but to discipline them in truth. Those who do not believe are not at fault. We are the ones who do not set the proper example and it is our faults that they, the nonbelievers, do not want to follow Christ. Children must be shown the proper way to succeed. W cannot be victorious on our own, it is through Christ that we are able. Without Christ nothing matters. What kind of life are you living outside of here? What are the things that you see? Do you see the faults of others, the things that disappoint you, the things that irritate you? Or do you see that others need compassion, love and prayer? How long has it been that you have been a believer? Do you think that you are better than those who do not believe? It is by grace that you have been saved and shown the truth, it is not because you are worthy. You should pray that others are shown the same grace. Do not think that because you say you are a Chrsitian that you can go and drink with nonbelievers and smoke with them and think that you are a follower of Christ. You cannot do what the world does and say that you follow Christ. You become the reason that nonbelievers choose not to follow Christ. Do not sit with those nonbelievers in places you should not be at and try to bring them to church. You must be different and set apart. You are to be a witness through the life you live. If your life is not separate from those who live in this world, then are you really a Christian? What kind of life should you live so that you are able to be a witness to others? Are you really able to teach others and show them the way to live the life of a believer? Why is the world falling apart? It is because we do not live the life that we a called to live. It is the fault of those who say they believe. The pastors must wake up. It is useless to preach empty words. They must start living the life they preach. The churches are dying because there is no fruit. God does not desire big churches, He desire churches that are true to His word and live the life of a believer. Seeds must die before they grow. You must die and be a new creation. Why do you refuse to die. Do you not want to live? Then let go of the old self and bear fruit. The more you try to hold on, the more difficult it becomes. There is a difference between being persecuted for following Christ and being ridiculed because you are living a lie. Do not confuse these things. Pray that you will be able to let go of the old self, to die and be a new creation in Christ and to bear the fruit of your faith.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Hebrews 11:1-5

Hebrews 11:1-5 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: "He could not be found, because God had taken him away." For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. What do our lives look like? We live our lives confessing Christ as our Saviour. There are also those that we know who follow Christ. What do you learn from them as you watch them? People listen to others and decide whether what someone has spoken is worthy or learning and using or to not listen to it and discard it. Men have much pride. They refuse to listen to their wives. Men only want to hear the things that they decide is for them. What happened to love your wives as Chrsit loves the church? Our lives are difficult because we pick and choose. Instead of changing our behaviors we refuse to listen. We do not want to change. If we would just let go of our pride we could start to change. Our pride gets in the way of changin ourselves to be better. An athlete can never lose sight of the ball. A Christian should never lose sight of what? If you become the focus of your life will you succeed in the spiritual life? If you do so what will be your end result? The person of faith, their focus should be only God. We see in today's passage that those believers completely submitted themselves to God. They did not expect anything, they only submitted to whatever God told them. Abraham did not think to himself that he will only say that he will offer up Isaac and God will not really kill him. Abraham was completely ready to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Does your life give complete glory to God? Whether you are alive or at the point of death are you submitting completely to God's will? Are you really serving God, or are yo using God for your own purpose? When you realize that yo will not succeed in this life living the way you want, then you can start to make the changes that will give you the success that you desire. It does not matter that you pray, if right after you go living your life the same way. It is what you do to make the changes that matter. If you say you put your trust in God and right after you start worrying about the problems, where is you faith? Each of us in our families become the leader of our faith to our children. What would happen if you lived this life of faith and truly showed our next generation the right way to go? We have a great opportunity to becomes leader, but have you made the decision to do something great in your situation? People who make things can cut corners to finish the project, but they know whether or not the finished product is perfect or not? In your life you may act that you are holy, but the truth is you know that you are living a lie. If in your life as you compare it to the word, if you fail to repent and change then what fruit do you think that you will bear? If you realize that you are making a mistake, you must repent and start over. It is easier to start over now than to let things go and try to do it again later. It will not get easier the longer you let things go. What you may think is fine and acceptable is not really so. Rather than trying to communicate with your spouse you think that buying a gift or going out to eat will solve your problems. It is not so. You are only trying to appease your mind and not really getting to the issues that are causing your strife. Instead of living as Christ commands, you look at yourself and think that you are acceptable. You set your own standards, and think that you have done enough. In order to be a true Christian you must truly repent and give your life to God. When you are your own god you do as you please. You come to church when you want to and do the things that only pleases you. Who guides a child? Their friends or their parents? Obviously the parents should, but children want to please their friends and get lost in this. Are you not the same? Rather than trying to please God you live your life to please man. Rather than not partaking in the things of this world you go to places and drink and do the things as those who live to please themselves. Will God seeing this, give you the blessings that you desire? You say that instead of smoking a pack of cigarettes that because you have cut down to one, that you are doing well. You do not see that the one is the sin that you are still committing. Stop thinking and living according to your thoughts. Listen to those who are trying to help you live the life that is truly the best. The best way is to truly follow Christ completey. Your eyes must be open to this. Are you trying to live your life the way you think is right? Are you trying to saolve everything your way? Will you recieve God's blessing by living your life this way? Do you think that you can do why you want without consequence? The closer you get to God, His infinite wisdom will guide you through everything and show you the way, but you must be able to let go of yourself and seek God. Is this not what we want for each of you in this church? Who is the one that succeeds in studying? He is the one who studies and enjoys it, but there is also one who is even greater and that is the one who studies while enjoying it and studies with a sense of urgency. No one can follow one such as this. You must actively seek God and do so with a sense of urgency and put your life on the line. If you do not decide to sacrifice everything that you have to follow Him then you will never succeed. Only then will God take pleasure in you and give you all the blessings so that you can overcome this world. May you be victorious in this life by doing all that you must to receive all of God's blessing for you by giving Him glory.

How Sould We Live To Be A Citizen Of Heaven?

How should we live to be a citizen of heaven? W cannot enter heaven because we think we will go nor can we evade hell because we say so. When we live according to God's word then we can not do anything but enter into heaven. When Jesus is our savior and we repent and live a life according to the word then we can go to heaven. We all desire to go, but our actions say otherwise. Each of us knows if we are living in sin. If you steal at night when no one is watching you are still in sin. You can fool people but you are still a thief and you know that you are. Do I speak incorrectly? We think that because the people around do not know the truth that God also does not know. I may hide the truth from my husband, and he may even pretend to not the my true feelings but my actions will reveal the truth. There are times when we overlook each others faults and issues but it does not mean that you do not know the truth. Do you think that you can fool God? When you act in this way do you think thaat you can be a part of heaven? Going to heaven is easy, all you have to do is follow the bible. The reason it is difficult is because you refuse to do what it says and you want to do what you want. You are being fooled by the devil. No one lives forever. To live one hundred years is considered a long life. Will you live longer? What are you doing with your life? The more you desire the things of this world the further you go from God. God did not tell us to not enjoy our lives, God tells us not to sin. The problem is you desire the things of this world more than God. You want to do things that are sin and say that those are the things that please you. You want to satisfy the desires of the flesh and say that it is not sin, but God says to not do it. It does not matter that the law allows same sex marriage, the bible says it is wrong. We are not to judge them for their sins, but we are to love them and pray that they will return to God. Where will you stand as a citizen of heaven? How will you live your life? Stolen things may be sweeter and it is more exciting, but the truth is there is more things to enjoy and find pleasure in while living in Christ. You may fool your spouse and commit adultery, but did you fool God and all those who saw you with the other person? True love in God is not allowing the other person to sin and do what they want. True love is different. It is about right and wrong and we are to teach this. If I tell you that it is ok to sin and that you can do what your want and repent later, I will be judged by God for leading people astray. I will not do this. It is easier to obey than to rebel. It is so much more difficult to rebel but it is because you are closer to the devil than you are to God. If you were close to God the devil would just leave you alone. Why do you refuse to repent and change? When will you do it, next year? When will you start living as a person of heaven? Here in this place you are to live as though you are in heaven. What if tonite you are no longer here? Tonight a two year old died. Do not think that you will live until you are eighty or ninety. No one has the right on their own to enter into heaven. It is only through the blood of Christ. You must repent and live a new life. Nobody here tells you not to believe in Crist, so then what is keeping you from following Him? He is the way, the truth and the life. You must live properly according to the word and be careful to do what it says. It is no use to memorize the bible if you do not live according to the word. There are supposed many Christians in this world, but the reason the world is getting wor is because these supposed Christians are not living the life of Christ. There are countless sermons on tv and the internet, but still the world does not change. Whether you go to heaven or not is up to you. Whether I go to heaven or not is up to me. I only do what I am told, I speak to you because it is my duty, whether you go to heaven or not is not up to me. Please change. Please change so that we can start learning about other things. We have spoken about this for a month. The spirit leads me because this is for someone who needs it. God desires to make you a child of heaven and not hell. Stop thinking that you have time. I have tasted death three times. If God calls me right now then it is over. You will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Repent and live to fulfill your purpose. Take all the talents that God has given you and use them to glorify God wherever you are called. Do not let Jesus' blood go to waste. Stop living in your stubborness and stop thinking that your greed is the leading of the spirit. There will be difficulties and hardships but you must persevere. Stop living according to your emotions but live according to the truth and the spirit. Wake up.

Genesis 2:15-25

Genesis 2:15-25 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." 18 The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Malachi 3:7-9 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' 8 "Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How are we robbing you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse —your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Today's two passages are about the tithe. The words and their meanings are powerful. We must be careful to understand the meaning and use words properly. We see here two separate passages but are they related? The tree of knowledge and the tithe. When two people are in love is there equality or is there a difference in status between the two. Is there not a time for both equality and distinction? Today's society has lost it's way because we have failed to follow these distinctions. Why does this happen? It is because people follow their desires and the self has become god. When people serve a god do they do things for their ow pleasure or do they try to please their god? If we serve the living God then how should we worship Him? Is it according to our desires or is it to please Him? We worship the Most High God but we do so according to our desires. God gave Adam everything but with only one restriction. You have been given evrything to you by God, but he tells you to restrain from one thing. How does one know that they are servant to someone unless there is a restriction? Isn't that the tree of knowledge? God is showing you His power by setting a limit. It is this line that we crossed that separates us from God. In the conversation between Eve and the servant we seethed the servant added things that were not true. She fell for the lies. Is this only the fault of Eve? It is also Adam's fault for he is the be who taught Eve as her husband. God did not make a covenant with Eve, God did so with Adam. Who is responsible? Can we not see that Adam must have shown Eve the way of conversation and failed to do so properly. We fail to see everyday the limits that God puts to us so that we can be blessed, but we refuse to follow these limits and do all sorts of reckless things with our speech and actions that ultimately spit in our own faces. If we realize that everything belongs to God and that we are only moving in His presence then giving Him His tithe is easy. When we fail to realize this then we become robbers of God's tithe. If you really want to meet God then you must live according to His word and His laws. The law is the guideline to how to live properly. In the OT the law was for us to follow the guidelines set before us through our actions, but the NT became even more difficult because God was now letting us know in plain truth that He was looking at our hearts. Jesus says that He came to fulfill the Law. That means that the OT and NT are one and the same. Do you really love God? Then obey all the laws with love. Do you really love your spouse? Then love them and do all things out of love and be one. Love covers everything, but when you become the focus there is no love. Instead of following the path set before us, you complain and grumble to God about everything. You are never satisfied and always find something to argue about. Why did God make the tree, why did he make us tithe? You refuse to obey and it is not about what God did, it is about your selfish desires. God tells us to do so many things but we refuse, and the things he tells to not do, we do, is this not like eating of the tree? Are you not living according to how you want and not obeying God? Are you still eating of the tree everyday and dying? Are you living according to what pleasesGod or to please yourself? You can kill people through speech, written word, lies, curses, etc. the things that you say can either kill someone or save them.hg We fail to see how important the things we say are so powerful, but we would rather live easily and do things for our pleasure. Are you trying to please God or aree you trying to please man? If you please God you will successful in everything but we refuse to do what He commands and try to bring God down to our level and do what we want. When you live in love you are free from the law because everything you do will be out of love and not fear. The problem is that you do not do things out of love, you look at the law and are bound by the fear it causes and cannot live the life that God has given to you. We cannot live our lives by changing the word to fit our lives but we must change our lives to fit according what God desires. Let us look our lives and see what we must do so that we can be victorious in living the life that pleases and glorifies God.

Faith Is The Substance of Belief

How do you know that you have faith? Is it because you pray, go to church, have a little understanding of the Word? With what do you say that you have faith? Coming to church does not mean you have faith. Chirldren can be forced to come to church. Are you here because you truly want to worship and praise God? Coming to church does not mean you go to heaven. If you prefer to live in the world then go do so. Why pretend to worship God and not do what you want? Do not think that because you came through that door that you will be allowed into heaven. All other religions have something to represent what they believe in, we have nothing and are commanded to not have any images, so where do you put your faith? God tells us the things to not do, but you desire so much to live in this world. Your life must not be the one of selfish desire, but it should be one that desire to selflessly serve the Lord. The church does not exist in numbers, it does not function because you are here and will not fail because you are not here. When God tells you to repent, which of you says yes and does so with humility? There are countless people who turn away from God because they don't get what they want. Is that faith? God tells us to love, but how much do you really love. Lets not talk about others, but how about even your spouse? Children how much do you obey your parents? My husband and I argue a lot because I am over concerned about him and he is over concerned about me. Being dependent on him I am trying to accommodate to him and he knowing my condition is always trying to accommodate for me. God uses His love to prevent us from straying from His path, but how many of us are obedient to His guidance and say yes to His way. Obedience to God is filled with difficulty and trials. Will you still follow Him? Where is your faith? God is not concerned with false worship. He does not accept heartless worship. Jesus tells us to repent. Do we? He sign of faith starts with repentance. What will you bring to God? Faith without action is dead. Are you living the life of faith? Are you living according to your beliefs or are you living according to the true word of God? There are countless people who say that few will get into heaven. When I spoke about this years ago people said I was crazy, but now this is accepted by many. Yes, believe that you will go to heaven, but you must also live the life that will reflect that faith. How can you say that someone will go to heaven when their lives are no different from someone who loves this world? Because you say you will go to heaven does not mean you go. If you do not live the life of faith you will not go. You must have faith, then pray, prayer then must turn into action. You must change your life. When you realize, then that is the moment you must act. Now, not later. When you pray do not pray God forgive for the sins that I know of and the sins I do not know of. The sins you know you committed how can your pray that? Stop sinning if you know it is sin. And for the sins that you say you do not know, do you really not know your sins? If you really don't know ask the Spirit to show you and repent. Do not think that you can fool God. Many of you think that God does not know because you hide you sins from men, but God knows the truth and others know also. You are fooling no one. There are pastors, deacons and elders who are living a lie and going out to preach the word of God. Stop! Many people are turned off by people of religion because they are just as evil and full of deceit. Do not be such people! Live righteously. We do not know when our faith will be put to the test. Be ready. If your life was on the line would you die with your faith or will you denounce it to stay alive? May you be the people who live the life of faith that gives glory to God.

We know that the end time is getting real close and today may be the last day here in the world, we all need to seriously get ready for the end time.