Podcast appearances and mentions of christ will

Sunday September 8, 2024 at the Hub City Church God Over History, Revealer of Mysteries | Daniel 2:24-49 Daniel: Faithfulness in Babylon Sermon by Tadd Anderson | Lead Teaching Pastor Sermon Notes [v.24-30] We can LIVE with CONFIDENCE in CRAZY times because our God is SOVEREIGN, even OVER our KINGS! Proverbs 21:1 // Romans 13:1 Christian confidence is not ARROGANT or RUDE; it is HUMBLE and BOLD. Philippians 2:4-7 // Acts 4:13, 19-20 “The person who trusts in God fears no bad news—and so will boldly proclaim God's good news.” — David Helm [v.31-49] EVERY EVENT in the course of human HISTORY is intentionally ORDAINED by God for the GOOD of His PEOPLE and ultimately, the GLORY of Christ. Isaiah 46:8-11 // Acts 1:7 // Matthew 2:1-2 The eternal KINGDOM of CHRIST WILL (and has already begun to) SUBVERT, SURPASS and SUPERSEDE every earthly, MAN-centered kingdom. Psalm 118:22 // Luke 20:17-18 // Acts 4:11 // Isaiah 2:2-3 // Psalm 48:1-2 The Hub City Church is a local expression of the church in Crestview, Florida, making disciples Who Believe the Gospel, Abide in Christ and Obey the Word to the glory of God. Join us next Sunday at 10am. 837 W James Lee Blvd, Crestview, FL 32536.

Join Matthew and special guest Pastor Gene Bailey for a timely word about uniting the generations to change the game in our nation. When the wisdom of the older generations combines forces with the innovation of the younger generations, the Body of Christ WILL defeat the enemy! It's time to reclaim our unity, our nation, and our cities!

Will you stumble because of Christ- Will you deny him in the time of adversity-

In episode 173 of Christ is the Cure, we look at the "Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit." We discuss and survey the different views on this "unforgivable sin." See the full episode details here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/11/11/ep-173-blasphemy-of-the-holy-spirit/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

In part 5 of Beyond Luther we discuss puritanism, specifically within the context of the North American colonies. See more details for this episode here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/10/28/ep-172-beyond-luther-pt-5-puritans-the-colonies/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

This year we continue Beyond Luther for reformation month with part 4. In part 4 we discuss the English Reformation and the formation of Puritanism. See more details for this episode here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/10/21/ep-171-beyond-luther-pt-4-puritanism-the-english-reformation/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

After discussing Repentance in episode 165 and 166, Paul discusses faith, the other side of the same coin. See more details for this episode here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/10/07/ep-170-faith/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

After briefly looking at the history of images of Christ in episode 168, we discuss the use of images theologically. Full details here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/09/16/ep-169-images-of-christ-pt-2-theology/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

In episode 168 we begin a discussion on the use of images in the church beginning with historical theology. We will look at the evidences and arguments for and against images from the early church before moving onto part 2. There may be a part three with clarifications, further discussion on nuances, and answers to any questions received on the episode. Find more details on this episode here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/09/02/ep-168-images-of-christ-pt-1-history/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

In this episode Anthony continues the discussion on cultural and biblical Christianity that he began in episode 162. Find more details on this episode here: https://christisthecure.org/2021/08/19/ep-167-cultural-biblical-christianity-pt-2/ Music details: “Christ Will be My Hideaway (Acoustic Version). Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. © 2020 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP). Used by permission. www.SovereignGraceMusic.org

We exalt Christ through every aspect of our lives -- through our witness, through our worship, and through our works! When the church comes together as a team with unified hearts of humility, with a servant-minded focus, and a desire to carry out our obedience as an act of worship, Christ WILL be exalted! Join us this Sunday as we study Philippians 2:5-11.

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:This Sunday of the Church Year is a little different from what we normally concern ourselves with on the other Sundays. On the other Sundays we are mainly concerned with something that happened with Jesus—his birth, his baptism, his death and resurrection, his teachings, his miracles, and so on. This puts our mind back in biblical times. With Reformation Sunday, however, we are dealing with things that happened in the 1500s and the times since then in the Lutheran Church. It can seem a little inappropriate to talk about the Reformation or the Lutheran Church in a worship service. Shouldn’t we be talking about the Bible instead? But this is an incorrect way of looking at being a Christian. We are not a Bible appreciation society where we celebrate all things bible merely for the sake of being about the bible. The Bible was never intended to be something for its own sake. It has always been for the purpose of faith in God, with love that follows after by the Holy Spirit’s healing of the sinful heart. This happened when God spoke to Adam and Eve before there even was a Bible. The earliest books of the Bible were written by Moses thousands of years after Adam and Eve lived. But between Adam and Eve and Moses there were generation upon generation of people who believed in Christ even though they did not have any of the books of the Bible that we have today. And so you can see that the story of there being Christians is larger than the portion of that that the Bible records. The plot of this story is the way that the Word of God fares among a people. God’s Laws and promises are either known or unknown, believed in or rejected, and thereby people either believe in Jesus Christ or they do not. This story was in effect from the beginning. It also continues on after the death of the apostles when the last of the Scriptures were written. This story has to do with the Christian Church as a whole as well as with individuals. Therefore this story includes the controversies in the early church about the two natures in Christ that resulted in the Nicene Creed. It includes the rise to power of the Roman bishop, also known as the pope. It includes the way that God fashioned a German monk named Martin Luther to be an instrument for reforming his Church. Therefore it is not inappropriate to talk about the history of the Reformation in Church. It is God’s church that was reformed in the Reformation. And we could also speak of more recent history, the history that brings us up to our present time. Not long after the Reformation the European churches were corrupted and suppressed by the governments in Europe. Some energetic and godly Lutheran men and women left Europe and settled in America in the 1800s. They made use of the freedom of religion afforded them at that time. They worked hard and sacrificed, developing and funding parochial schools to galvanize our people in the rediscovered truths of the Lutheran Confessions. But this has not been maintained. Our people have lost their zeal. Our parochial schools have closed. We have been going after other gods such. We are in need of repentance and renewal. And finally this story comes right down to each of us personally. How has the Word of God fared with each one of us? Have we let it have its way with us so that we love it, speak of it, promote it and defend it against all nay-sayers? Or have we let it go in one ear and out the other? Have we become hard and calloused to it so that we neither fear God’s threats nor are comforted by his promises? Will we pluck up the courage to help our nearest and dearest to continue to believe in Christ? Will we denounce and speak against our nearest and dearest when they live in rebellion against God’s Laws and promises and are thereby plunging headlong into hell? The answer to these rhetorical questions, unfortunately, is that things are not good with us. It is as Jesus says, that we have lost our saltiness. And if we have lost our saltiness, then we are good for nothing. We should be thrown out on the manure pile. We are good for nothing, because the purpose of life is not to have the most fun or make the most money. These things rot and disintegrate in the use of them. The treasure in heaven is to know the love of God that surpasses understanding in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, who is God’s own Son. And so the story of God’s people is much larger in scope than the Bible. All history is sacred history. Each individual life is a story of God’s Word being either taken to heart or rejected. Each congregation is a story of the lives of those individuals brought together into a community. So it is also with a larger church body, such as a district or a Synod. What we do individually and what we do together as a Church body have eternal consequences, for our grasp on God’s Word always is either getting stronger or weaker. We are either growing in our love for the world, and becoming embarrassed by what God says; or we are growing in our conviction of God’s wisdom being right, no matter whether someone might call us names like fool or bigot or misogynist. The vast history of Israel that is recorded for us in the Old Testament is very instructive in this regard. Reading this history is very dull unless you understand yourself to be just like them. Then you can understand why the Israelites were tempted to follow after idols, to bow to human powers rather than believing in what God had said, and all the other foibles that afflict us every day if only we would open our eyes to see them. God punishes disobedience and sin, even though it seems to us like our lives are better or easier if we forsake God’s Word. God blesses obedience to his Word, even though almost always that blessing is under the cross so that it looks like we are dying, but behold we live. The weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men. God’s foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of men. Having this perspective, where the kingdom of God is the real substance of all history, is necessary for correctly understanding the Reformation. There are a lot of interpretations of the Reformation that are out there. Some make Martin Luther out to be a genius. Some see him as a forerunner to democracy or modern thought. Some see him as breaking the political power of the pope. Martin Luther himself would have been totally uninterested in all of these things. He saw himself as none of these things. Luther’s concern was quite simple: He wanted to be a child of God. As a child fo God he wanted to be faithful to what God had revealed. With God’s name being hallowed, God’s kingdom would be furthered. People would repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Repentance and faith in Christ was Luther’s main, indeed, his only concern. Whatever else might have happened intellectually or politically or socially was all incidental or in service to this concern for people’s souls. All the other talk that might happen in regards to the Reformation is trivial, even though the whole world was thrown into turmoil by Luther. For even if all aspects of human life were changed by the Reformation, it doesn’t matter in the end. The earth will melt as it burns together with all that is on it. Only human beings, made in the image of God, are eternal. All people and each individual will either live under God’s curse and punishment in hell, or under God’s blessing for the sake of Christ the crucified. As the church that is named after Martin Luther, repentance and faith in Christ must remain our sole concern. This sets us at odds with almost everybody around us, for the modern world has moved on to what they imagine to be greater concerns. It is thought that we have outgrown this mythical worldview where God’s only-begotten Son could become incarnate or redeem anybody by his sacrifice on the cross. Instead, so-called “progress” is striven after in all areas of human life. It is believed that we can advance ourselves by our own cleverness, our own compassion or tolerance, to bring about a new day. Anybody who has their eyes open to the stupidity and meanness that every day confronts us should be able to see the foolhardiness of this, but it is without doubt what almost everybody believes regardless. This opposing view, that believes in human goodness and progress, is certainly not limited to secularists, atheists, agnostics. This viewpoint is found within the organization of the church as well. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the ELCA, shares the name “Lutheran,” but only continues to endorse more and more wickedness. Whatsoever the world should find objectionable, you can count on the ELCA to endorse it. This church body will no longer even say that salvation is through Christ alone, according to the resolution that was passed at its last convention by over 90% of the delegates. It is the pressure from the unbelieving world that has brought them to this point. For a long time the Roman Catholic Church has been our friend when it comes to moral and social issues. They have stuck by many of the old biblical teachings while the modern world has come to fight them. However, just this past week, it has been discovered that pope Francis supports the formation of so-called “families” with civil unions for homosexuals. This obviously is just the first step in fully endorsing this lifestyle that the Bible calls abominable, but which modern society celebrates in fulfillment of the Apostle Paul’s prophecy at the end of Romans chapter 1. With all the opposition from within and without it appears that the future of those Christians who continue to work for repentance and faith in Christ will be lonelier and more violent—not that the violence will be done by Christians, but rather that they will be punished for their views that are regarded as antiquated. If we are not prepared for this future, then we will at best be silent, not wanting to make waves, or at worst, we will go along with the rest of the world in celebrating wickedness. Although we must be prepared for the cross that we must now endure, and although it appears that it will only become heavier and more severe, we also have no need to fear. As Paul says, “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have the power of God to tear down strongholds.” Every high and exalted thing will be brought into subjection to Christ. It is like Luther says in his hymn, “A Might Fortress,” although the world should be filled with demons, and Satan himself should fume and rage against us, the victory has been won, the kingdom ours remaineth, for Christ is by us on the plain with his good gifts and Spirit. The world believes in itself and its own solutions, but, at best, they only work in part. God has given us his grace that actually does work. The world works day and night to undo the curse of death and all that leads up to it. Drugs and plans and technologies are developed, but they all fail. We have the resurrection from the dead in Christ. One day we will live and never die. Or the world falls all over itself to justify every fault, even sinful inclination. Everybody says that everybody’s okay because that was the way that they were born. Greed, disobedience towards parents, parents antagonizing their children, meanness, lust, homosexuality, bestiality, fornication, divorce—all these things that you have been guilty of—the world can say all together every moment of every day that all of this is just fine. They can celebrate it until the cows come home. None of it is thereby justified. There is only one justification that does that—and that is the divine justification God’s own Son worked for us. Everybody else is lying. He alone speaks the truth. Nobody’s sins are forgiven otherwise. Only faith in Christ justifies. We do not hate people when we tell them that they are sinning. We do not hate people when we warn them that unless they repent, they will be punished by God now and eternally. This is the loving thing to do. It is the helpful thing to do. The world tells them lies. Everybody’s flesh, including our flesh as Christians, find these lies comforting. The only problem is that have no power to save. We have the true words that have the power to make people children of God and to give them the Holy Spirit. This is our fight today. Luther had his fight in his day where people were prevented from repenting and believing in Christ. We have our own today, and it is no less hard or important. Luther taught us in his catechism to pray that God’s Name would be hallowed and that his kingdom would come. We must pray these petitions today just like he did. Then we may see the same power of God that brought about goodness 500 years ago bring about goodness also among us today.

What does Celebration Station have to do with crack cocaine? What does that have to do with Christ? Will the answers to these questions bring us any closer to solving the mystery of whether or not teenagers still yell? Who knows? Does John Lennon know? Tune in, level up, and find out!

Reading 1 IS 55:1-3 Thus says the LORD:All you who are thirsty,come to the water!You who have no money,come, receive grain and eat;Come, without paying and without cost,drink wine and milk!Why spend your money for what is not bread;your wages for what fails to satisfy?Heed me, and you shall eat well,you shall delight in rich fare.Come to me heedfully,listen, that you may have life.I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,the benefits assured to David. Reading 2 ROM 8:35, 37-39 Brothers and sisters: What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Gospel Mt 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over— twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time Reading 1  IS 55:1-3Thus says the LORD:All you who are thirsty,come to the water!You who have no money,come, receive grain and eat;Come, without paying and without cost,drink wine and milk!Why spend your money for what is not bread;your wages for what fails to satisfy?Heed me, and you shall eat well,you shall delight in rich fare.Come to me heedfully,listen, that you may have life.I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,the benefits assured to David.   Responsorial Psalm  PS 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.The LORD is gracious and merciful,        slow to anger and of great kindness.The LORD is good to all    and compassionate toward all his works.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.The eyes of all look hopefully to you,    and you give them their food in due season;you open your hand    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.The LORD is just in all his ways    and holy in all his works.The LORD is near to all who call upon him,    to all who call upon him in truth.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.   Reading 2  ROM 8:35, 37-39Brothers and sisters:What will separate us from the love of Christ?Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?No, in all these things we conquer overwhelminglythrough him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities,nor present things, nor future things,nor powers, nor height, nor depth,nor any other creature will be able to separate usfrom the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Alleluia  MT 4:4BR.    Alleluia, alleluia.One does not live on bread alone,but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of GodR.    Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel  MT 14:13-21When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.  When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,“This is a deserted place and it is already late;dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villagesand buy food for themselves.”Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;give them some food yourselves.”But they said to him,“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,he said the blessing, broke the loaves,and gave them to the disciples,who in turn gave them to the crowds.They all ate and were satisfied,and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full.Those who ate were about five thousand men,not counting women and children.

Pastor Ben begins our new sermon series on the Apostle's Creed, Credo, with a sermon on the trustworthiness of God and doctrine.    Text: Romans 8:31-39   31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long, we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time Reading 1  IS 55:1-3Thus says the LORD:All you who are thirsty,come to the water!You who have no money,come, receive grain and eat;Come, without paying and without cost,drink wine and milk!Why spend your money for what is not bread;your wages for what fails to satisfy?Heed me, and you shall eat well,you shall delight in rich fare.Come to me heedfully,listen, that you may have life.I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,the benefits assured to David.   Responsorial Psalm  PS 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.The LORD is gracious and merciful,        slow to anger and of great kindness.The LORD is good to all    and compassionate toward all his works.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.The eyes of all look hopefully to you,    and you give them their food in due season;you open your hand    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.The LORD is just in all his ways    and holy in all his works.The LORD is near to all who call upon him,    to all who call upon him in truth.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.   Reading 2  ROM 8:35, 37-39Brothers and sisters:What will separate us from the love of Christ?Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?No, in all these things we conquer overwhelminglythrough him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities,nor present things, nor future things,nor powers, nor height, nor depth,nor any other creature will be able to separate usfrom the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Alleluia  MT 4:4BR.    Alleluia, alleluia.One does not live on bread alone,but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of GodR.    Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel  MT 14:13-21When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.  When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,“This is a deserted place and it is already late;dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villagesand buy food for themselves.”Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;give them some food yourselves.”But they said to him,“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,he said the blessing, broke the loaves,and gave them to the disciples,who in turn gave them to the crowds.They all ate and were satisfied,and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full.Those who ate were about five thousand men,not counting women and children.

The CollectO God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament1 Kings 3:5-12At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.” The ResponsePsalm 119:129-136Mirabilia 129 Your decrees are wonderful; * therefore I obey them with all my heart. 130 When your word goes forth it gives light; * it gives understanding to the simple. 131 I open my mouth and pant; * I long for your commandments. 132 Turn to me in mercy, * as you always do to those who love your Name. 133 Steady my footsteps in your word; * let no iniquity have dominion over me. 134 Rescue me from those who oppress me, * and I will keep your commandments. 135 Let your countenance shine upon your servant * and teach me your statutes. 136 My eyes shed streams of tears, * because people do not keep your law. The EpistleRomans 8:26-39The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The GospelMatthew 13:31-33,44-52Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Are you "Dazed and Confused" about where you are at in life today? In this teaching, Pastor Ben explains why God's Love is better than anything and how having your faith saturated in the love of Christ WILL help you in your walk with Jesus.

Are you "Dazed and Confused" about where you are at in life today? In this teaching, Pastor Ben explains why God's Love is better than anything and how having your faith saturated in the love of Christ WILL help you in your walk with Jesus.

We want our children and our grandchildren to grow. We ourselves desire to grow. But that is easier said than done! How do we do it? If we want to grow in Christ, we must be in God's Word. If we want to be equipped in God's work, then we must be thoroughly immersed in His Word. Otherwise, we will be tossed about here and there, being carried about by every wind of doctrine. God doesn't want us to be infants; He wants us to grow up into that mature Body of Christ!We want to grow in Christ, but there are people who seek our demise! They will try to make us disbelieve our Bible, and they will endeavor to make us doubt that it is the Word of God. They are crafty. But God has kept His Word pure in all ages! It teaches clear truth in clear statements. We must be ready for those crafty tricks, by being rooted deeply in God's Word.But if we are to grow up in Christ, we must also speak God's truth to one another in love! We must comfort each other, even in confrontation. We are here together as a Church, to live out God's Word with each other!We are running towards a goal, and His name is Jesus Christ. We are growing up together as one Body, and Jesus is our Head. As we serve one another, as we use our gifts of ministry, as we rebuke each other in love, as we build one another up, and as we steep in God's Word together -- we are becoming more and more beautiful to Jesus Christ! We are not meant to stay as infants, but we are to grow up and become mature. As we grow together as a Church, Jesus Christ receives the glory, and we enjoy Him more and more!Will you be in God's Word? Will you grow with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Will you speak the truth in love? Will we grow together as one Body, for the glory of our Head, Jesus Christ? That's the goal of the Church!

Click here for Part 1 of this message. This text has been roughly tidied up from an automated transcription. Some errors may still exist. So let's move along here this morning. We were looking at last week at Psalm 51, and we want to have a look at a corresponding Psalm, which is psalm 32 and in Psalm 51:1 David makes confession and I was just reading from that and in psalm 32, he writes a song of the blessedness of forgiveness, and it's a powerful song and of course I mentioned last week that the background of these Psalms is to go back to 2nd Samuel chapters 11 and 12, and read the background story. David lusted after his neighbour's wife, he committed adultery, he made her husband get drunk, and then he had him killed, and then he covered the whole affair for at least a year, and David was a mature man when this occurred so sometimes we think that sins of lust are just the folly of youth, and we relegate it to that. So that is specifically wrong, and so sins of lust are not confined to the young, not in any way. But they are often committed by people who have an overconfidence in self, and that is something we we must face. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, "therefore that him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall" and so, there is this tendency within mankind that we get a confidence within ourselves and as a consequence of that self-confidence we begin standing in our own strength, and standing in our own power, and then suddenly we fall, and we fall in sin, and that's a reality of life and all of us have experienced that or we've seen it in others, even those who have been saved for a long time and something has gone out of kilter in their relationship with God and they're relying upon their own strength in that, and as a result their pride steps in and before long they find themselves falling. So David's prayer of confession with Psalm 51 and we want to just read back through that and then we'll go into Psalm 32. Ps 51: 1-4 "Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge." David is not saying why Lord why me Lord, he's saying I've sinned against you and you're completely justified in in the actions you determine. Ps 51: 5-19 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. By Your favour do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar." So let's go then - from David's confession in Psalm 51 let's go to psalm 32 and see his praise of God. Psalm 32 "A Psalm of David, A Maskil". A maskil is a song that is a didactic song in its purpose you know didactic means that it has a teaching element it meant the song was for teaching and this is a standard way of learning things that many people have employed. The ABC song is a didactic song it has a teaching purpose its purpose is to teach children the ABCs, I won't sing it to you it's enough that you have to listen to me talking without that but it means that the purpose of this song is that it has a teaching element to it and so David as he writes this song of praise there is an intention within the song that he would teach others about what he has been through and where God has brought him to. Ps 32: 1-4 "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah." Now the phrase Selah doesn't have a to my knowledge doesn't have a specific translatable meaning other than in in music you might see a term such as rest which is a pause within within music and obviously in music that has some syncopation that pause is going to be for a deliberated set a period of time. Now not so much in this but there's a pause and the reason that Selah is inserted into the Psalms often is that it's a pause for reflective meditation, and so this phrase Selah ties in to verses 3 & 4 "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." Now pause and meditate on this. That's the intention that you and I would learn this didactic song this song for teaching and we would then, as we reflect on it and read it over we would take time to pause and meditate over these verses attached to this time pause for us. Let's keep going because we'll come back to that idea a little later. Ps 32:5 "I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah." Pause and reflect on this. So the intention of this song is that we would work our way through the song and we would take time to reflect upon our own state before God, this is the intention of it verse 6 Ps 32: 6-7 "Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah." Pause reflect on this as well so David is writing here and he has these different stages within the Psalm and at these different stages of a person's walk he's saying pause and reflect on this, do some internal meditation on this, we're not talking in the eastern sense, we're talking on the biblical sense which is to take this passage of verse in and and plunder it around within the mind and within the heart letting this passage work its way deep within us, there's an injunction that we see immediately as soon as we start meditating over this passage in verse 6 Ps 32:6a "Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;" There's an injunction that we'll come to a little later, let's move on to the remaining verses of the Psalm, So this is the Lord's reply to David here Ps 32: 8-11 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart." I can't hear you, shout for joy, you know most of us treat church like it's a library and when you read through the Psalms and through the scripture God's not afraid or ashamed of noise he's not ashamed of the you know the the genuine expression of the human heart in both sorrow and in joy in brokenness and in wholeness, He's not ashamed of these things and so the Lord is telling David, this is the Lord telling David, Ps 32:11 "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart." And so often especially within the Western mindset we become so closeted in our emotions even the ones that we share with one another that we can also let that affect our walk with God and we can be closeted in that way as well. So just thinking back two weeks ago, before Salvi's message, his wonderful message I'd encourage you to go back over that. We looked at the cost of committing sin, so the cost of Commission. We looked at the cost of confession, there is going to be a brokenness that comes with confession of sin. A genuine brokenness that will accompany the confession of sin. The cost of cleansing that good works and religious performances cannot cleanse from sin, only the blood of Jesus can cleanse from sin, this is the high cost of you and I being cleansed from our sin, and that high cost of cleansing from sin ought to make us hate sin and turn from it to run from it. But there is another side to this story, so that's what we looked at the previous week, but the other side is the experience of the joy of forgiveness that is expressed in psalm 32. In fact Paul quotes David's Psalm in Romans chapter 4, the first two verses of it, Romans chapter 4 now I have taken this out of the new American Standard which places the verses in CAPS and when you're reading through the New Testament in the new American Standard whenever you see a text in capitalised letters, what what that means is it's a reference that has taken from the Old Testament, well we've been reading Psalm 51 and Psalm 32 and here Paul from his knowledge and experience of Psalm 32 he takes that passage and he quotes it, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered." Now you can look up that passage in commentaries and you will see that quite a few commentaries take that passage and give a little summary of it. Kenneth Wuest in his expanded translation he translates the words "blessed" which essentially had the meaning of to be happy, but it's a little bit like the word repentance "Metanoia" a change of mind. Now a change of mind does not encompass the in the Greek it doesn't encompass the Hebrew intentions of the word repentance which carries with it a component of deep sorrow that leads to a change of mind, and so in the same way the word blessed doesn't simply mean happy as if some circumstances have occurred and so therefore we are for some reason happy. The the word carries with it a meaning of spiritual prosperity that there is a prospering within the individual because of some circumstances so blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. So spiritually prosperous are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they will be filled. Kenneth Wuest, he translates this as "spiritually prosperous are those whose lawlessnesses, whose lawlessness is were put away and whose sins were covered spiritually prosperous is the man to whose account the Lord does not in any case put sin". Well what a an amazing statement and the reason it's amazing is because David was entirely guilty, he had committed horrible sin. Now hand on heart that's you and I as well we have committed horrible sins you and I. He had rebelled against the law of God, blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven. David had rebelled against the law of God these were lawless deeds. He had failed to meet God's righteous standard, blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered, the term for sin means a falling short of the standard or the glory of God and so David he had fallen short he failed to meet God's righteous standard in keeping the law and so as a consequence of that he had sinned and here as David said in the in the beginning of psalm 32 and then as Paul quotes in Romans chapter 4, his falling short, his failure was covered by God. So he had failed to meet God's righteous standard he had surrendered to his sinful passions in this and had deceitfully covered up the whole matter for the year and this is a great tragedy. You could take proverbs 28 I just go over there proverbs 28 verse 13 Proverbs 28:13 "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." What an awesome correlation to this text that we're looking at here this morning, psalm 32. Let's just consider as we are reading Psalm 32 that there is a an effect upon us when when we cover up sin. There is a powerful effect. We call that the ravaging effect of sin. Sin is damaging enough to us but when we continue to keep it covered it is powerful in its effects within the individual, and David refused to confess his sin and there was an effect directly in his life he suffered within his life. Psalm 51 shows us that David suffered spiritually through his silence and in psalm 32 it shows us that he also suffered physically through his silence. Ps 32:3-4 "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." David is talking about some of the effects of the silence about his sin, that they had a devastating effect within him as an individual, he became like an old man. He says God's hand was heavy upon him and he was like someone that was struggling through the the feverish heat of summer and that he was experiencing that drought spiritually and physically within his life. Some people who go to a doctor to take care of their symptoms, some believers this is, should go to the Lord and search their hearts, I'm not saying don't go to a doctor this is not some Word of Faith garbage here, but what I'm saying is you and I may suffer, we may suffer within through the silence or the compression, the covering of our own personal sins and it can affect us within. We're not saying that all sickness is caused by sin, but it does mean that unconfessed sin can have a physical affliction, that's something for us to consider. Isn't that the emphasis of first Corinthians 11 when Paul talks to the church about the Lord's Supper and in verses 29 to 31 but starting with verse 28, "but a man must examine himself and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup for he who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly for this reason many among you or we can seek in a number asleep "or dead that means but if and and so Paul is talking about believers who have died as a consequence of them not judging their own actions and the motivations of their actions and they harboured wrongfulness and in the process of that God took them out, that's that's what it seems to say, "but if we judge ourselves rightly we would not be judged but when we are judged we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world" so for the believer who is in error in his ways, there is a need for us to pause and to discontinue a process of covering up of sin so that we can rightly judge our hearts and come before God and be liberated from the effects of the covering up of sin. So God is at work in our lives and part of his work is to bring us to true repentance and in the process of doing that, bringing us to to repentance, God brings us to a place where we're restored in fellowship with him, and it seems to me the first Corinthians 11 these are people that Paul is speaking of who were out of fellowship with God, but were not under the judgment as sinners. But God judged God judged their sin, but he spared them from ultimate judgment as sinners will face. Now that's a topic for another day however just take note of that that there is a ravaging affect spiritually and even physically upon us as believers when we are silent about our sin. Now there is also within this passage a wonderful rawness of true confession. I think this is one of the most endearing aspects of David when you read him. He wears his heart out on his sleeve, as we're often recorded to say about individuals, David pours himself out and this is something raw, there is something basic, there's something powerful about the confession of sin. David said in verse 5 "I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I did not hide. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin" and so we'll take a moment to pause, you forgave the guilt of my sin, Selah, so we'll take a moment to pause and think about this. Literally David is saying I began to make known to you my sin. The wording is interesting "I acknowledged my sin to you" the wording is interesting because he is he's actually saying I began to make it known. And the idea is that it wasn't an immediately completed fact, it wasn't the simplicity of a prayer such as Oh Lord I've sinned, please forgive me, please forgive me Lord. That's not what David was doing here, but the indication of the text is that David was working this issue through with God. He began pleading with God over the state of his heart and over the condition of sin that he was in. David immediately confessed that he had sinned when Nathan spoke to him, but then privately David allows the Spirit of God to uncover his sins one by one, and this is the true nature of confession. Imagine a man who maybe has been dishonourable to his family in in various different ways and so then he realises that that he's being dishonourable in all these different ways and so he gathers the family and he says to them, look, I've got something to say to you. I'm sorry, please forgive me. Now there would be a lot of confusion in that in in in the sense that the family members who maybe are anticipating this and wanting to see the restoration of relationship between themselves and their father are probably hungering for a depth of Communion and confession to take place and so for the father to simply say, I'm sorry please forgive me. That's not going to cut the mustard as far as the family is concerned. "What are you sorry about" is going to be one of the first questions because how can we forgive you if we don't know what you're sorry about, and so it works the same way that as believers God is desiring truth in the inward parts he's desiring that you and I would come before him to be cleansed and that's going to require that you and I are honest with God in seeking that forgiveness and in confessing our sins and actually speaking them out to God and not just saying, sorry God, please forgive me. Because that doesn't cut it. That's not a raw sincere true confession before the Lord. David's prayer was not this general confession, he named his sins specifically before God and because he confessed, God forgave him. One writer said, "the less you spare yourself the more God will spare you". That's a phrase we would be familiar with, because we would have heard sometimes people say "I'll spare you the embarrassment". The less you spare yourself, the more God will spare you. The less you and I cover the more God will spare you .Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11 but if we judged ourselves rightly we would not be judged, we just read that out a moment ago in in 1st Corinthians 11, "for if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged", There is an emotional component to seeking forgiveness because the idea of seeking forgiveness, stems from the understanding of law-breaking, and just as every parent would desire for their children to come to them and and confess to them say mum, dad, I did this thing wrong and I'm so sorry, and be genuine about it. The idea of confession is that it comes from a brokenness of heart. We read that just a moment ago in Psalm 51 when we were going into community, "for you do not delight in sacrifice otherwise I would give it you're not pleased with burnt offering the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God you will not despise". And so God doesn't forgive simply because we confess, there is a an element to true confession that is accompanied by true brokenness, and that then causes in us a rawness to the sincerity of a true confession and if you've been a believer for any length of time you've met someone who has just outwardly poured out their heart about how they had disgraced God has just gushed out of them and and you're listening to them as they share with you the brokenness that they had in their lives and how they experience God's love and joy and even in telling you, many times, you're able to sense a reflection from this person's heart in your own life as to the the total sincerity with which they're speaking to you about how they poured their heart out to God. And God doesn't simply forgive just because of prayer it's not just that we recite "our Father who art in heaven hallowed by thy name". He forgives when we confess our sins because he is faithful and just, and because we are in a place of sincerity about recognising the condition of our sins, and how we have violated God's law and violated our relationship with him. He is faithful to his promise and he is Just concerning his reference to the cross. You see forgiveness is found at the cross of Jesus Christ and therefore we don't earn forgiveness. The coming to God in in a condition of confession of sin is not to earn forgiveness, it's a simple step of obedience, confess your sins. This is a step of obedience that we would honour God with that. Romans 8:31 through 39 says "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;" So if you and I have been justified by God through repentance and faith then who can bring a charge against us. It's God who justified, He's dealt with it and how did He deal with it? In the cross of Jesus Christ. That is the justice of God. So it's in his hands. Romans 8:34 "who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God's love is not a random thing, it is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And we in Christ Jesus through repentance and faith, and therefore the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through repentance in faith. So forgiveness is tied to confession of sin because God is faithful and just. That's a phenomenal thought isn't it, that God calls us to confess our sin to him because he is faithful and just to forgive. Now let that just sink in for a moment, this is a Selah moment, we pause and reflect and you wonder for a moment. Lord what sins have I committed what sins are unconfessed between me and you. He's aware of them, in our calloused hearts we may have become unaware of them, not that they're not there, but that we have become so calloused that we're committing this sin without even giving heed to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Let's move on here this morning, so we've looked at the ravaging effect of silence. The raw sincerity of true confession. Let's have a look at the rejoicing of cleansing. David's brokenness and rawness of his confession was replaced by singing and rejoicing God put songs in his heart and I know that there are more than one of you listening who have had that experience of coming to Christ and experiencing the forgiveness of sins. And there just seems to be this thing of rejoicing and singing with in your heart. Ps 32:6 "Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him." Now let's do a little translation of that. Surely the flood of great waters, that flood of great waters will not reach him, the disaster will not overcome him. Ps 32:7 "You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah." Again we come across this this pause for reflection. So he is surrounded by songs of deliverance and wherever he turns, this means he's finding something to sing about. What a turnaround from Psalm 51 verse 3 where my sin was ever before me, he said. Now he's surrounded by songs of deliverance. Look what the Lord has done, greater is He that is in me, you know his heart is bursting forth with song, it's no longer I who liveth. I'm obviously singing from the New Testament experience, but David said "I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me" and now he's saying "you preserve me from trouble you surround me with songs of deliverance" so there is turnaround, why because of the confession that he went through. Now there's a warning here in this text. Verse 6 says "therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. So there's a warning here about timeliness, he wants us that that we should not delay in seeking God. Pray to you in a time when you may be found. Now this may have two meanings it may mean that in a time when we find out our sins, so as soon as we become aware of our sin and seek God. And it may also mean in a time when God may be found. And I think the second meaning leads toward this idea that the longer we harbour the sin in our hearts, the harder our hearts become and the more difficult it becomes for us to open up before God because we've been harbouring this sin. And our hearts have become calloused. And so with that I think there are some different interpretations, but I think there may be a combination of these two mixed together here, Remember he says in verse 6 "therefore that everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found surely in a flood of great waters that were not reach you. So as overwhelming as the acknowledging of our sin before God maybe, persist in seeking God with it while you're in that state of heart, don't let it go. Now I think it is genuine to the text to state that if a believer allows sin to accumulate, we're talking about a believer here, if they allow sin to go covered, so it's covered over and they're harbouring it. I think it's fair to say that Hebrews 12 teaches us that God will chasten us and that chastening is for a specific purpose that in the process of God chastening us. We'll go to Hebrews 12, then in the process of God chastening us, He is correcting us for a purpose. Heb 12: 4-5"You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;" My son do not despise. So God speaks to his children and the author of Hebrews reminds him that, listen don't treat this lightly have you forgotten they God says he will chasten his children. Heb 12: 6-7 "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" So God has a purpose in the discipline he brings into our lives and it may be that the chastening of the Lord might be likened to these waters that will not overwhelm, surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him, so God will use the circumstances of life, He will bring about circumstances in order to chasten us so that we will come to Him in reflection and in confession of our sins. So the caution for us is confess quickly, don't delay with confessing. David, as a consequence of his confession he's not afraid anymore. We read in verses 6 & 7 of psalm 32 "Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him." There's a confidence there, surely he says, then you are my hiding place, you preserve me from trouble, you surround me with songs of deliverance. So his confidence is in God. David is now not living in fear, he's not trembling, his bones are not quaking within him, his body is not wasting away. He is not feeling like somebody who is parched from the hot dry summer Sun, this is the blessing of being in right relationship with God. That out of that right relationship with God fear is vanquished with the presence of a clean conscience. And that that's something that money can buy. The Beatles said "money can't buy me love" but that is something money can't buy you. That comes out of relationship with God. In a sense David is saying, let troubles come, I'm not afraid, whatever comes my way is only by the Lord's hand anyway. He's allowed it to come so he will give me strength to withstand. Even the most onerous assaults of the enemy, David says they're not an issue. God will strengthen me to stand. Let's move on as we come to a close in this so we've looked at the ravaging effect of silence. Looking at the top three points here. The ravaging affective silence the roar sincerity of true confession the rejoicing of cleansing let's have a look finally at the expression of joy and confidence that comes, because verses 8 to 11 this is God's reply to David God is now speaking to David and he is assuring him that he will direct his steps. Verse 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way in which you should go I will counsel you with my eye upon you, he restores my soul Psalm 23 verse 3 says he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Notice that God wants to counsel you with his eye. Now this is far different to being corrected with a rod. In other words the intention of God is that you and I would be in such a relationship with him, that it's a little bit like a parent who may do this to their child, and the child responds or the parent raises both eyebrows, or frowns. And the child instantly is aware for the parents that looks like this as if the child is to divert their attention to something and then goes to do it. And so God wants to guide us with his eye, not with a heavy rod. And an obedient child learns the look of his or her parents eyes, they they learn to understand the directive that parents are giving from a look or from a simple phrase and we should be seeking to be constantly under the father's eye, learning to live so we can please him. In verse 9 David talks about two extremes, and he says in verse nine "don't be as the horse or the mule which have no understanding whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check otherwise they will not come near to you." Now this is the Lord remember, speaking to David here, and he's saying don't be like this, don't be like a horse and don't be like a mule. I've been around a lot of horses they can be flighty don't be like that, don't be impulsive, don't be like a mule, and there's more than one or two mules in my family history and the Irish Scottish and English renowned for stubbornness, in fact probably every culture is in some way. The horse that rushes ahead and the the mule that is stubborn, they're both led by the bit in the mouth that bit that is uncomfortable for them and so they learn that when they try to fight and they try to resist that bit that it's uncomfortable for them and so they learn to be moved in the right direction. And so Christians should avoid impulsiveness and stubbornness, these are two extremes that we are to avoid, and so this is the Lord speaking to David. David's gone through all of this and the Lord is now saying to him you know avoid these things. God is directing our steps and as a process of that is saying this and as you walk with me avoid impulsiveness and avoid stubbornness, these are important things. Especially when you consider these statements in the light of 2 Samuel 11 and 12 and in the light of Psalm 51 and Psalm 32, David impulsively got himself into sin and then stubbornly covered it up for over a year. So this is this is very relevant to what the Lord is saying to David and so Christians should avoid both of these kinds of behaviour, we should walk with the Lord and a step at a time in loving obedience. Now some Christians have to have the bit in the bridle before God can control them and over time God teaches them tenderness of heart to walk with him. That is what God desires for us that we would have a tenderness of heart in walking with Him. Dumb animals have no understanding, but God's people learn to understand what the will of the Lord is. You can check out Ephesians 5:15-17 "therefore be careful how you walk, verses verse 15 says not as unwise but as wise making the most of your time because the days are evil so then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. So we often as Christians have sinned and being restored. So from that point of restoration that's not a time to rest on our laurels now is the time you know in that point of restoration that's the time that we would begin to open our hearts up to God and learn to walk carefully and circumspect with him and understand what the will of the Lord is for our lives. Satan will try to undermine our peace and our confidence in the Lord, it's very easy for us to begin to worry about the past and the consequences of our foolishness, but who will separate us from the love of God. We've read that just before it Romans chapter 8, go back there and check that out, because there are definitely better fruits from disobedience but verses 10 and 11 show that God protects and upholds those who belong to him. Verse 10 many other sorrows of the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord loving-kindness shall surround him, be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous ones and shout for joy all you who are upright in heart. The wicked have many sorrows. That's what the Lord says there. The sorrows also come to the lives of disobedient Saints, the rain falls on the just and on the unjust. Since both disobedient and obedient will experience trial and tribulation in this world, this side of eternity. So this is not as I said earlier a word of faith message. But when we're walking in obedience and in relationship with God those trials and tribulations we are able to count as blessings in our lives because we see the will and the purpose of God in it. So it is that the Christian who has been cleansed from his sin, he sees the hand of God in those trials and in those difficulties and he may even actually rejoice in them that's through those trials and difficulties God has turned his heart away from his own stubbornness and back to their tenderness of confession and relationship with God and restoration. So confession is a powerful thing. Now remember as we come to close, that confession results in a past that is forgiven, a present that is joyful, and a future that is built on a secure hope in Christ Jesus. And that's a marvelous thing. So let's just consider for a moment, we mentioned at the start that the heading, if you have a Study Bible of the the psalm, is a Maskil. The meaning of this is that it's a didactic Psalm in its purpose, meaning that it has a teaching purpose. How blessed is he or how spiritually prosperous is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered how spiritually prosperous is the man to whom the Lord does not multiply iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. So with that, given that this is a teaching Psalm and it has three deliberate pauses in it where we are to reflect at certain points within the psalm. I would ask you, what sins are unconfessed between you and God? What is there that is unconfessed? What is there that you must make right with the Lord? This is a sincere and important question for us all to answer. What must I come before the Lord with? As I seek that joyous fellowship with him as my father who will direct me with the tenderness of his eye, rather than with the severity of a rod. And you know I'm thankful that I have experienced the rod of God's correction in my life but you know I much prefer being in fellowship with and taking the direction of his eye. Hallelujah praise the Lord, a past forgiven, a present joyful, and a future secure. What a wonderful Psalm this really is, it's it's such a tremendous blessing to us and a real encouragement. Because David he was someone who so much was just like us, and you know he struggled with things he was a man subject to his own passions impulsiveness and stubbornness all these kinds of things and that's what God deals with in this this Psalm, and in the closing verses when God speaks to him. So we can find in this some resemblance to ourselves. Our Father we thank you for today. We praise You Lord God that your word is not the sterilised record of insincerity, but instead Lord it is the inspired recording of an engagement between you and humans, And that engagement included many sins, many sins even of those whom you used mightily and so we thank you Father that even David who was in scripture called your friend, failed at many points and Psalm 51 in psalm 32 a record of his response to one such failure. So we praise You Lord this morning help us to learn from this help us to go over these Psalms and really meditate over them to see how you would bless us. Help us Lord to be tender-hearted before you and recognise our sin and confess it to you without delay. In the mighty name of Jesus the Messiah. Amen, praise the Lord.

Christ has risen! Today we celebrate Jesus’ triumph over death in his resurrection. Pastor Mike leads worship, Pastor Salvio and Tony Cienfuegos share testimony, and Pastor Bob Ekblad leads us in knowing Jesus’ power.John 20:1-18 (NASB): The Empty Tomb1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it *was still dark, and *saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. 2 So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. 4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; 5 and stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 6 And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes.11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.Romans 8:35-39 (NASB)35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,“ For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:28-39 (NASB) 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Outline: Three reasons that Christians can be secure and at rest in the midst of [the world's] calamity and chaos. Because Christians know our God's sovereign plan and purpose of salvation. (8:28‑30)Because Christians believe the objective truths of the Gospel. (8:31‑34)Because Christians trust our God's unbreakable love towards us. (8:35‑39)

This is the second sermon in the series "How Can We Hope in a World Like This?" by the Rev Peter Moore given at Greenfield Presbyterian Church, Berkley, MI. The scriptures are: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly,[a] but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. Footnotes: [a] 1 Corinthians 13:12 Gk in a riddle Romans 8:31-35 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) God’s Love in Christ Jesus 31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.[a] 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Footnotes: [a] Romans 8:34 Or Is it Christ Jesus . . . for us? Romans 8:37-39 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Episode 196 features part 2 the January ’20 installment of our listener-directed Q&A podcast. Join Phil Baker, BDK, and Kurt Lee Kuss as they answer your questions on a wide variety of Biblical topics. We open the virtual mail bag and cover such questions as: Is the Anti Christ Jewish or Muslim? Did the early Church set dates about the Return of Christ? Will there be a physical Third Temple or is it spiritual? Are there good Watchers or all they all bad? Why did Jesus preach to spirits imprisoned in the underworld? What did He preach to those spirits? If you eat at Taco Bell are you supporting the Illuminati? Are all sins equal? Do bigger sins take longer to forgive? These are just a few of the questions up for discussion. So please check it out, this is truly one broadcast you won't want to miss!Show notes: Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/omegafrequencyWe need your prayer. Join The Frequency Force! http://www.omegafrequency.com/the-frequency-forceWant More Omega Frequency? Listen Here: http://omegafrequency.libsyn.comWant More Fourth Watch Content? Listen Here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/4th-watch-with-justen-faullWant More Out Of The Darkness? Listen Here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/out-of-the-darkness-ministryWant More Of Phil’s Music? Get It Here: https://philsbaker.com/#post-5Visit Phil Online: https://philsbaker.com Also, If you want to support Omega Frequency you can buy a shirt here: https://cottonbureau.com/people/omega-frequency

Episode 196 features part 2 the January ’20 installment of our listener-directed Q&A podcast. Join Phil Baker, BDK, and Kurt Lee Kuss as they answer your questions on a wide variety of Biblical topics. We open the virtual mail bag and cover such questions as: Is the Anti Christ Jewish or Muslim? Did the early Church set dates about the Return of Christ? Will there be a physical Third Temple or is it spiritual? Are there good Watchers or all they all bad? Why did Jesus preach to spirits imprisoned in the underworld? What did He preach to those spirits? If you eat at Taco Bell are you supporting the Illuminati? Are all sins equal? Do bigger sins take longer to forgive? These are just a few of the questions up for discussion. So please check it out, this is truly one broadcast you won't want to miss! Show Notes: Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel We Need Your Prayer - Join The Frequency Force Visit Omega Frequency Online       Listen To The Fourth Watch Radio Network Listen To Reclaiming The Faith With Phil Baker    Get Phil's Music Listen To The Out Of The Darkness Podcast With Wade And Jen Support The Show Buy A Shirt

Exodus 15:1-7 15 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said,I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.2 “The Lord is my strength and song,And He has become my salvation;This is my God, and I will praise Him;My father’s God, and I will extol Him.3 “The Lord is a warrior;The Lord is His name.4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.5 “The deeps cover them;They went down into the depths like a stone.6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You;Rom 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

At what point does vocational diligence become corrupting idolatry? How would you advise someone who has been exposed to much Christian teaching but still struggles to trust in Christ? Will we pray in heaven? What makes a good sermon? What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Where is heaven? What is the difference between ... Read more Episode 49: Questions and Answers

Romans 8:14-19, 34-35, 37-39Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church from the book of Romans:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with God so that we may also be glorified with God. 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

In our Year of Exploration we have been considering God's vision for us for the next five years. By the end of 2024, we will be, God-willing, physically five years older, but will we be five years older spiritually? Will we have gone deeper in Christ? Will we have matured? Here we explore from Colossians what we need to help us mature in Christ…

Below our deepest hurt and darkest shame, there is the grace of God—forgiving us, rebuilding us, repairing all that’s broken. Above our highest joy and most euphoric moments, there is the sheer delight of God—applauding us, encouraging, enlarging celebration. Through every stage of every journey—in trust, in fear; in faith, in doubt; in youth, in gray maturity—we’re never left alone or told to make it on our own. Despite appearances, the road is never empty. Around us each are Jesus’ everlasting arms—sustaining us, protecting us, embracing us. His hands are ever on us. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom 11:36). “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:39). We are befriended by the One who rules all time and space. Receive the gift. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

Below our deepest hurt and darkest shame, there is the grace of God—forgiving us, rebuilding us, repairing all that’s broken. Above our highest joy and most euphoric moments, there is the sheer delight of God—applauding us, encouraging, enlarging celebration. Through every stage of every journey—in trust, in fear; in faith, in doubt; in youth, in gray maturity—we’re never left alone or told to make it on our own.  Despite appearances, the road is never empty. Around us each are Jesus’ everlasting arms—sustaining us, protecting us, embracing us. His hands are ever on us. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom 11:36). “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:39). We are befriended by the One who rules all time and space. Receive the gift.  And stay in grace. - Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

Below our deepest hurt and darkest shame, there is the grace of God—forgiving us, rebuilding us, repairing all that’s broken. Above our highest joy and most euphoric moments, there is the sheer delight of God—applauding us, encouraging, enlarging celebration. Through every stage of every journey—in trust, in fear; in faith, in doubt; in youth, in gray maturity—we’re never left alone or told to make it on our own.  Despite appearances, the road is never empty. Around us each are Jesus’ everlasting arms—sustaining us, protecting us, embracing us. His hands are ever on us. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom 11:36). “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:39). We are befriended by the One who rules all time and space. Receive the gift.  And stay in grace. - Bill Knott Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.

REFLECTION QUOTES “It is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth.” ~Irenaeus (c. 115-c. 202), Bishop of Lyon (Lugdunum) “The test of a gospel-centered church is its doctrine on paper plus its culture in practice.” ~Ray Ortlund, pastor and writer “The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom.” ~David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), American writer and professor “Against the prevailing mindset of our day—you are what you make of yourself—union with Christ tells you that you can discover your real self only in relation to the One who made you. You are not, you cannot be, self-made. Union with Christ tells you that you can only understand who you are in communion with God and others. And that is a wildly countercultural claim.” ~Rankin Wilbourne, pastor, from his book Union with Christ “Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? The bright day of Christian community dawns wherever the early morning mists of dreamy visions are lifting.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), from Life Together “It is important to think about the Church not as ‘over there' but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.” ~Henri J.M. Nouwen, (1932-1996), Dutch professor, writer and theologian SERMON PASSAGE Titus 1-3 Assorted Texts (NASB) Titus 1:1-4 1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 1:5-9 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. Titus 1:10-11, 13 10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain…. 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, Titus 2:1, 5 1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine…. 5 …so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:11-15 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. 15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 3:1-2, 8, 14 1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men…. 8 This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men…. 14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

REFLECTION QUOTES “It is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth.” ~Irenaeus (c. 115-c. 202), Bishop of Lyon (Lugdunum) “The test of a gospel-centered church is its doctrine on paper plus its culture in practice.” ~Ray Ortlund, pastor and writer “The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom.” ~David Foster Wallace (1962-2008), American writer and professor “Against the prevailing mindset of our day—you are what you make of yourself—union with Christ tells you that you can discover your real self only in relation to the One who made you. You are not, you cannot be, self-made. Union with Christ tells you that you can only understand who you are in communion with God and others. And that is a wildly countercultural claim.” ~Rankin Wilbourne, pastor, from his book Union with Christ “Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? The bright day of Christian community dawns wherever the early morning mists of dreamy visions are lifting.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), from Life Together “It is important to think about the Church not as ‘over there' but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.” ~Henri J.M. Nouwen, (1932-1996), Dutch professor, writer and theologian SERMON PASSAGE Titus 1-3 Assorted Texts (NASB) Titus 1:1-4 1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 1:5-9 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. Titus 1:10-11, 13 10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain…. 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, Titus 2:1, 5 1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine…. 5 …so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:11-15 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. 15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 3:1-2, 8, 14 1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men…. 8 This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men…. 14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

We are coming to a close here in Colossians. Paul has taken us through what happened cosmically in our salvation as well as in the hearts and lives of the believer, and we have been looking at the new behavior that should develop in a believer as they put off the old self and live new lives of virtue. These virtues spill over into Christian marriages, Christian families, and even Christian workplaces. Today, Paul is going to attempt to tie everything up in a tidy little bow by talking briefly about the importance of prayer for the mission and personal evangelism. These are two areas of the Christian life that many people struggle mightily with. It’s almost simple in comparison to obey your parents or love your wife because that is concrete and in the end there is very little to lose. However, prayer for a skeptic like me who believes in the sovereignty of God often feels a lot like I’m just mumbling to myself or I feel like the tiny ant seeking guidance from the massive human who is getting ready to stick his finger in my perfectly formed mound. On the other hand, personal evangelism is where the rubber meets the road. All of these things that we’ve talked about over the last 20+ weeks are great. But if it’s so great then are you just going to hide the good news under a basket? Of course not, we’ve got a moral obligation to get out there and tell people the amazing news that we can have a restored relationship with the God not because of things that we have done, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us in our place. That doesn’t mean it’s easy or that the social stigmas or awkwardness goes away. But it certainly helps if we keep our hearts and mind focused on the things of the kingdom. I hope that by the time we are done today, you will sense a refreshing wind blowing through this text. Paul has a remarkably positive and happy angle on personal evangelism. I hope we can see and it and feel it before we are done. The text (Colossians 4:2–6) falls naturally into two parts: verses 2–4 are the first part, and verse 5 and 6 are the second part. The first part has to do with our indirect involvement in evangelism through prayer for God's specially called spokesmen. The second part has to do with our direct involvement in evangelism through wise conduct and seasoned speech. Let's focus first on verses 2–4—our indirect involvement in frontline missions and evangelism through prayer. PRAYER FOR THE GLOBAL MISSION OF GOD I believe that one of the reasons we feel so weak in our prayer lives is that we have tried to treat prayer like we treat Alexa or our Google Home when it is in reality more like a wartime walkie-talkie. Prayer is not designed to serve the domestic comforts of the saints. It's designed as a walkie-talkie for spiritual battlefields. It's the link between active soldiers and their command headquarters, with its unlimited firepower and air cover and strategic wisdom. I get much of this idea of war-time Christianity from John Piper. He speaks about it often and I think it is a great way of stepping outside of our 21st century western comforts. Christianity has always flourished in the fire. Knock it down and beat it back and it grows and thrives. If you imagine yourself as a soldier on the battlefield, I think it really helps to bring home the message of the gospel and how we should live as believers.   This is the picture that I think helps capture the spirit of prayer in Colossians 4:2–4. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. So carrying this wartime analogy, we picture Paul and Timothy (1:1) as well as others in Colossians like Aristarchus (4:10) and Epaphras (4:12) as a unique team of advanced tactical troops in the spiritual battle to recapture the hearts of men for God. They have made a strike at the enemy lines and met a tremendous counterforce. Paul and Aristarchus are prisoners of war. And it beginning to look as though the enemy has achieved a tactical victory. But Paul has managed to smuggle a message out of the prison camp that is calling for his fellow soldiers stationed to the rear. That's the Colossians specifically and all believers in general. In the letter, he asks them to get on their walkie-talkie, call command headquarters, and ask headquarters to fire a missile that will blast open a door in the prison wall and in the enemy's front line so that Paul and his squad can get on with their mission to release people from the power of Satan and bring them to God. So the point that we are most interested in here is this: the soldiers to the rear with the walkie-talkie of prayer are very crucial in the frontline successes of evangelism and missions. If they weren't, this text would be pointless. How to Pray: Three Aspects Of course, this analogy like all analogies is imperfect. So let's look straight at the text for a few minutes and I think we will see at least three things that tell us how to pray and three things that tell us what to pray in this context of frontline evangelism and missions support. Persistently Verse 2: "Continue steadfastly in prayer." Or: "Devote yourselves to prayer." Here’s another analogy for you. Prayer is like a muscle. Why do we go to the gym and exercise? And I’m using that word we very loosely here. We go to be more healthy and to build muscle. If we sit around all day doing nothing but playing video games, reading, and playing on computers then although there is muscle there, it will lose its strength and not be as powerful as it could be. Prayer, like a muscle, gains strength and power the more it is exercised, but when you don’t work it, the power begins to drain out of it. It is not an easy or automatic task to regularly get up early and make your protein shake and head off to the gym where you put your muscles under stress for hours. That’s not something that happens automatically or we would all look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.   In the same way, it is not easy to carve out quiet time to slip away from distractions to lay ourselves bare before the God of the universe in prayer so the communication lines can be strengthened. However, Paul is telling those in his rear guard to be steadfast, diligent. and devoted to building up that muscle of prayer. Forget leg day, don’t skip prayer day. If you want to have a crucial role in the great spiritual warfare of these days, and not just be passed over as a useless soldier, you need to keep the walkie-talkie with you all day, keep it in the on position and ask again and again for God to give you your bearings and guide you through the mine fields of temptation and make you alert to every opportunity to witness to his promised victory. Watchfully Not only do we remain steadfast, praying diligently, but we are also to pray watchfully. Verse 2 continues, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it." We don’t battle with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers and our enemy knows the danger of our ability to communicate with headquarters. There is buzz in the news even today about countries like China, India, and Russia who are boasting of arms with the ability of taking down a country’s satellites. Our enemy is similar. He will try to sabotage our communications through a couple of different ways. He could jams the airwaves by filling all of the frequencies that we might use with static. Do you ever feel like the atmosphere of your lives is just cluttered with nonessentials, ever feel like your mind is abuzz with all kinds of things but none of them are the actual thing you are trying to communicate. Is it so easy to turn on music or a youtube video to drown out the silence that there is nowhere to be free of the noise. In addition to jamming the airwaves, he could just steal the transmitter or make us believe that the equipment is broken and defective. If we are deceived into believing that prayer is broken and won’t work then when it comes time to use it, we will just look over it saying there’s no use in even trying this because it is obviously broken. Finally, the enemy could attack by sabotaging the radio operator. Maybe it is through bombing and shelling all the night before so we couldn’t get any sleep, and now we are so tired we are failing on our watchman duties because our eyes are so heavy. Or maybe he tries to distract us with a giant wooden horse as a gift. Flattery, pleasures, and pride are an easy tool in our enemy’s arsenal to seek to put us out of commission. We get confused over who the enemy really is. The only way to get victory over Satan's devices is to be watchful. The reason I stress this wartime analogy of the Christian life is because I don't see a better picture to paint to keep the dire need to remain vigilant before us. We must remain alert in our spiritual lives every day. Without watchfulness we are sitting ducks for Satan's constant barrage of flaming darts. Thankfully The third answer to how we are to pray is thankfully. "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." In case the wartime analogy gives you the jitters, this word is added to help take them away. Watchfulness and vigilance might signify a lot of nail biting and perspiration and heart thumping. But this would be a big mistake. Sometimes our hearts do thump and the hands get clammy, but that is not supposed to be the normal feeling of the Christian soldier. If we remain steadfast in prayer, then what we are supposed to feel naturally is a sense that the command headquarters in heaven is in control, progress is being made on all the strategic fronts. That the battle is the Lord's. The decisive engagements of Christ and Satan in the wilderness and in Gethsemane and on the cross and at the empty tomb have all been won by Christ, and he is leading his church in triumph to a great day of worldwide consummation. And so woven through all our walkie-talkie requests for fire cover, are sentences like: "Nice shot, Sir, thank you." "The door blew open wide, Sir, thank you." "We made it through, Sir, thank you." "Aristarchus' arm has healed, Sir, thank you." "Coming now in with 20 happy captives, Sir, thank you." When Paul says that our praying is to be done with thanksgiving, he means that we should keep our eyes on the victory of God. We do not fight as losers, we are not the underdogs, or even as those who are uncertain. We know God will win. And if we have eyes to see, we will recognize the path of his power again and again. What to Pray: Three Things So verse 2 showed us how to pray, now in verses 3 and 4 Paul tells us three things about what to pray in our support of frontline evangelism and missions. For the Advanced Guard Pray for the advanced guard. Verse 3: "At the same time, pray also for us." God has called some people to give most of their time to direct gospel warfare. All Christians are soldiers. All of us have walkie-talkies. That is one of the cool things about the priesthood of believers. We don’t have to find the communications soldier in the middle of the fray to get the message out. Every soldier has a direct link to headquarters. At the same time, there is a differentiation of assignment on the battlefield. Ephesians 4:11 says that God has gifted and trained some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors or teachers. I think that these believers are in essence no different than the average soldier, they have just been tasked with a different mission. They are the advanced guard. And Paul here is asking his fellow soldiers not to just use the walkie talkies for their own personal interests but to use them for the sake of those in the advanced guard. We should each of us be praying for missionaries and missions work around the world as well as for pastors and evangelists and teachers right here at home that they would be strengthened and protected from the schemes of the evil one. For Openings for Gospel Opportunities Second, we should not only be praying for the Advanced guard themselves but we should be praying for their missions. There is no top-secret mission in the Christian life, we all have the same mission to bring the light to the darkness. So, we pray for gospel opportunities to open in the world for those who are part of the advanced guard. We see this in the next phrase of verse 3: "At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word." Paul knows that there is a difference between regular, ordinary speaking to those he is with, even if he is talking about Christ, and what he would see as a door for the word. These are periodic, extraordinary opportunities for effective proclamation. Paul uses this illustration regularly. In 1 Corinthians 16:9–10, he says, "I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." And in 2 Corinthians 2:12 he said, "When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord." This should be our constant request going over the walkie-talkie for the storm troopers here North Florida and among the unreached peoples of the world—"O God, blow the door off the hinges in Albania, Morocco, India, and China as well as Williston, Dunnellon, Gainesville, and Ocala!" Paul was wise enough to know that the mission didn’t push forward on the strength of his teachings or logical arguments, though those things have their place. God’s mission and the redemption and reconciliation of men back to God is primarily and ultimately a work of God and while we play a part in that work and seek for him to work, at the end of the day, he is the one that opens the doors, not us. For the Mystery of Christ to Be Made Plain Third, Paul asked that we would pray for the whole mystery of Christ to be made plain when God opens a door. Let’s read the end of verse 3 and through verse 4: "A door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I ought to speak." Simply put, Paul is saying that the goal of evangelism is to make clear a mystery. The gospel is not a mystery because it is confusing or obscure like a tricky riddle. It's a mystery because no one would ever know it or think of it unless God had made it plain. I say this from my own experience. Even though I was in church for all of my young life and I heard the gospel preached hundreds of times, it wasn’t until God made the simple truth of the gospel clear to me that the mystery was solved. The good news that we believe has been hidden from the minds of unbelievers. It is incomprehensible nonsense to them. That the Son of God should become man. That he should live a life of poverty and love. That he should die in the place of sinners and bear the curse of the law though he was sinless. That he should rise from the dead and reign in heaven today. That the ungodly should be justified by faith. That Jew and Gentile, red and yellow, black and white should be reconciled in one body to God. And that Christ should dwell in our hearts and seal us for glory. These are things that even humanity’s greatest storytellers would have never dreamed of. They are the mystery hidden from the ages in God. This mystery was revealed and made plain to believers in Jesus, and the mission of shining light on this mystery is evangelism. That is what we pray would be happening all over the world, and right here. But notice that while this mystery is the greatest truth the world has ever heard, it is also violently opposed. That’s why Paul says that he’s in prison because of the mystery of Christ. This is the underlying reason why so many people are terrified of evangelism. If you obey God in the mission of bringing the good news to all people you will encounter resistance, ridicule, and possibly violence and injustice. This is a war. A war for the hearts and minds of men. If we treat it like we are handing out coupons at the mall, people see it as of little value because we are treating it that way. But if we are tactical and vigilant and take risks and reorient our lives around the mission then we will face opposition and like with all wars, some of us might lose our lives. But as Paul says in Romans 8:35-39, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” THE TOOLS AND TASK OF PERSONAL EVANGELISM I want to turn now to verses 5 and 6 and shift our focus off of our indirect involvement through prayer, to the daily direct involvement in evangelism that every soldier is supposed to have where we live and work and play. Colossians 4:5-6, “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.” I said at the beginning that Paul has a remarkably positive and happy angle on personal evangelism in this text. There is a refreshing wind that blows through these two verses. These verses answer the question how all of us believers are supposed to relate to the unbelievers in our lives. Paul has in view accomplishing as much spiritual good as we can in these relationships. That's what he means in verse 5 when he says to "make the most of the time." Literally in Greek this could be translated, "Buy up the opportunity." In other words, life is a series of never to be repeated opportunities for buying up spiritual blessings. This is an exhilarating way to look at life. Every hour of your life brings a new unique situation that can either be bought up for eternity or missed. Jesus said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven..." Do you remember the parable that Jesus told about the Kingdom of God where the master went on a long journey and gave money to each of his servants to deal with while he was away? What are we to do? Buy up the opportunities of life for eternity. There is never a dull or insignificant moment for the Christian who is radically devoted to shrewd purchasing of life's moments for eternity. How Can We Buy Up Every Opportunity? So the question Paul answers in these two verses is how can we buy up every opportunity as we relate to the unbelievers in our lives? He gives three answers. Wise behavior, salty speech, and individual attention. Wise Behavior Verse 5: "Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders." Wisdom is knowing what to do for the glory of God when the rule book runs out. It's knowing how to become all things to all men without compromising holiness and truth. It is creativity and tact and thoughtfulness. It's having a feel for the moment, and having an eye for what people need and want. In order to buy up opportunities for God, we have to be wise in our behavior. We stand before a watching world and while we cannot change their hearts to make them know and love Jesus without the help of the Holy Spirit, we certainly can, if we are not wise and upright soil the good name of Jesus and cause their hearts to be hardened as they look at our hypocrisy. We must be wise in our behavior and find this wisdom in three basic ways: By meditating on the Scriptures as we see in Psalm 19:7, "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." By keeping open the lines of communication in Prayer: James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God." Seeking out and listening to wise counselors. Much of this is what the books of wisdom are all about, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. We have these books preserved in scripture because they show us the lives and struggles of real people as they wrestled with their faith and lived lives that were not perfect. The other place for wise counsel is from other believers, particularly those who have gone before. Like we looked at William Wilberforce last week. Gracious, Salty Speech The second answer to how we buy up opportunities for eternity is salty speech. Verse 6: "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt." I take this to mean that what we say about Christ and about the Christian life should be made as appetizing as possible. When food is not salted, its taste is bland. People don't want to eat it. It's unappetizing. Our speech is not supposed to be like that. This is one of the most refreshing things I have ever heard anyone say about personal evangelism. Think about it for a moment. How can you develop the ability to speak about Christ so that there is an appetizing flavor to it? How do you learn to talk about Christ in a way that makes people's mouth water? I think the answer is simply to spend time every day reminding yourself from Scripture why the gospel tastes good to you. Some of us who have been Christians for a long time begin to neglect the crucial business of enjoying Christ. Then an opportunity comes along to commend him to someone and we realize that all the reasons he is wonderful have been neglected and the keenness of our own taste buds has grown very dull. It's hard to salt your speech with the deliciousness of Jesus when you haven't been enjoying the taste yourself. So the wonderful thing about Paul's advice here is that the best way to prepare to be an advertisement for the satisfying taste of Jesus is to enjoy him yourself. Every day we should go to the Bible and look for reasons why knowing Christ is the greatest thing in the world. And when we get up off our knees with our hearts happy in him, we will be in the best position to make our speech appetizing for Christ. You want an example? Look to Jesus when he was speaking to the woman at the well in John 4:13-14, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” She responded with her mouth watering and said, “Sir, give me this water!” When you talk about Jesus do you make him sound appealing? Have you tasted and seen yourself that the Lord is good? Individual Attention The final answer to the question how to buy up every opportunity for God is that a person should get individual attention. We see this in the end of Verse 6: "... so that you may know how you ought to answer every one." The point is simple: each person is different and each situation is different. The gospel is the same, and Christ is the same, but there are countless ways to serve the meal. Canned, pat answers to questions are rarely satisfying and they feel rehearsed and impersonal. One of the best ways to buy up opportunities for the gospel is by loving people and caring for them as people. Not as notches on your belt. I’ve never liked the statistical side of evangelicalism whereby churches compare numbers of baptisms or conversions. I’m also not a big fan of just handing someone a tract and considering my job done. That can be a tool that we use, but we should be seeking out ways to bring the gospel to each person so that it is seen as wisdom, instead of foolishness, appetizing instead of appalling, and personal instead of pre-rehearsed. So in conclusion, let's pick up the walkie-talkie of prayer and support the advanced guard with persistence and watchfulness and confident gratitude. And let's buy up every opportunity for eternity with wise conduct and salty speech and individual attention. Under all of this, let's set our eyes on Christ in the gospel until we taste how appetizing and satisfying he is for our own souls. "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst."

Life Application: How am I living an incarnational life? How am I not? Where am I trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus? Where is God calling me to be the hands and feet of Jesus? Spend some time this week simply dwelling on the miracle of the incarnation—that Jesus as fully divine chose to become fully human for us. On this Freedom Sunday how can you support those around the world seeking to be the hands and feet of Christ? Will you commit to praying for International Justice Mission (IJM)? Will you have a conversation to learn more about what IJM does? What next step can you take to support IJM?

What do people say about you? Not about your appearance, career or accomplishments, but about your faith in Christ and your partnership in the Gospel? Will those around us and those who know us describe us as those who truly love God and love people? Will our spouses or friends say that we exude the love and humility of Christ? Will our church members describe us as faithful and hard-working when it comes to our service to the church and partnership in the Gospel? What do people say about us and how will they remember us? We have been given a task on this earth to conform to the likeness of Christ, to be His witnesses and to live for His glory. Will, people attest to those things about us?

We are closing out this three-part series, if you will, covering the event that has taken place in Matthew 12:22-37. And today we will conclude the whole thing by talking about: What Is Your Heart Telling People? The heart is the core of who an individual is… what is your heart saying to people around you? Matthew 12:33-37 We saw a similar passage regarding fruit in Matthew 7:15-23. This passage however, speaks about them and ultimately us making our trees good or bad. Matthew 12:33 If the tree represents the heart, one commentator said that the reason Jesus said this like this is because the heart starts out bad from original sin. Jeremiah 17:9 We have to cultivate or take the steps to make the tree good. Jesus, called the Pharisees evil, because they had not transplanted their tree. Matthew 12:34a Just like we have to choose to make our trees good, they had chosen to make their trees bad. Matthew 12:34b What Is Your Heart Telling People? Satan has people fooled! Because out of the mouth of Jesus, He says, For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Each one of us needs to look at the core of our hearts and honestly examine what is overflowing in our lives. And the source of both, the tree of both, produces the fruit that is stored up in that tree. Matthew 12:35 Satan has people walking around deceived that they will never spill. While Satan has people creating messes all over, Jesus has people that are graciously cleaning things up. What Is Your Heart Telling People? Because in the end… there will be a reckoning. Matthew 12:36-37 Consider these passages regarding your mouth and your heart. James 1:26; Proverbs 26:18-19; Proverbs 18:21; Proverbs 15:4; Proverbs 12:13-14; Proverbs 12:18-19 What Is Your Heart Telling People? If we are all ambassadors like God’s Word says we are how are we doing?2 Corinthians 5:20 What is the world seeing in us? What are they hearing from us? What is the overflow in us that is coming out from us? Will you pursue God like the Psalmist wrote? Psalm 119:171-175 Will we ask for what the Psalmist asked for? Psalm 141:3 Will we take the words of Jesus that we just read and practice what Paul wrote to the Ephesians? Ephesians 4:29 We are living in a world that is in desperate need of those who can lift up the spirits of men, women and children! We are living in a world that needs mouth pieces that are full of hope, mouth pieces that overflowing with love and mouth pieces that have answers of a better way! Will you do your part to share the love of Christ? Will you empty your heart today and ask God to come and fill you up? Will you take the step to make your tree good?

Worship audio from February 18, 2018 - Lent 1B. Warmly referred to as "Festival of the Means of Grace Sunday." Bulletin pasted in below.Green Pastures with Jesus is the podcast from Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church of Fairmont, MN. Here you’ll find a variety of segments to lead you to the green pastures of the Word of God, where our Good Shepherd feeds our faith.  Find us online: www.shepherdofthelakes.net or http://facebook.com/shepherdofthelakes Worship is Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM.Bible class & Sunday School follow at 10:40 AM.323 E. 1st St – Fairmont, MNpastorhagen@icloud.com or (507) 236-9572iTunes & iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/green-pastures-jesus-shepherd/id1183522558?mt=2 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=127180&refid=stprOr simply search for “Green Pastures with Jesus” in your podcast app.Intro & Outro courtesy of Koine - The Church Band. Check them out at www.koinemusic.com, or find them on iTunes & Amazon: Search for Koine.Bible text from Biblegateway.com - EHV.Bulletin PDF here - or below.Welcome to Shepherd of the Lakes! We’re here to shepherd Christ’s flock and seek the lost sheep by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all. Come, let us worship!For your convenience, in the back corner of the sanctuary there is a room for any parents with children in need of a quiet place. The restrooms are located on the lower level. Please ask if you have any further questions or concerns. Lord Jesus, you took on our humanity and fought temptation. You were victorious! All praise to you for your perfect obedience! And miracle of miracles . . . you have credited this perfection to me. Thank you! AMEN.Christ’s Kingdom Grow through the Means of Grace:Christ’s kingdom exists only with the Word and Sacraments. Therefore, it is necessary to baptize little children, that the promise of salvation may be applied to them, according to Christ’s command to baptize all nations (Matthew 28:19). Just as in this passage salvation is offered to all, so Baptism is offered to all, to men, women, children, infants. It clearly follows, therefore, that infants are to be baptized, because salvation is offered with Baptism. Second, it is clear that God approves of the Baptism of little children. God’s approval of the Baptism of little children is shown by this: He gives the Holy Spirit to those baptized [Acts 2:38–39].Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Article 9 (Concordia p. 153)Because He Knew: He Would Died – He Would LiveWhy did Jesus keep moving toward the cross? Surely, he should have known this was coming. Surely, he could have avoided the pain, the suffering, the death. But that’s the point, Jesus knew all along he was going to die. That was the eternal plan of the Father, that the holy Son of God would suffer and die for a world of sinners. However, Jesus also knew that death would not be the end. The payment for sin would be accepted and he would rise to life again and defeat death itself, for us.How does the Temptation of Jesus solidify our Christian hope today?OPENING HYMN: 224 – God Himself is PresentLITURGY: Holy Baptism, CW p. 12Please rise.PRAYER OF THE DAY:M: Lord our strength, the battle of good and evil rages within and around us, and our ancient foe tempts us with his deceits and empty promises. Keep us steadfast in your Word, and when we fall, raise us up again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen.The WordFIRST READING: Genesis 22:1-18What do you love so much that it would be impossible to willingly and gladly give up if the Lord required it? The time of Lent is a call to serious struggle against sin, including the idolatry of loving anyone or anything more than God:Some time later God tested Abraham. He called to him, “Abraham!” Abraham answered, “I am here.” 2God said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you.” 3Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. Abraham split the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out to go to the place that God had told him about. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on over there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it on Isaac his son. He took the firepot and the knife in his hand. The two of them went on together. ( . . . continued . . . )7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father?” He said, “I am here, my son.” He said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them went on together. 9They came to the place that God had told him about. Abraham built the altar there. He arranged the wood, tied up Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11The Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” Abraham said, “I am here.” 12He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide.” So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 15The Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, “I have sworn by myself, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your descendants greatly, like the stars of the sky and like the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the city gates of their enemies. 18In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” PSALM: CWS 3 (Bulletin p. 6)SECOND READING: Romans 8:31-39Lent proves the love of God: God gave his own Son for us all. With this truth planted into our hearts, God gives us perseverance in all things: 31What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him? 33Who will bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies! 34Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus, who died and, more than that, was raised to life, is the one who is at God’s right hand and who is also interceding for us! 35What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?36Just as it is written: For your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. THEME VERSE: Matthew 4:10It is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Thanks be to God.GOSPEL READING: Mark 1:12-15In his grace, God leads Gentiles to worship Christ:12The Spirit immediately sent Jesus out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels were serving him. 14After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. 15“The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel.” This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.Praise be to you, O Christ!HYMN OF THE DAY: 201 – A Mighty Fortress is Our GodSERMON based on Mark 1: Only a Victorious Christ could Preach the GospelCONFESSION OF FAITH: Luther’s Explanation of Holy Baptism, from the Small Catechism (1529)M: What is Baptism?C: Baptism is not just plain water, but it is water used by God's command and connected with God's Word.M: Which is that Word of God?C: Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”M: What does Baptism do for us?C: Baptism works forgiveness of sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.M: What are these words and promises of God?C: Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”M: How can water do such great things?C: It is certainly not the water that does such things, but God's Word which is in and with the water, and faith which trusts this Word used with the water. For without God's Word the water is just plain water and not baptism. But with this Word it is baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of rebirth by the Holy Spirit.M: Where is this written?C: Saint Paul says in Titus, chapter three, “God saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.” ( . . . continued . . . )M: What does baptizing with water mean?C: Baptism means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.M: Where is this written?C: Saint Paul says in Romans, chapter six, “We were buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”OFFERINGPRAYER OF THE CHURCH & LORD’S PRAYER: p. 32The sacramentFor our Holy Communion practice, please see the purple sheet in the pew racks.COMMUNION LITURGY: p. 33DISTRIBUTION HYMN: 737 – God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say ItSONG OF THANKS: CW 316 (Purple sheet or hymnal)CLOSING HYMN: 752 – In Christ AloneNOTESAll are invited to celebrate Gideon’s baptism at noon at the Pizza Ranch.See the sign-up at the back of church for next week’s congregational bowling.Midweek Lenten worship continues with a 6 PM meal & 7 PM worship. THIS WEEKToday 1 Samuel 19 9:30 - Lent 1 Worship with Holy Communion & Baptismal Affirmation of Gideon Johanson 10:45 - Sunday School & Bible Class (The Flood) 12:01 PM - Baptismal celebration at the Pizza RanchMonday 1 Samuel 20Tuesday 1 Samuel 21 7 PM - CAP class: The Start of Unit 2! Wednesday 1 Samuel 22 NO CATECHISM CLASS 6 PM - Lenten Meal 7 PM - Midweek Lenten WorshipThursday 1 Samuel 23Friday 1 Samuel 24Saturday 1 Samuel 25Sunday 1 Samuel 26 9:30 - Lent 2 Worship 10:45 - Sunday School & Bible Class (The Flood)                  Membership at Shepherd of the Lakes means more than a person’s name on a church roster. Membership is about belonging to Christ, growing in faith, and sharing the joy of salvation together. We enjoy life together with a merciful God through faith, growing together as lifelong learners of Jesus, spending time together with one another in Christian friendship and support, and going out together into our communities and circles of friends to make a meaningful difference.Our new member process aims at nurturing those relationships, which includes but is not limited to an agreement together on the truths of the Bible. Unity of belief is the building block for life together with Christ, growing in faith together, and sharing in the joy of salvation together.Those who want to join Shepherd of the Lakes coming from other WELS or ELS churches will be familiar with our beliefs. Others experienced in another church, or who have little or no religious background at all, become members through participation in a Bible information class taught by Pastor Hagen. Many of our members have taken this class numerous times, as a reminder and refresher on the different teachings in God’s Word.Togetherness in beliefs then leads to a new member process that nurtures togetherness in relationships with God, church and community.Speak to Pastor Hagen if you’re interested. There is no charge. Even if you’re just curious, come check it out!                                                                                  

Proverbs 1:1-7, 29-33 I. The Wisdom of Ben Franklin A. Be virtuous and do good deeds B. Be productive and efficient (life hacks) C. Consider the merits of Christianity II. The Wisdom of Jesus Christ A. Fear of the Lord Proverbs 1:1-7, 29-33 1. The “Prism” of Wisdom (vv. 1-4) -Multiple words seem to cover all of life 2. The Audience of Wisdom (vv. 5-6) a. Simple/Youth b. Wise/Understanding c. Fool 3. The Goal of Wisdom (v. 7) 4. The Results of Wisdom (vv. 29-33) a. Death (Romans 1:21-22; 6:23) b. Life (1 Corinthians 1:32) Response Salvation -Will we be wise, not trusting in ourselves, but humbly trusting in Christ? -Will we be fools, continuing to go our own course, turning away from God in-bitterness, pride, or apathy? Re-Dedication -Today, recommit yourself to growing in Christian wisdom and maturity

What will you gain when you die to self? Will you lose your life living for self alone instead of Christ? Will you live a life of faithfulness to the cause of Christ? or Will you live a life of comfort and ease?

What We Went Through on Earth for Christ Will be Visible in Heaven

Are you a fan or a follower of Christ? Will you do whatever, whenever and however God asks you to do for Him regardless of who is watching? Will you step out and have faith that God is directing the entire thing? Many over the years have done this and been blessed beyond compare. Many have chosen not to and suffered the consequences. So Fan or follower?

Many of us feel like our marriages are on the brink of falling apart, but we don’t know what to do. In this message series, we’re going to talk about some of the biggest issues we face in marriage and the answers God wants to give us for those challenges.Marriage 911: “We've Lost Hope#1. Giving some graceMatthew 18: 21-35Ephesians 4: 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.#2. Focusing on holiness more than happinessI Thessalonians 4: 3a For this is the will of God, your sanctification...Romans 8: 29a For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son...“What if marriage was meant to make you HOLY more than it was to make you HAPPY?”“If you shoot for happy, it will not make you holy. BUT, if you shoot for holy, it will end up making you happy!”#3. Having hope for the future Psalm 27: 13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare (good things) and not for calamity (bad things) to give you a future and a hope.Romans 8: 31-32, 35-3931 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.I Cor. 13: 7-8a (Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails...

We all face doors in our lives. Will you open the door to Christ? Will you go through the door He has opened for you?