THE SWORD & TROWEL
Pulpit Series Notes
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 26, Issue 1 January 03, 2016
As I got out of my truck in the Walmart parking lot, I heard a voice behind me say, “Hey buddy any change?” Seemed like an innocent enough question, but I don’t remember him saying, “Do you have any change?” Perhaps this was a different line of questioning and it got me thinking about the new year ahead. When I look back over 2015 has there been any change? Or was it as some say, “The same old same old”.
“Change” a big word to be sure. The world (those we know and deal with on a daily basis who may be family, friends, people in the neighborhood or even in the church) is continually trying to conform us to its image.
The word conform means…..
· to be similar in form or character
· to behave in accordance with prevailing modes or customs
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind…It's then that we find the good and acceptable will of God for our lives.”
People will always try to fit us into their mold, partly due to their own insecurity. It makes them feel better about what they are doing if they can get someone else to do it too. Very few people have the ability to be who they are and let everybody else be who they are.
In the scriptures, the word “change” indicates spiritual growth or transformation.
I believe each of us should work at becoming a better person. A recent TV ad regarding poverty stated, “We make better things, but why can’t we make things better?” Great question!
Think about the last year…..is there anything you would like to change, not about your life in general, but rather about how you dealt with your life.
There are many things we have no control over, but If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
Some of you have experienced painful changes in your life, changes you had no control over and it is easy to get “stalled” in your growth process. Perhaps this quote from C.S. Lewis may help: “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” Let go of 2015 and grab hold of the opportunities of 2016.
Did you miss an opportunity to change as a person last year?
Is there something you wish you would have started a year ago?
Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
Let me express his thought like this…..¨ by changing nothing, nothing changes"
II Corinthians 3:18 talks about us “being” changed, “being” transformed, eflecting an ongoing process not a one time event.
Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Many things aren’t equal but everyone gets the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We make time for what we truly want.
Some of you fear change because you fear making a mistake. But really….the greatest mistake you can make is to be held back because of being afraid of making a mistake. Trust God to lead you. I like what Mark Twain said, “20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore….Dream….. Discover!”
If you want things to change in your life here are some things that you need to do.
¨ Spend Time with God: Examine your priorities and see what needs to change. You can't think spending 45 minutes or an hour in church on Sunday mornings is all you need to live in victory. Since the devil is alive and well every day, you need a daily walk with God.
¨ Be Honest: Many of us change our outside circumstances but stay depressed on the inside. You may have a circumstance in your life right now you have no control over. However I urge you to choose to stay enthusiastic, passionate, stirred up, excited, positive, and full of hope and faith on the inside.
¨ Don’t Give Up or Give In: John 5:1-15 (NLT) Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!
¨ Stop blaming others for your situation
First…..he avoided taking responsibility.
Second…..he blamed others. “While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
We end up feeling sorry for ourselves, but Jesus certainly didn't feel sorry for him. In fact Jesus said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
In other words, Stop blaming others for your situation get up (change) and get on with your life!
¨ Dare to change! Stop being imprisoned by your circumstances.
Choose to hope! I believe that God can give you a breakthrough. It may not be instantaneous! Some changes will take time.
But you can…..
· choose to hope
· choose to change
· choose to never give up
· choose to live the life Jesus died to give you
Religion says: God will love us if we change. The Gospel says; God’s love changes us.
“Change” a big word to be sure. The world (those we know and deal with on a daily basis who may be family, friends, people in the neighborhood or even in the church) is continually trying to conform us to its image.
The word conform means…..
· to be similar in form or character
· to behave in accordance with prevailing modes or customs
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind…It's then that we find the good and acceptable will of God for our lives.”
People will always try to fit us into their mold, partly due to their own insecurity. It makes them feel better about what they are doing if they can get someone else to do it too. Very few people have the ability to be who they are and let everybody else be who they are.
In the scriptures, the word “change” indicates spiritual growth or transformation.
I believe each of us should work at becoming a better person. A recent TV ad regarding poverty stated, “We make better things, but why can’t we make things better?” Great question!
Think about the last year…..is there anything you would like to change, not about your life in general, but rather about how you dealt with your life.
There are many things we have no control over, but If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.
Some of you have experienced painful changes in your life, changes you had no control over and it is easy to get “stalled” in your growth process. Perhaps this quote from C.S. Lewis may help: “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” Let go of 2015 and grab hold of the opportunities of 2016.
Did you miss an opportunity to change as a person last year?
Is there something you wish you would have started a year ago?
Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
Let me express his thought like this…..¨ by changing nothing, nothing changes"
II Corinthians 3:18 talks about us “being” changed, “being” transformed, eflecting an ongoing process not a one time event.
Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Many things aren’t equal but everyone gets the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We make time for what we truly want.
Some of you fear change because you fear making a mistake. But really….the greatest mistake you can make is to be held back because of being afraid of making a mistake. Trust God to lead you. I like what Mark Twain said, “20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore….Dream….. Discover!”
If you want things to change in your life here are some things that you need to do.
¨ Spend Time with God: Examine your priorities and see what needs to change. You can't think spending 45 minutes or an hour in church on Sunday mornings is all you need to live in victory. Since the devil is alive and well every day, you need a daily walk with God.
¨ Be Honest: Many of us change our outside circumstances but stay depressed on the inside. You may have a circumstance in your life right now you have no control over. However I urge you to choose to stay enthusiastic, passionate, stirred up, excited, positive, and full of hope and faith on the inside.
¨ Don’t Give Up or Give In: John 5:1-15 (NLT) Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!
¨ Stop blaming others for your situation
First…..he avoided taking responsibility.
Second…..he blamed others. “While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
We end up feeling sorry for ourselves, but Jesus certainly didn't feel sorry for him. In fact Jesus said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
In other words, Stop blaming others for your situation get up (change) and get on with your life!
¨ Dare to change! Stop being imprisoned by your circumstances.
Choose to hope! I believe that God can give you a breakthrough. It may not be instantaneous! Some changes will take time.
But you can…..
· choose to hope
· choose to change
· choose to never give up
· choose to live the life Jesus died to give you
Religion says: God will love us if we change. The Gospel says; God’s love changes us.
Climbing Companions
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those
who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a
quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. Matthew 5:1-3
This has not been updated for some time because we now send them out directly through email.
who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a
quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. Matthew 5:1-3
This has not been updated for some time because we now send them out directly through email.
The Just Shall Live By Faith
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 30 September 23, 2012
There is a remarkable statement in Isaiah 32:17 “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.”
Did you see that? Assurance forever!
Not for a few days, weeks, months or years not even for a lifetime - but forever!
This morning I have the distinct honor of preaching a message that will greatly encourage you. I beg you to delight in God’s presence, hanging on to His every word.
Please don’t shame God by being indifferent to His message to His people. “Let those that have ears hear”.
Here we go… Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
The little boy was right when he answered his teacher's question, “What is faith?” by saying, “Faith is believing God and asking no questions”.
That is exactly what it is.
Faith is taking God at His word.
Or as Isaiah said, “quietness and assurance forever.”
Scriptures tell us four times that “the just shall live by faith”.
The term just means “righteous” - an individual whose personality and behavior are acceptable to God.
The word live means “to be, think, speak, and act”.
The term faith means “love for, always seeking, reliance on, hope in, obedience to, and trust in God”.
Putting it all together, it describes an individual who thinks, speaks, and acts as one who loves, seeks, relies on, hopes in, obeys and trusts God.
Several statements included in the Christian creed go as follows:
Are the above four statements true? Absolutely.
Does the expression “the just shall live by his faith” mean that if we believe the above statements that we will go to Heaven when we die to live in a mansion forever? Absolutely not!
“You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe and tremble.” James 2:19
Will the demons go to Heaven one day to live in mansions because of their knowledge of theology? Absolutely not.
Redemption does not come through believing correct theological facts but through thinking, speaking, and acting as one who is loving, seeking, relying on, hoping in, obeying and trusting in God.
This…..the demons will not and cannot do.
“Shall live”…
“Shall live”…
We can LIVE NOW because of Christ!
The Lord Jesus not only died for what we have done, but for what we are by nature.
The believer can exclaim, “I’m crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians. 2:20
I urge you to understand that our faith rests on the finished work of Christ.
Colossians 3:1-4 “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.”
Glory to God! Whoever heard of a man drowning with his head that high above water!
There will always be mysteries beyond our comprehension, for God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
But the trusting soul learns to be content with what God has revealed, and to quietly leave the rest to be unfolded in that coming day when we shall behold Him as He is.
Until then, I urge you to let His Word to be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.
That is how you can walk safely and securely through a world where sin and sorrow reign.
Habakkuk 2:4
“... the just shall live by his faith.”
Romans 1:17
“… the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:11
“… no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
As I said, to live by faith means, to live each moment of each day in the attitude of
Basically…..continually getting to know Christ.
In the NOW… No Opportunity Wasted
True faith is an active relationship with God that governs at all times what we are and what we do. Faith is not merely a belief in theological facts.
The grace of God that brings salvation always produces righteous behavior.
It is a love relationship not a theological position.
By His sinless life, atoning death, and triumphant resurrection, Christ has set us free from all religious law.
However,
He died for us, not so we could do our own thing, living to ourselves, but to Him who died for us and rose again.
What we have just talked about describes the true faith by which the righteous have lived from the beginning of creation.
Did you see that? Assurance forever!
Not for a few days, weeks, months or years not even for a lifetime - but forever!
This morning I have the distinct honor of preaching a message that will greatly encourage you. I beg you to delight in God’s presence, hanging on to His every word.
Please don’t shame God by being indifferent to His message to His people. “Let those that have ears hear”.
Here we go… Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
The little boy was right when he answered his teacher's question, “What is faith?” by saying, “Faith is believing God and asking no questions”.
That is exactly what it is.
Faith is taking God at His word.
- To believe is to trust
- To trust is to have faith
- To have faith in Christ is to have full assurance of salvation
Or as Isaiah said, “quietness and assurance forever.”
Scriptures tell us four times that “the just shall live by faith”.
The term just means “righteous” - an individual whose personality and behavior are acceptable to God.
The word live means “to be, think, speak, and act”.
The term faith means “love for, always seeking, reliance on, hope in, obedience to, and trust in God”.
Putting it all together, it describes an individual who thinks, speaks, and acts as one who loves, seeks, relies on, hopes in, obeys and trusts God.
Several statements included in the Christian creed go as follows:
- We believe in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures
- We believe in the Trinity, the eternal Godhead
- We believe in the virgin birth and Deity of Jesus Christ
- We believe that Christ died for our sins and that He rose again from the dead to be Lord of all
Are the above four statements true? Absolutely.
Does the expression “the just shall live by his faith” mean that if we believe the above statements that we will go to Heaven when we die to live in a mansion forever? Absolutely not!
“You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe and tremble.” James 2:19
Will the demons go to Heaven one day to live in mansions because of their knowledge of theology? Absolutely not.
Redemption does not come through believing correct theological facts but through thinking, speaking, and acting as one who is loving, seeking, relying on, hoping in, obeying and trusting in God.
This…..the demons will not and cannot do.
“Shall live”…
- has to do with our personality and behavior here and now as well as throughout eternity.
“Shall live”…
- is not referring to going to Heaven when we die. It is speaking of living in the presence of the Father now.
We can LIVE NOW because of Christ!
The Lord Jesus not only died for what we have done, but for what we are by nature.
The believer can exclaim, “I’m crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians. 2:20
I urge you to understand that our faith rests on the finished work of Christ.
Colossians 3:1-4 “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.”
Glory to God! Whoever heard of a man drowning with his head that high above water!
There will always be mysteries beyond our comprehension, for God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
But the trusting soul learns to be content with what God has revealed, and to quietly leave the rest to be unfolded in that coming day when we shall behold Him as He is.
Until then, I urge you to let His Word to be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.
That is how you can walk safely and securely through a world where sin and sorrow reign.
Habakkuk 2:4
“... the just shall live by his faith.”
Romans 1:17
“… the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:11
“… no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
As I said, to live by faith means, to live each moment of each day in the attitude of
- loving Christ
- seeking Christ
- rejoicing in Christ
- praising Christ
- trusting Christ
- hoping in Christ
- obeying Christ
Basically…..continually getting to know Christ.
In the NOW… No Opportunity Wasted
True faith is an active relationship with God that governs at all times what we are and what we do. Faith is not merely a belief in theological facts.
The grace of God that brings salvation always produces righteous behavior.
It is a love relationship not a theological position.
By His sinless life, atoning death, and triumphant resurrection, Christ has set us free from all religious law.
However,
- Christ has not set us free so we can go our own way.
- He has set us free so we can wait on Him without distraction.
He died for us, not so we could do our own thing, living to ourselves, but to Him who died for us and rose again.
What we have just talked about describes the true faith by which the righteous have lived from the beginning of creation.
Amazing Grace
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 29 September 16, 2012
Romans 5:20&21 “The law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus.”
As the Hymn writer Julia Johnston wrote:
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Sin and despair, like seawaves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes grace untold - points to the refuge, the mighty cross!
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide; what can avail to wash it away?
Look! there is flowing a crimson tide whiter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous, infinte, matcheless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive?
Grace, Grace, God’s Grace…..Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, Grace, God’s Grace…..Grace that is greater than all our sin!
AMAZING GRACE! “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
I find it amazing that this great gospel promise was delivered so soon after the first transgression?
Even before the sentence is pronounced on either of the two human offenders, the promise of a Deliverer was given.
The woman had not yet been sentenced to painful travil, nor the man to exhausting labor. Even the soil had not yet been cursed.
Before the Lord had said, “Dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return”. He said that the seed of the women should bruise (crush) the serpent’s head. It was grace that led God to take up the quarrel personally.
It was grace that spoke through God’s words when He tells the dragon that this quarrel would not be between “the serpent and man”, but between “God and the serpent”.
God’s marvelous grace revealed that in the fulness of time a Champion would arise, who would bring a fatal blow to the powers of evil!
Genisis 3 is really the believer’s primary hope! In this promise of hope lies all the great truth that makes up the gospel!
Christ is that blessed seed of the women who is spoken of here.
Isaiah 7:14 “Behold a virigin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel!”
This early promise of Grace teaches that the deliverer would be born of a woman!
The first thing Christ does is come to us in mercy, putting enmity (deep-seated, often mutual hatred) between us and the serpent!
This is the first work of grace!
You see there once was peace between us and satan.
But do you remember when you first began to feel dissatisfied?
The world’s pleasures no longer please you. You began to hate sin, you tried to get out of sin, you were miserable about it - you struggled with sin, groaning about it.
In your heart you were no longer on the devil’s side.
Perhaps you cried out like Paul, in Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
Is it still that way for you? Is there enmity between you and the devil?
Enmity means….
Once the enmity was in place then came the Champion.
Colossians 1:27 “Christ in you the hope of Glory!”
Hang on to the Amazing Grace of Almighty God .... for by it the power and dominion of sin is broken in you!
We are freed from the curse! Not because we covered our sin, but because God through His grace provided a covering for our sin!
Jesus Christ Himself covered us with His righteousness!
Look at Romans 16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Let’s go back a little bit. I want you to excercise faith in these promises. I want you to take comfort in it!
Genesis 3:21 “To Adam and his wife the LORD God made coats of skins, and clothed them.” What grace!
God covered them… no more fig leaves, but a close fitting garment had been provided through the death of a victim.
The Lord brings it to Adam.....God Himself clothed him!
Rejoice in the truth that Christ Himself has delivered us from the power of the serpent. When our eyes were opened and we were told that we were naked, Christ Himself covered us with HIS righteousness.
Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
No more ashamed…..We are now able to come properly attired to the feast prepared for us at the Kings table!
We were naked, out of fellowship with God, and for the most part out of our minds!
However, our testimony can be recorded along side of the testimony found in Luke 8:35. “Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.”
I Kings 25:27-30 “In the 37th of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, Evil-merodach the new king of Babylon set him free. He spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance [was] a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.”
If an earthly king can do this - consider if you would, what our heavenly King can do!
Let me further encourage you. Your sufferings as a Christian are not brought upon you for your own sake. You are partners with the great seed of the woman; you are confederates with Christ.....the battle is not against you personally, it is against Christ in you!
If you were not a Christian the devil wouldn’t bother you!
But now the serpent seed hates Christ in you!
Jesus beckons you to come to Him........
Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
You say you have no money? Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, every one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money; come buy and eat; yes come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” How is it possible?
In one Word - JESUS!
II Corinthians 8:9 “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
In God’s mercy and by His Grace He asks, “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently to me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.” Isaiah 55:2-3
We must always remember that God’s grace provides for our freedom. Not a freedom to do as we please, but rather a freedom that was meant to free us from slavery to our selfish, sinful nature in order that we might become all that God intends us to be!
As the Hymn writer Julia Johnston wrote:
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Sin and despair, like seawaves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes grace untold - points to the refuge, the mighty cross!
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide; what can avail to wash it away?
Look! there is flowing a crimson tide whiter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous, infinte, matcheless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive?
Grace, Grace, God’s Grace…..Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, Grace, God’s Grace…..Grace that is greater than all our sin!
AMAZING GRACE! “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
I find it amazing that this great gospel promise was delivered so soon after the first transgression?
Even before the sentence is pronounced on either of the two human offenders, the promise of a Deliverer was given.
The woman had not yet been sentenced to painful travil, nor the man to exhausting labor. Even the soil had not yet been cursed.
Before the Lord had said, “Dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return”. He said that the seed of the women should bruise (crush) the serpent’s head. It was grace that led God to take up the quarrel personally.
It was grace that spoke through God’s words when He tells the dragon that this quarrel would not be between “the serpent and man”, but between “God and the serpent”.
God’s marvelous grace revealed that in the fulness of time a Champion would arise, who would bring a fatal blow to the powers of evil!
Genisis 3 is really the believer’s primary hope! In this promise of hope lies all the great truth that makes up the gospel!
Christ is that blessed seed of the women who is spoken of here.
Isaiah 7:14 “Behold a virigin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel!”
This early promise of Grace teaches that the deliverer would be born of a woman!
The first thing Christ does is come to us in mercy, putting enmity (deep-seated, often mutual hatred) between us and the serpent!
This is the first work of grace!
You see there once was peace between us and satan.
- when satan tempted we yielded
- whatever he taught we believed
- we were his willing slaves.
But do you remember when you first began to feel dissatisfied?
The world’s pleasures no longer please you. You began to hate sin, you tried to get out of sin, you were miserable about it - you struggled with sin, groaning about it.
In your heart you were no longer on the devil’s side.
Perhaps you cried out like Paul, in Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
Is it still that way for you? Is there enmity between you and the devil?
Enmity means….
- deep seated unfriendliness
- hostility
Once the enmity was in place then came the Champion.
Colossians 1:27 “Christ in you the hope of Glory!”
Hang on to the Amazing Grace of Almighty God .... for by it the power and dominion of sin is broken in you!
We are freed from the curse! Not because we covered our sin, but because God through His grace provided a covering for our sin!
Jesus Christ Himself covered us with His righteousness!
Look at Romans 16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Let’s go back a little bit. I want you to excercise faith in these promises. I want you to take comfort in it!
Genesis 3:21 “To Adam and his wife the LORD God made coats of skins, and clothed them.” What grace!
God covered them… no more fig leaves, but a close fitting garment had been provided through the death of a victim.
The Lord brings it to Adam.....God Himself clothed him!
Rejoice in the truth that Christ Himself has delivered us from the power of the serpent. When our eyes were opened and we were told that we were naked, Christ Himself covered us with HIS righteousness.
Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
No more ashamed…..We are now able to come properly attired to the feast prepared for us at the Kings table!
We were naked, out of fellowship with God, and for the most part out of our minds!
However, our testimony can be recorded along side of the testimony found in Luke 8:35. “Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.”
I Kings 25:27-30 “In the 37th of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, Evil-merodach the new king of Babylon set him free. He spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance [was] a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.”
If an earthly king can do this - consider if you would, what our heavenly King can do!
Let me further encourage you. Your sufferings as a Christian are not brought upon you for your own sake. You are partners with the great seed of the woman; you are confederates with Christ.....the battle is not against you personally, it is against Christ in you!
If you were not a Christian the devil wouldn’t bother you!
But now the serpent seed hates Christ in you!
Jesus beckons you to come to Him........
Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
You say you have no money? Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, every one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money; come buy and eat; yes come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” How is it possible?
In one Word - JESUS!
II Corinthians 8:9 “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
In God’s mercy and by His Grace He asks, “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently to me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.” Isaiah 55:2-3
We must always remember that God’s grace provides for our freedom. Not a freedom to do as we please, but rather a freedom that was meant to free us from slavery to our selfish, sinful nature in order that we might become all that God intends us to be!
Growing In Grace
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 28 September 9, 2012
One question has been at the forefront of my mind in recent weeks. I believe it's a question every sincere believer must ask himself continually: “Am I growing in grace?”
Grace is Holy Ghost empowerment to become more like Jesus. And growing in grace is increasing in the likeness of Christ
through the power of the Spirit.
Here’s some things to ask yourself…..
So I ask again….“Are you growing in grace?”
Take an honest look at your life over the past year. Think of all the trials you've been through - at home, on the job, in your ministry endeavors. Can you honestly say you've reacted to all your troubles with faith, grace, love and mercy?
Can you say through your trials, you’ve learned to be more kind, patient, gentle and soft-spoken or, did you react with anger, indignation and self-righteousness?
Did you have to prove you were right and they were wrong?
How many wounds did you cause as you tried to show how you were injured, misunderstood, misrepresented? Did you react in hurt and resentment, when you should’ve been a healer and a reconciler?
The apostle Peter describes an awesome day coming when the heavens will pass away, the earth's elements will melt, and everything in creation will dissolve.
Therefore, Peter says, we should continually be prepared and longing for our Lord's return.
“Seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.” II Peter 3:17
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” verse 11
“Seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” verse 14
The phrase that convicts me most deeply is Peter's warning in verse 17 “lest ye also”.
He's challenging us, saying, “You're a lover of Jesus.....
So why are you living as if Jesus isn't ever coming back?”
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption...if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” II Peter 2:19-20
When Peter uses the word “entangled” here, he isn't talking about people who turn back to gross sins, such as adultery and alcoholism.
He's talking about those who get caught up in the fleshly attitudes and motives they had before they knew Christ.
Peter warns: “There is a danger of being led astray from growth. You can be led back into the bondage of bitterness and revenge…..of an unkind, unmerciful, unforgiving spirit…..of an uncharitable manner. If you fall back in any of these ways, you'll be worse off than when you didn't know Jesus.”
You can't help…..
Yet you can use these things to grow in grace. View them as opportunities to become more Christ-like.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” Ephesians 4:29-30
The root word Paul uses for “edify” here means “house builder”. That word, in turn, comes from a root word that means “to build up”.
In short, everyone who edifies is building up God's house, the church.
Paul is telling us three important things here about the words we speak.
I get deeply convicted as I read the life stories of some of the spiritual giants of the past. These Godly men and women were heavenly minded - studious in God's word, praying often.
Their main concern was to grow in the grace of a pure heart, out of which holy conversation would flow.
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34
Their one goal was to have conversation worthy of Christ, with no corrupt communication coming forth from their mouths. I've seen many ordinary Christians become mighty in the Lord simply by asking God's Spirit to purge their daily conversation.
At one time these people loved to feed on gossip, but now it grieves them just to hear it. You no longer hear them grumbling, criticizing or tearing down others. Now the only things you hear them speaking are words of edification.
They speak the language of loving kindness - of good, uplifting and gracious things.
Paul lists six things we must remove from our lives if we are to grow in the grace of Christ
“Let all…..
The first three items on Paul's list…..
bitterness, wrath and anger are self-explanatory.
Bitterness is a refusal to let go of an old wound or forgive a past wrong.
Wrath is a stronghold of resentment coupled with a hope to gain revenge.
Anger is exasperation - either a quick, explosive outburst, or a slow burn of indignation toward someone.
Now, we have already talked about “evil speaking”, or words that tear down, so let's look at the remaining two items…..
clamor and malice. What does Paul mean by these?
A clamor is a sudden outburst over nothing - an unnecessary hubbub, a loud noise made for no purpose.
We cause a clamor when we make a big issue out of something insignificant, or cause a scene rather than trying to help or heal.
Now the final item on Paul's list…..malice.
Malice is the desire to see someone else suffer.
For many Christians, malice means hoping God will punish someone who wounded them. It's a devilish spirit, and it's usually hidden deep within the heart. In fact, most believers never voice their malice, but eventually it rises up when they learn that their enemy has been stricken. They might have only a brief moment of satisfaction, or even express sorrow for the injured person - but they still have a spirit of malice.
When Paul says, “Put away all these evils from you”, he's not talking about a quick fix, but rather, He's describing a process - a matter of growth that takes time.
Grace is Holy Ghost empowerment to become more like Jesus. And growing in grace is increasing in the likeness of Christ
through the power of the Spirit.
Here’s some things to ask yourself…..
- Am I relying on the Holy Spirit to make me more like Jesus - in my home, my ministry, my relationships?
- After all my studying, praying and learning, am I still becoming more like Jesus?
- Am I more compassionate, meek, merciful and forgiving than I was at this time last year?
- God has been merciful to me, have I in turn been merciful to others?
So I ask again….“Are you growing in grace?”
Take an honest look at your life over the past year. Think of all the trials you've been through - at home, on the job, in your ministry endeavors. Can you honestly say you've reacted to all your troubles with faith, grace, love and mercy?
Can you say through your trials, you’ve learned to be more kind, patient, gentle and soft-spoken or, did you react with anger, indignation and self-righteousness?
Did you have to prove you were right and they were wrong?
How many wounds did you cause as you tried to show how you were injured, misunderstood, misrepresented? Did you react in hurt and resentment, when you should’ve been a healer and a reconciler?
The apostle Peter describes an awesome day coming when the heavens will pass away, the earth's elements will melt, and everything in creation will dissolve.
Therefore, Peter says, we should continually be prepared and longing for our Lord's return.
“Seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.” II Peter 3:17
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” verse 11
“Seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” verse 14
The phrase that convicts me most deeply is Peter's warning in verse 17 “lest ye also”.
He's challenging us, saying, “You're a lover of Jesus.....
- You claim to be ready and yearning for the Lord's return.
- And you're always warning others to do the same.
So why are you living as if Jesus isn't ever coming back?”
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption...if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” II Peter 2:19-20
When Peter uses the word “entangled” here, he isn't talking about people who turn back to gross sins, such as adultery and alcoholism.
He's talking about those who get caught up in the fleshly attitudes and motives they had before they knew Christ.
Peter warns: “There is a danger of being led astray from growth. You can be led back into the bondage of bitterness and revenge…..of an unkind, unmerciful, unforgiving spirit…..of an uncharitable manner. If you fall back in any of these ways, you'll be worse off than when you didn't know Jesus.”
You can't help…..
- the slights you receive
- the hurts done to you
- the gossip spoken against you
- the fraud and deception aimed at you
Yet you can use these things to grow in grace. View them as opportunities to become more Christ-like.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” Ephesians 4:29-30
The root word Paul uses for “edify” here means “house builder”. That word, in turn, comes from a root word that means “to build up”.
In short, everyone who edifies is building up God's house, the church.
Paul is telling us three important things here about the words we speak.
- We are to use our words to build up God's people.
- We are to use our words to minister grace to others.
- t is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit with our words.
I get deeply convicted as I read the life stories of some of the spiritual giants of the past. These Godly men and women were heavenly minded - studious in God's word, praying often.
Their main concern was to grow in the grace of a pure heart, out of which holy conversation would flow.
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34
Their one goal was to have conversation worthy of Christ, with no corrupt communication coming forth from their mouths. I've seen many ordinary Christians become mighty in the Lord simply by asking God's Spirit to purge their daily conversation.
At one time these people loved to feed on gossip, but now it grieves them just to hear it. You no longer hear them grumbling, criticizing or tearing down others. Now the only things you hear them speaking are words of edification.
They speak the language of loving kindness - of good, uplifting and gracious things.
Paul lists six things we must remove from our lives if we are to grow in the grace of Christ
“Let all…..
- bitterness
- wrath
- anger
- clamor
- evil speaking
- malice
The first three items on Paul's list…..
bitterness, wrath and anger are self-explanatory.
Bitterness is a refusal to let go of an old wound or forgive a past wrong.
Wrath is a stronghold of resentment coupled with a hope to gain revenge.
Anger is exasperation - either a quick, explosive outburst, or a slow burn of indignation toward someone.
Now, we have already talked about “evil speaking”, or words that tear down, so let's look at the remaining two items…..
clamor and malice. What does Paul mean by these?
A clamor is a sudden outburst over nothing - an unnecessary hubbub, a loud noise made for no purpose.
We cause a clamor when we make a big issue out of something insignificant, or cause a scene rather than trying to help or heal.
Now the final item on Paul's list…..malice.
Malice is the desire to see someone else suffer.
For many Christians, malice means hoping God will punish someone who wounded them. It's a devilish spirit, and it's usually hidden deep within the heart. In fact, most believers never voice their malice, but eventually it rises up when they learn that their enemy has been stricken. They might have only a brief moment of satisfaction, or even express sorrow for the injured person - but they still have a spirit of malice.
When Paul says, “Put away all these evils from you”, he's not talking about a quick fix, but rather, He's describing a process - a matter of growth that takes time.
Climbing With Christ
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 27 September 2, 2012
Matthew 5:1-12 The Message (MSG) “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.”
I like the phrase “climbing companions”. Jesus’ disciples climbed with Him up a mountain and He taught them there. You will notice that one of the most famous sermons ever preached was initially heard by a handful of people. It’s been shared time and time again since then, but the very first people to hear it were very few.
Only a few got the best Jesus offered.
Let’s look at the Beatitudes.
Beatitude means "a state of supreme happiness".
“Poor in Spirit” is tough to understand. Jesus really means spiritual poverty. The opposite of “poor in Spirit” is “proud in spirit”. The Pride of life is one of the three roots of sin and independence from God. I John 2:16
THE PROMISE
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 5:3
Kingdom of Heaven is the messianic kingdom promised in old testament, to be established by Messiah.
There can be variety of reasons for mourning. It can be due to the loss of a loved one or job or any other kind of personal sin, mistake or failure. Or it could be mourning with those who are afflicted or suffering.
People react differently to suffering. Some may try to escape by means of alcohol or drugs. But then there are a few who turn to God for comfort.
II Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Any sorrow or mourning which leads to you to seek God for comfort, peace and strength is the “Godly sorrow”, which Jesus is referring to.
THE PROMISE
They shall be comforted - Matthew 5:4
The comfort which God offers, is more than just consoling or soothing. We often complain about God’s silence in our time of need or suffering, but this beatitude depicts a very different picture. God is ready to comfort us, all we need to do is to respond to Him.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
This speaks of a person with a humble and gentle heart. It describes a person who is kind and considerate to others, even to those who oppose him, who is easily approachable, not prideful or resentful, not temperamental or harsh. Meekness is often commended in the bible.
The word “meek” is used about 22 times in the Bible.
Isaiah 66:2 “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
THE PROMISE
They shall inherit the earth - Matthew 5:5
Now, and in the future, with the new heavens and new earth.
What an amazing promise and reward, God gives to those who are meek! “They will inherit the earth.”
“Hunger and thirst” are strong words, meaning
What does it mean to “hunger and thirst for righteousness?”
It is not self-righteousness, but it is the righteousness that comes from God.
John 7:37 “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.”
Many Christians suffer from “spiritual malnourishment” due to lack of hunger and thirst or lack of feeding to their spiritual needs. Only God can quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger for righteousness.
THE PROMISE
They shall be filled - Matthew 5:6
With that righteousness they thirst after, through their faith and the blood of Christ
Definition: Compassionate, helpful, kind towards weak, sick and the poor
When Jesus spoke these words, it was shocking to the audience.
The Romans despised pity. Jesus’ ministry was marked with the compassion, love and care for the ‘unfortunate’ and we are to have the same attitude.
Colossians 3:12 ”Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion.”
Being merciful is an action based emotion.
You cannot truly be merciful or compassionate to someone, unless you really do something about it.
Being merciful does not always mean joining World Vision or some social justice organization, but it is also to show compassion to those around us, with a kind word or a small “Act of Random Kindness” (ARK).
Jesus summarized it in Matthew 25:35-40. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
THE PROMISE
They will receive (obtain) mercy as they show to others.
Yes but how???? Who can claim to be pure in heart? We all have thoughts, attitudes, desires which are not pure. We can hide them from others, but we cannot hide them from ourselves or God for that matter.
We are to PURSUE purity? By active fellowship with God through daily personal time with God in His Word and prayer, and allowing God to purify us though His Holy Spirit.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
THE PROMISE
They shall see God - Matthew 5:8
Presently, through their Lord Jesus Christ, and in the future, face to face.
Once again, Kingdom of Heaven defies the norm of earthly kingdoms, which are established by power and force.
Luke 6:27-28 “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
I Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
THE PROMISE
The reward for the Peacemakers is very unique….. They will be called sons of God
People may critique their methods or ways, but they cannot deny their work or the fact that it can only come from God.
Definition: To be pursued, follow after, suffer, chase after, to run after with hostile intent, to hunt.
Persecution and all the variations of this word are used in the Bible around 76 times. It is like being continuously, ruthlessly chased - to be hunted down! This last beatitude seems off track.
How can you rejoice or be blessed, when you are going through insult, persecution, suffering, even death for doing good or right?
THE PROMISE
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed Hope….this is not the end.
Jesus offers those who are persecuted for His name, the inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I like the phrase “climbing companions”. Jesus’ disciples climbed with Him up a mountain and He taught them there. You will notice that one of the most famous sermons ever preached was initially heard by a handful of people. It’s been shared time and time again since then, but the very first people to hear it were very few.
Only a few got the best Jesus offered.
Let’s look at the Beatitudes.
Beatitude means "a state of supreme happiness".
- THEY ARE POOR IN SPIRIT - Matthew 5:3
“Poor in Spirit” is tough to understand. Jesus really means spiritual poverty. The opposite of “poor in Spirit” is “proud in spirit”. The Pride of life is one of the three roots of sin and independence from God. I John 2:16
THE PROMISE
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 5:3
Kingdom of Heaven is the messianic kingdom promised in old testament, to be established by Messiah.
- THEY MOURN - Matthew 5:4
There can be variety of reasons for mourning. It can be due to the loss of a loved one or job or any other kind of personal sin, mistake or failure. Or it could be mourning with those who are afflicted or suffering.
People react differently to suffering. Some may try to escape by means of alcohol or drugs. But then there are a few who turn to God for comfort.
II Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Any sorrow or mourning which leads to you to seek God for comfort, peace and strength is the “Godly sorrow”, which Jesus is referring to.
THE PROMISE
They shall be comforted - Matthew 5:4
The comfort which God offers, is more than just consoling or soothing. We often complain about God’s silence in our time of need or suffering, but this beatitude depicts a very different picture. God is ready to comfort us, all we need to do is to respond to Him.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
- THEY ARE MEEK - Matthew 5:5
This speaks of a person with a humble and gentle heart. It describes a person who is kind and considerate to others, even to those who oppose him, who is easily approachable, not prideful or resentful, not temperamental or harsh. Meekness is often commended in the bible.
The word “meek” is used about 22 times in the Bible.
- It is one of the Fruit of Holy Spirit Galatians 5:22 – gentleness
- It is Jesus’ character Matthew 11:29 “I am gentle and humble in heart”
- It is the mark of a disciple of Jesus Ephesians 4:2
Isaiah 66:2 “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
THE PROMISE
They shall inherit the earth - Matthew 5:5
Now, and in the future, with the new heavens and new earth.
What an amazing promise and reward, God gives to those who are meek! “They will inherit the earth.”
- THEY HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS - Matthew 5:6
“Hunger and thirst” are strong words, meaning
- famishing
- all consuming craving
- deep desire and passion of the soul
What does it mean to “hunger and thirst for righteousness?”
It is not self-righteousness, but it is the righteousness that comes from God.
John 7:37 “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.”
Many Christians suffer from “spiritual malnourishment” due to lack of hunger and thirst or lack of feeding to their spiritual needs. Only God can quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger for righteousness.
THE PROMISE
They shall be filled - Matthew 5:6
With that righteousness they thirst after, through their faith and the blood of Christ
- THEY ARE MERCIFUL - Matthew 5:7
Definition: Compassionate, helpful, kind towards weak, sick and the poor
When Jesus spoke these words, it was shocking to the audience.
The Romans despised pity. Jesus’ ministry was marked with the compassion, love and care for the ‘unfortunate’ and we are to have the same attitude.
Colossians 3:12 ”Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion.”
Being merciful is an action based emotion.
You cannot truly be merciful or compassionate to someone, unless you really do something about it.
Being merciful does not always mean joining World Vision or some social justice organization, but it is also to show compassion to those around us, with a kind word or a small “Act of Random Kindness” (ARK).
Jesus summarized it in Matthew 25:35-40. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
THE PROMISE
They will receive (obtain) mercy as they show to others.
- THEY ARE PURE IN HEART - Matthew 5:8
Yes but how???? Who can claim to be pure in heart? We all have thoughts, attitudes, desires which are not pure. We can hide them from others, but we cannot hide them from ourselves or God for that matter.
We are to PURSUE purity? By active fellowship with God through daily personal time with God in His Word and prayer, and allowing God to purify us though His Holy Spirit.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
THE PROMISE
They shall see God - Matthew 5:8
Presently, through their Lord Jesus Christ, and in the future, face to face.
- THEY ARE PEACEMAKERS - Matthew 5:9
Once again, Kingdom of Heaven defies the norm of earthly kingdoms, which are established by power and force.
Luke 6:27-28 “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
I Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
THE PROMISE
The reward for the Peacemakers is very unique….. They will be called sons of God
People may critique their methods or ways, but they cannot deny their work or the fact that it can only come from God.
- THEY ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ SAKE - Matthew 5:10-12
Definition: To be pursued, follow after, suffer, chase after, to run after with hostile intent, to hunt.
Persecution and all the variations of this word are used in the Bible around 76 times. It is like being continuously, ruthlessly chased - to be hunted down! This last beatitude seems off track.
How can you rejoice or be blessed, when you are going through insult, persecution, suffering, even death for doing good or right?
THE PROMISE
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed Hope….this is not the end.
Jesus offers those who are persecuted for His name, the inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Signing In...But Not Signed Up
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 26 August 26, 2012
One of the old ranchers I have been ministering to was asked if he prays and this was his response: “I sign in but I haven’t
signed up!”
I’d like for us to take a few moments and examine our relationships with Jesus. By using a verse that clearly lays out what it means to be a follower of Christ, we can realistically find out where we stand with Jesus.
Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Jesus is NOT looking for fans…..He’s looking for followers.
Followers who understand that…
Twenty times in the New Testament, Jesus Christ issued a compelling and challenging invitation: “Follow Me”!
Jesus doesn't want enthusiastic admirers, He wants committed followers.
Definition of a Fan
Some fans even go as far as impersonating their idol.
Definition of a Follower
Years ago Petra sang a song with lyrics that speak to this...
Take me past the outer courts
Into the holy place
Past the brazen altar
Lord, I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
And it's only found one place
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Far too many are not interested in more of Christ - because they kind of like the set-up they have with Jesus. They like
church cause it gives them something to do on the weekend, especially now that churches have coffee bars.
The whole idea of being more committed has some folk a little anxious. Some even go into the “fight or flight” response.
But I urge you to relax – this is not a fight or flight moment, it is a “Draw me nearer Lord to thee!” moment.
A question we should ask ourselves is, “Am I a fan or a follower of Jesus?”
Don’t jump to your answer too quickly. My concern is that church has the potential to easily become a stadium full of Jesus fans.
Jesus never cared about having fans.
We see ourselves as great admirers of Christ.
However, it is important that we be honest with ourselves, really search our hearts regarding our relationship with Jesus. If you read through the Gospels, Jesus, at different points in His ministry, would draw a line in the sand and He would separate the fans from the followers.
One such instance is in John 6.
Jesus is in the height of His ministry and we read that large crowds were following Jesus. He was very popular. He was working the miracles.
He was providing food from just five loaves of bread and a few fish, and a lot of people were in the crowd following Jesus.
John 6:2 “because of the miracles”.
The main reason the crowds were showing up was because of the spectacle. They didn’t care so much about the teaching, or life changing lessons. They were there for the show.
We have good music and wonderful people and we enjoy each other’s company. These are all great for a while, but at some point let’s define the relationship.
Why are you here?
In that passage, Jesus challenges the fans to a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him, and in verse 66 here is what we read: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
A lot of them went home because Jesus wasn’t what they wanted.
I’m afraid there are times we come to church more for what Jesus can do for us….There needs to come a point in time we come for Jesus. Jesus longs to have a deep relationship with you.
Are You signed up?
Being a follower of Jesus requires complete commitment. A follower of Jesus will do whatever it takes to follow Jesus.
They’re absolutely loyal, completely committed. However, I think that we prefer selective commitment.
Simply put, we customize Christianity. We say things like….“Well, I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t ask me to forgive the person that hurt me.” Or, “I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t talk to me about my money.”
Like my old rancher friend, they “sign in” but they are not “signed up”! They are not all in!
There is no option for selective commitment. There is no bargaining, no bartering, not even finagling.
When you decide to follow Christ, you’ve got to go all in.
For those who grew up in the church or who attend church in order to appease a significant other or relative, it can be real easy to become a fan.
You keep coming to appease someone else and pretty soon we get into the flow of things.
But you must make your faith your own.
Jesus isn’t looking for a relationship between you, your mom or dad and Him. He’s not looking for a relationship between you,
your spouse and Him.
He’s looking for a relationship with you.
That may be one of the reasons Jesus said these words in Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.”
This is about you and Jesus.
signed up!”
I’d like for us to take a few moments and examine our relationships with Jesus. By using a verse that clearly lays out what it means to be a follower of Christ, we can realistically find out where we stand with Jesus.
Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Jesus is NOT looking for fans…..He’s looking for followers.
Followers who understand that…
- There is no forgiveness without repentance
- There is no salvation without surrender
- There is no life without death
- There is no believing without following
Twenty times in the New Testament, Jesus Christ issued a compelling and challenging invitation: “Follow Me”!
Jesus doesn't want enthusiastic admirers, He wants committed followers.
Definition of a Fan
- a person who supports with a liking and enthusiasm, such as a band, a sports team or entertainer
- they may show their enthusiasm by being a member of a fan club, holding fan conventions, writing fan mail or by promoting the object of their interest
Some fans even go as far as impersonating their idol.
Definition of a Follower
- a person who accepts the leadership of another
- a person who accepts the teachings of another
- disciple
- adherent
- Are you ready to move to a different level in your spirituality?
- Are you ready to move to a different level of commitment?
- Are you ready to move past the casual and past the convenient?
Years ago Petra sang a song with lyrics that speak to this...
Take me past the outer courts
Into the holy place
Past the brazen altar
Lord, I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
And it's only found one place
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Far too many are not interested in more of Christ - because they kind of like the set-up they have with Jesus. They like
church cause it gives them something to do on the weekend, especially now that churches have coffee bars.
The whole idea of being more committed has some folk a little anxious. Some even go into the “fight or flight” response.
But I urge you to relax – this is not a fight or flight moment, it is a “Draw me nearer Lord to thee!” moment.
A question we should ask ourselves is, “Am I a fan or a follower of Jesus?”
Don’t jump to your answer too quickly. My concern is that church has the potential to easily become a stadium full of Jesus fans.
Jesus never cared about having fans.
- Consider our tendency to come together once a week, sitting down in our seats and opening up our programs.
- We applaud at certain times and we leave somehow thinking that, as the fans, it was all done for us.
- We get in the car and we evaluate the sermon and we kind of give the service and song selection a thumbs up or thumbs down.
- And we come back and do it again the next week.
We see ourselves as great admirers of Christ.
However, it is important that we be honest with ourselves, really search our hearts regarding our relationship with Jesus. If you read through the Gospels, Jesus, at different points in His ministry, would draw a line in the sand and He would separate the fans from the followers.
One such instance is in John 6.
Jesus is in the height of His ministry and we read that large crowds were following Jesus. He was very popular. He was working the miracles.
He was providing food from just five loaves of bread and a few fish, and a lot of people were in the crowd following Jesus.
John 6:2 “because of the miracles”.
The main reason the crowds were showing up was because of the spectacle. They didn’t care so much about the teaching, or life changing lessons. They were there for the show.
We have good music and wonderful people and we enjoy each other’s company. These are all great for a while, but at some point let’s define the relationship.
Why are you here?
In that passage, Jesus challenges the fans to a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him, and in verse 66 here is what we read: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
A lot of them went home because Jesus wasn’t what they wanted.
I’m afraid there are times we come to church more for what Jesus can do for us….There needs to come a point in time we come for Jesus. Jesus longs to have a deep relationship with you.
Are You signed up?
Being a follower of Jesus requires complete commitment. A follower of Jesus will do whatever it takes to follow Jesus.
They’re absolutely loyal, completely committed. However, I think that we prefer selective commitment.
Simply put, we customize Christianity. We say things like….“Well, I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t ask me to forgive the person that hurt me.” Or, “I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t talk to me about my money.”
Like my old rancher friend, they “sign in” but they are not “signed up”! They are not all in!
There is no option for selective commitment. There is no bargaining, no bartering, not even finagling.
When you decide to follow Christ, you’ve got to go all in.
For those who grew up in the church or who attend church in order to appease a significant other or relative, it can be real easy to become a fan.
You keep coming to appease someone else and pretty soon we get into the flow of things.
But you must make your faith your own.
Jesus isn’t looking for a relationship between you, your mom or dad and Him. He’s not looking for a relationship between you,
your spouse and Him.
He’s looking for a relationship with you.
That may be one of the reasons Jesus said these words in Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.”
This is about you and Jesus.
Give God the Glory
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 25 August 12, 2012
I Chronicles 16:29 “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.”
I Corinthians 6:20 “Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit.”
What does it mean to glorify God?
Glorifying God consists in three things. I call it the “Triple A”.
Appreciation
To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts....to think highly of Him.
Psalm 92:8 “Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.”
Psalm 97:9 “Thou art exalted far above all gods.”
To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem Him most excellent.
Adoration
Glorifying God consists in adoration, or worship. God delights in the praises of His people.
Psalm 29:2 “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
Nehemiah 8:6 “They bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces towards the ground.”
Affection
This is part of the glory we give to God, who counts himself glorified when he is loved.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.”
Do we love God's blessing or do we love God? Set your heart upon God, as a man's heart is set upon his treasure.
Our affection (love) should be a stream rather than a few drops.
Why should we Glorify God?
First off…..He gives us our life.
Psalm 100:3 “It is he that made us.”
We draw our breath from him. He gives us health. The old saints said He was “the oil that nourishes the lamp of life”.
God has made all things for His own glory.
Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, are all things.”
Proverbs 16:4 “The Lord hath made all things for himself, that is for his glory.”
Isaiah 43:21 “This people have I formed for myself, and they shall show forth my praise.”
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God.”
What does Glorifying God look like?
Jesus said it best, “not my will, but your will be done.” Matthew 26:39
His attitude was whatever it takes.
John 12:28 “Father, glorify thy name.”
Romans 4:20 “Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”
A young child weeps to see a disgrace done to his father.
Psalm 69:9 “The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.”
When God's glory suffers, it is as if we suffered. This is to be tender of God's glory.
John 15:8 “Hereby is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
We glorify God by walking cheerfully.
It brings glory to God, when the world sees a Christian who has that within him, that which can make him cheerful in the worst times.
An Attitude of gratitude gives glory to God.
We have reason for cheerfulness. We are justified and adopted, and this creates inward peace; it makes music within, whatever storms rages.
Serving Him does not glorify Him, unless it is done with gladness.
Psalm 100:2 “Serve the Lord with gladness.”
Psalm 50:23 “Whoso offers praise glorifies me."
I Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.”
I Peter 2:8 “Ye are an holy nation, that ye should show forth the praises of him that hath called you.”
It will be of great comfort in our dying hour, to know we have glorified God in our lives.
It was our Lord’s comfort before his death. John 17:3 “I have glorified thee on the earth.”
At the hour of death, all your earthly comforts will vanish. In fact, if you were to think how rich you have been and what pleasures you have had on earth, it will be far from comforting you, rather it will torment you the more.
How does it comfort you thinking about an estate that is spent? Rather think of the inheritance ahead.
What sweet comfort and peace that brings to your soul! The servant that has been all day working in the vineyard longs till evening comes, when he shall receive his pay.
How can they who have lived and brought no glory to God here on earth, think of dying with comfort and looking forward to heaven? No one should expect a harvest where they sowed no seed.
If we glorify God, He will glorify our souls forever.
John 11:1-6 “A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.” When Jesus heard it, he said, “The final
result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory.”
But it’s quite a different matter to state that God is good even though things have turned out all wrong.
There are those for whom life is tough, they suffer pain, they feel alone and helpless and yet they still trust God, even when everything that is happening in their life would dictate that God can’t be trusted.
They believe God is with them even though it sure doesn’t look like it.
The fact is that God is good, not because everything in life is smooth sailing.
God is good because…..
Hurt and pain will always be close by during our life on this earth, but we can be certain that He doesn’t leave us to endure these alone.
He promises that you won’t be tested beyond what you can endure and He will bring you through it.
Pray that God will help you to be strong and that His glory might be seen in the way that He helps you through the hard times ahead. Look at the cross and see again God's unshakeable love for you.
Be assured that when you are the weakest, God's power in your life is the strongest. To God be the Glory!
I Corinthians 6:20 “Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit.”
What does it mean to glorify God?
Glorifying God consists in three things. I call it the “Triple A”.
- Appreciation
- Adoration
- Affection
Appreciation
To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts....to think highly of Him.
Psalm 92:8 “Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.”
Psalm 97:9 “Thou art exalted far above all gods.”
To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem Him most excellent.
Adoration
Glorifying God consists in adoration, or worship. God delights in the praises of His people.
Psalm 29:2 “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
Nehemiah 8:6 “They bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces towards the ground.”
Affection
This is part of the glory we give to God, who counts himself glorified when he is loved.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.”
Do we love God's blessing or do we love God? Set your heart upon God, as a man's heart is set upon his treasure.
Our affection (love) should be a stream rather than a few drops.
Why should we Glorify God?
First off…..He gives us our life.
Psalm 100:3 “It is he that made us.”
We draw our breath from him. He gives us health. The old saints said He was “the oil that nourishes the lamp of life”.
God has made all things for His own glory.
Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, are all things.”
Proverbs 16:4 “The Lord hath made all things for himself, that is for his glory.”
Isaiah 43:21 “This people have I formed for myself, and they shall show forth my praise.”
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God.”
What does Glorifying God look like?
Jesus said it best, “not my will, but your will be done.” Matthew 26:39
His attitude was whatever it takes.
John 12:28 “Father, glorify thy name.”
- We glorify God by having Faith in Him.
Romans 4:20 “Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”
- We glorify God, by being tender of His glory.
A young child weeps to see a disgrace done to his father.
Psalm 69:9 “The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.”
When God's glory suffers, it is as if we suffered. This is to be tender of God's glory.
- We glorify God by fruitfulness.
John 15:8 “Hereby is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
We glorify God by walking cheerfully.
It brings glory to God, when the world sees a Christian who has that within him, that which can make him cheerful in the worst times.
An Attitude of gratitude gives glory to God.
We have reason for cheerfulness. We are justified and adopted, and this creates inward peace; it makes music within, whatever storms rages.
Serving Him does not glorify Him, unless it is done with gladness.
Psalm 100:2 “Serve the Lord with gladness.”
- We glorify God by praising him.
Psalm 50:23 “Whoso offers praise glorifies me."
I Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.”
- We glorify God by a holy life.
I Peter 2:8 “Ye are an holy nation, that ye should show forth the praises of him that hath called you.”
It will be of great comfort in our dying hour, to know we have glorified God in our lives.
It was our Lord’s comfort before his death. John 17:3 “I have glorified thee on the earth.”
At the hour of death, all your earthly comforts will vanish. In fact, if you were to think how rich you have been and what pleasures you have had on earth, it will be far from comforting you, rather it will torment you the more.
How does it comfort you thinking about an estate that is spent? Rather think of the inheritance ahead.
What sweet comfort and peace that brings to your soul! The servant that has been all day working in the vineyard longs till evening comes, when he shall receive his pay.
How can they who have lived and brought no glory to God here on earth, think of dying with comfort and looking forward to heaven? No one should expect a harvest where they sowed no seed.
If we glorify God, He will glorify our souls forever.
John 11:1-6 “A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.” When Jesus heard it, he said, “The final
result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory.”
- It’s easy to give God the glory when He heals us in a miraculous way.
- It’s easier to convince people of God's healing power when your experience is evidence of this.
But it’s quite a different matter to state that God is good even though things have turned out all wrong.
There are those for whom life is tough, they suffer pain, they feel alone and helpless and yet they still trust God, even when everything that is happening in their life would dictate that God can’t be trusted.
They believe God is with them even though it sure doesn’t look like it.
The fact is that God is good, not because everything in life is smooth sailing.
God is good because…..
- He comes with us into the valleys of despair
- He climbs the difficult and slippery slopes with us
- He feels the highs and lows that we feel,
- He carries us when we feel as if we can’t go any further
Hurt and pain will always be close by during our life on this earth, but we can be certain that He doesn’t leave us to endure these alone.
He promises that you won’t be tested beyond what you can endure and He will bring you through it.
Pray that God will help you to be strong and that His glory might be seen in the way that He helps you through the hard times ahead. Look at the cross and see again God's unshakeable love for you.
Be assured that when you are the weakest, God's power in your life is the strongest. To God be the Glory!
Going for the Gold
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 24 August 5, 2012
Pressing toward the Goal! Philippians 3:12
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
HUNGRY
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
FOCUSED
“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
COMMITTED
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
The Christian life is like a marathon:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get
a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others; I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” I Corinthians 9
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12
This is the story of Eric Liddell.
Eric was born into a missionary family in 1902. His Mom and Dad lived in China and spent their lives teaching the Chinese people about Jesus. Eric grew up going to a boarding school for missionary kids. While he was at the school, he learned to love running and rugby.
His goal was to get to the 1924 Olympics in France and run in his best race – the 100 meters. He trained hard to get in top shape and his country of Scotland was sure he would win a gold medal for them.
There was just one problem. The heat – to decide who would make the Olympics – was on a Sunday and Eric would not run on Sunday.
Some people made fun of him and others were angry at him. But he stood his ground.
Well, instead of running in the 100 meters, he qualified for the 200 and 400 meter races, because those heats did not happen on Sunday.
No one expected him to come close to winning though.
On the day of the 400 meter race, an American gave him a piece of paper with a scripture written on it:
I Samuel 2:30 “Those who honor me I will honor.”
Eric ran with that piece of paper in his hand and held onto this promise tightly. (He was a funny runner – he always ran with his chest sticking out and his mouth wide open).
Eric broke the existing world record and finished in 47.6 seconds. He won the gold!
Not only that, but he also won the bronze medal for the 200 meters.
Eric’s Olympic story is incredible! But that isn’t the end of his story. After the Olympics, Eric returned to China and served as a missionary there, teaching at a school and telling the Chinese people about Jesus.
He ended up marrying and having three children. However, while he and his family were there, China was becoming a dangerous place. It was no longer safe for his family to live there, so they went to live with family in Canada and Eric stayed in China to finish his work.
Not long after, the Japanese invaded China and Eric was sent to an internment camp where he and 1800 others were held in prison for no reason at all. Though the conditions at this place were awful, Eric did whatever was needed to be done with a great hope in his heart.
He worked hard telling others about Jesus, teaching kids and organizing sports. At one point, Eric had the chance to leave the prison, but he gave his chance up to let a pregnant woman leave instead.
What an incredible example of sacrifice!
Eric’s life story seems to end on a sad note because he never made it out of the prison. He was only 43 years old when he died.
But as we know, God is always, ever good. Because of Eric’s relationship with Jesus, his death was actually a victory – He is with Christ today!
Eric finished his Olympic races well – but even more importantly – he finished life well!
His life lives the words found in Acts 20: 23-24 “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Eric once said…..
“We are all missionaries.
Wherever we go we either bring people nearer to Christ or we repel them from Christ.”
This gold medal life story teaches us so many things.
Final thought…..
Look at how many Olympians were sent home in disgrace due to their inappropriate behavior - how much more so should we guard our Saviour’s reputation…..
Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
HUNGRY
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
- Hungry for the gold!
- Never satisfied – always training
FOCUSED
“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
COMMITTED
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
The Christian life is like a marathon:
- it takes time
- it takes commitment
- it takes persistence
- it takes perseverance
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get
a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others; I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” I Corinthians 9
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12
- Can you imagine being good enough to go to the Olympics?
- Can you imagine dreaming about the Olympics, training for The Games and then deciding not to compete in your best event?
This is the story of Eric Liddell.
Eric was born into a missionary family in 1902. His Mom and Dad lived in China and spent their lives teaching the Chinese people about Jesus. Eric grew up going to a boarding school for missionary kids. While he was at the school, he learned to love running and rugby.
His goal was to get to the 1924 Olympics in France and run in his best race – the 100 meters. He trained hard to get in top shape and his country of Scotland was sure he would win a gold medal for them.
There was just one problem. The heat – to decide who would make the Olympics – was on a Sunday and Eric would not run on Sunday.
Some people made fun of him and others were angry at him. But he stood his ground.
Well, instead of running in the 100 meters, he qualified for the 200 and 400 meter races, because those heats did not happen on Sunday.
No one expected him to come close to winning though.
On the day of the 400 meter race, an American gave him a piece of paper with a scripture written on it:
I Samuel 2:30 “Those who honor me I will honor.”
Eric ran with that piece of paper in his hand and held onto this promise tightly. (He was a funny runner – he always ran with his chest sticking out and his mouth wide open).
- Even though the 400 wasn’t his best distance
- Even though he had bad running form
- Even though he was not expected to win anything
Eric broke the existing world record and finished in 47.6 seconds. He won the gold!
Not only that, but he also won the bronze medal for the 200 meters.
Eric’s Olympic story is incredible! But that isn’t the end of his story. After the Olympics, Eric returned to China and served as a missionary there, teaching at a school and telling the Chinese people about Jesus.
He ended up marrying and having three children. However, while he and his family were there, China was becoming a dangerous place. It was no longer safe for his family to live there, so they went to live with family in Canada and Eric stayed in China to finish his work.
Not long after, the Japanese invaded China and Eric was sent to an internment camp where he and 1800 others were held in prison for no reason at all. Though the conditions at this place were awful, Eric did whatever was needed to be done with a great hope in his heart.
He worked hard telling others about Jesus, teaching kids and organizing sports. At one point, Eric had the chance to leave the prison, but he gave his chance up to let a pregnant woman leave instead.
What an incredible example of sacrifice!
Eric’s life story seems to end on a sad note because he never made it out of the prison. He was only 43 years old when he died.
But as we know, God is always, ever good. Because of Eric’s relationship with Jesus, his death was actually a victory – He is with Christ today!
Eric finished his Olympic races well – but even more importantly – he finished life well!
His life lives the words found in Acts 20: 23-24 “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Eric once said…..
“We are all missionaries.
Wherever we go we either bring people nearer to Christ or we repel them from Christ.”
This gold medal life story teaches us so many things.
- It teaches us about hard work and putting God first.
- It teaches us to live a gold medal life in whatever God gave us to do.
- It teaches us that following God isn’t always easy.
Final thought…..
Look at how many Olympians were sent home in disgrace due to their inappropriate behavior - how much more so should we guard our Saviour’s reputation…..
Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Change Your Way of Thinking
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 23 July 29, 2012
Romans 12:2 (NLT) “Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s (good, pleasing and perfect) will for you.”
Certainly, the way we think affects the way we live.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Too often we try to fit in with the world, conforming to our surroundings rather than being transformed by God’s Presence.….which takes place only through the renewing of the mind. (changing the way we think)
Someone said that the way we think literally leaves ruts in our brain. It is certainly easy to fall into the “rut” of conformity.
With God's spirit constantly flowing into your spirit….. you will find that you are becoming more and more like Jesus.
The point you need to get here is that there is no conformity in Jesus – He is different than everyone else. He was unique in His birth, life and resurrection. He did not conform His life to the customs and traditions of the culture during His life on earth.
A renewed mind will cause you to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh.
We are not talking about a mere outward disconformity….but such an inward spiritual transformation it makes the whole life new!
When you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus, you can walk in the world but not be governed by the environment and
standards of the world.
Control your thoughts.
What you put into your mind determines what you put out.
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.”
The mind is neutral energy. The way you think determines whether the results are positive and beneficial or negative and harmful.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Consider the following quotes:
The choice is ours whether or not our thoughts will be constructive or destructive.
At the end of his letter to the Philippians, Paul gives a prescription for positive thinking that if followed has the power to transform your life.
Listen to his practical advice…..
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”
Paul says, keep on focusing your thoughts on these things, and if you do “the God of peace will be with you.”
But is Romans 12:2 simply about “Positive Thinking”?
Look at Romans 12:1 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
This is a powerful appeal.
From the time of Adam mankind not only felt the need to obtain pardon for sins, but to express their gratitude to the supreme being or beings who they regarded as the givers of life.
Most nations offered sacrifices, but there was no turning away from evil.
The religion of Israel, however, taught the necessity of personal holiness. The Jews were constantly warned that without personal holiness their sacred assemblies and sacrifices would be unacceptable.
Amos 5:21-24 “I hate all your show and pretense, the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”
God has never been pleased with the sacrifices from individuals who are not determined to live holy lives.
He’d rather they not even attempt to worship Him rather than trying to worship without personal righteousness - justice, mercy and a humble walk with God.
But Israel did not listen to these warnings and by the time that we come to the New Testament, the religion of most people had become a religion of ritual and routine.
Could this be what Paul is pointing at?
Paul said, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The world and the world church hold to ideas and practices which, for the most part, are not simply inconsistent with the doctrine of Christ, but are hostile to it.
Romans 8:5-8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Friends, how we live has a profound effect upon whether or not God will accept the worship that we perform with the congregation on the first day of the week.
Look at the words of our Lord in Matthew 23:23-28 (NLT) “You are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law - justice, mercy and faith … you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy - full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish and then the outside will become clean, too……Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
True Christianity demands much more than what we are seeing in our typical Canadian congregations. True Christianity demands that we, as individuals, serve God all the time in both body and mind.
We must never limit our service to God to only those things that we may do as a congregation on Sundays.
Worship is to be the Christian's way of life.
Hebrews 13:15-16 “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
The rest of Romans 12 is jam packed with good advice – I encourage you to study it!
Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s (good, pleasing and perfect) will for you!
Certainly, the way we think affects the way we live.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Too often we try to fit in with the world, conforming to our surroundings rather than being transformed by God’s Presence.….which takes place only through the renewing of the mind. (changing the way we think)
Someone said that the way we think literally leaves ruts in our brain. It is certainly easy to fall into the “rut” of conformity.
With God's spirit constantly flowing into your spirit….. you will find that you are becoming more and more like Jesus.
The point you need to get here is that there is no conformity in Jesus – He is different than everyone else. He was unique in His birth, life and resurrection. He did not conform His life to the customs and traditions of the culture during His life on earth.
A renewed mind will cause you to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh.
We are not talking about a mere outward disconformity….but such an inward spiritual transformation it makes the whole life new!
When you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus, you can walk in the world but not be governed by the environment and
standards of the world.
Control your thoughts.
What you put into your mind determines what you put out.
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.”
The mind is neutral energy. The way you think determines whether the results are positive and beneficial or negative and harmful.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Consider the following quotes:
- “Beware of what you set your mind on because that you surely will become.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Change your thoughts and you change the world.” Norman Vincent Peale
- “Thinking is the hardest work in the world, which is probably why so few people engage in it.” Henry Ford
The choice is ours whether or not our thoughts will be constructive or destructive.
- Negative thinking leads to negative living.
At the end of his letter to the Philippians, Paul gives a prescription for positive thinking that if followed has the power to transform your life.
Listen to his practical advice…..
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”
Paul says, keep on focusing your thoughts on these things, and if you do “the God of peace will be with you.”
But is Romans 12:2 simply about “Positive Thinking”?
Look at Romans 12:1 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
This is a powerful appeal.
From the time of Adam mankind not only felt the need to obtain pardon for sins, but to express their gratitude to the supreme being or beings who they regarded as the givers of life.
Most nations offered sacrifices, but there was no turning away from evil.
The religion of Israel, however, taught the necessity of personal holiness. The Jews were constantly warned that without personal holiness their sacred assemblies and sacrifices would be unacceptable.
Amos 5:21-24 “I hate all your show and pretense, the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”
God has never been pleased with the sacrifices from individuals who are not determined to live holy lives.
He’d rather they not even attempt to worship Him rather than trying to worship without personal righteousness - justice, mercy and a humble walk with God.
But Israel did not listen to these warnings and by the time that we come to the New Testament, the religion of most people had become a religion of ritual and routine.
Could this be what Paul is pointing at?
Paul said, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The world and the world church hold to ideas and practices which, for the most part, are not simply inconsistent with the doctrine of Christ, but are hostile to it.
Romans 8:5-8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Friends, how we live has a profound effect upon whether or not God will accept the worship that we perform with the congregation on the first day of the week.
Look at the words of our Lord in Matthew 23:23-28 (NLT) “You are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law - justice, mercy and faith … you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy - full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish and then the outside will become clean, too……Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
True Christianity demands much more than what we are seeing in our typical Canadian congregations. True Christianity demands that we, as individuals, serve God all the time in both body and mind.
We must never limit our service to God to only those things that we may do as a congregation on Sundays.
Worship is to be the Christian's way of life.
Hebrews 13:15-16 “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
The rest of Romans 12 is jam packed with good advice – I encourage you to study it!
Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s (good, pleasing and perfect) will for you!
Desperate Measures
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 22 July 22, 2012
I have been for 39 years a missionary of the old rugged Cross, and have not now or ever had, thoughts of deserting the ranks. I have great faith in God and I believe that we as His children are just moments away from great victory. I believe with all my
heart that there is still hope for this area we call home.
God has not given up on Osoyoos, nor the rural areas surrounding us. We will not give up on this area either. We as a fellowship will attempt to prepare for all God may want to do in and through us. I intend to desperately hunger for His presence
and leading.
Matthew 5:1-2 (MSG) “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.”
He taught His climbing companions eight characteristics of a true follower of Christ.
The fourth characteristic is found in Matthew 5:6. We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Hunger and thirst are words that most of us in the west simply do not understand.
A person who is really hungry (as opposed to having hunger pangs) or the person who is really thirsty (as opposed to feeling
they’d like a drink), is so desperate that everything else is excluded from their desires.
When we are truly desperate, satisfying that hunger or thirst becomes a consuming passion, an overwhelming ambition.
It is not enough to live a Christian life when we feel like it and do what we like at other times. A righteous
life is one that is righteous twenty four hours a day. The Christian life is to be lived out in an ongoing relationship, with God affecting everything we do, say and think.
Problem #1
Most of us are not that desperate
The word desperate has many meanings, but for our purposes today we will look at three uses of desperate as an adj.
When we are really desperate Jesus says that God will fill us, and our desire for righteousness will be satisfied.
It is not enough to see our own spiritual poverty. We must hunger and thirst to be different and to live a righteous life.
“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh cries out for the living God.”
Psalms 84:2
Problem #2
We are self-satisfied and content with our lives as they are
Canadian Christians live in one of the most prosperous nations in the world, and unfortunately one in which it costs the least
to be a Christian.
That environment is toxic to our faith.
It robs our sense of desperation. And friends, it’s the lack of a sense of desperation for God that is deadly.
If we don’t feel desperate for God, we don’t cry out to Him, run to Him, trust in Him.
We don’t seek Him as we should!
Love for this present world sets in subtly, like a spiritual cancer.
Like Samson, we react out of our strength not realizing that the Lord has departed from us.
Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before
and shake myself free.” But he didn't realize the LORD had left him.”
We must fast and pray for God to deliver us from the diseases that set in from self reliance and prosperity.
Look at last weeks sermon - consider the Israelites as slaves - they were desperate for God. But after they were delivered -
not so much!
It took such little time for them to make a golden calf.
Confess your need for God. You cannot manufacture your own desperation. Ask God to make you desperate for Him.
“So God, whatever it takes, increase our awareness of our dependence on you in everything!
Keep us desperate for You!”
In Mark 7:24-37, we see a woman comes to Jesus. She is desperate. Her daughter needs to be set free from an unclean spirit.
The woman comes to Jesus even though she’s a Gentile, a foreigner, an outsider; she has no business coming to Jesus, but she
does anyway. She needs help and nothing will stop her.
In Luke 8:41, a ruler of the synagogue falls down at Jesus' feet, desperate for Him to come into his house: his only daughter,
12 years of age, lay dying.
In Luke 8:43, we read about a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years, and spent all her money on physicians which did not help her. In her desperation she came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His garment and immediately she was healed.
Usually this intensity of desperation - this total dependence upon God for the essence of life - comes only in times of severe persecution or trial.
It is during those times that God chooses to perfect Christians and thereby bring transformation to the culture.
Today in countries where persecution is extreme, the Christian church is multiplying at an unprecedented rate.
“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1
In belief that God has not given up on Osoyoos, I want to prepare for all God may want to do in and through us.
I intend to desperately hunger for His presence and leading.
If we are to grow…..we must become desperate!
By God’s grace, I personally plan to implement the following steps:
Will you allow God to stretch you, too?
What a tragedy it would be if God by-passed Osoyoos because He could not find those whose hearts were “completely His”.
What a tragedy it would be if God by-passed your city, your community because He could not find those whose hearts were “completely His”.
Are you willing to join me in desperately seeking God, desperately seeking to be used for His glory?
Our desperation and total dependence on Him can open the doors to all that God wants to do in and
through us!
heart that there is still hope for this area we call home.
God has not given up on Osoyoos, nor the rural areas surrounding us. We will not give up on this area either. We as a fellowship will attempt to prepare for all God may want to do in and through us. I intend to desperately hunger for His presence
and leading.
Matthew 5:1-2 (MSG) “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.”
He taught His climbing companions eight characteristics of a true follower of Christ.
The fourth characteristic is found in Matthew 5:6. We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Hunger and thirst are words that most of us in the west simply do not understand.
A person who is really hungry (as opposed to having hunger pangs) or the person who is really thirsty (as opposed to feeling
they’d like a drink), is so desperate that everything else is excluded from their desires.
When we are truly desperate, satisfying that hunger or thirst becomes a consuming passion, an overwhelming ambition.
It is not enough to live a Christian life when we feel like it and do what we like at other times. A righteous
life is one that is righteous twenty four hours a day. The Christian life is to be lived out in an ongoing relationship, with God affecting everything we do, say and think.
Problem #1
Most of us are not that desperate
The word desperate has many meanings, but for our purposes today we will look at three uses of desperate as an adj.
- Undertaken out of extreme urgency or as a last resort
- Suffering or driven by great need or distress
- Extremely intense
When we are really desperate Jesus says that God will fill us, and our desire for righteousness will be satisfied.
It is not enough to see our own spiritual poverty. We must hunger and thirst to be different and to live a righteous life.
“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh cries out for the living God.”
Psalms 84:2
Problem #2
We are self-satisfied and content with our lives as they are
Canadian Christians live in one of the most prosperous nations in the world, and unfortunately one in which it costs the least
to be a Christian.
That environment is toxic to our faith.
It robs our sense of desperation. And friends, it’s the lack of a sense of desperation for God that is deadly.
If we don’t feel desperate for God, we don’t cry out to Him, run to Him, trust in Him.
We don’t seek Him as we should!
Love for this present world sets in subtly, like a spiritual cancer.
Like Samson, we react out of our strength not realizing that the Lord has departed from us.
Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before
and shake myself free.” But he didn't realize the LORD had left him.”
- Is the Lord obligated to be in “our programs”
- Is the Lord obligated to dance to “our tunes” as some puppet on a string, or the organ grinder’s monkey?
We must fast and pray for God to deliver us from the diseases that set in from self reliance and prosperity.
Look at last weeks sermon - consider the Israelites as slaves - they were desperate for God. But after they were delivered -
not so much!
It took such little time for them to make a golden calf.
Confess your need for God. You cannot manufacture your own desperation. Ask God to make you desperate for Him.
“So God, whatever it takes, increase our awareness of our dependence on you in everything!
Keep us desperate for You!”
In Mark 7:24-37, we see a woman comes to Jesus. She is desperate. Her daughter needs to be set free from an unclean spirit.
The woman comes to Jesus even though she’s a Gentile, a foreigner, an outsider; she has no business coming to Jesus, but she
does anyway. She needs help and nothing will stop her.
In Luke 8:41, a ruler of the synagogue falls down at Jesus' feet, desperate for Him to come into his house: his only daughter,
12 years of age, lay dying.
In Luke 8:43, we read about a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years, and spent all her money on physicians which did not help her. In her desperation she came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His garment and immediately she was healed.
Usually this intensity of desperation - this total dependence upon God for the essence of life - comes only in times of severe persecution or trial.
It is during those times that God chooses to perfect Christians and thereby bring transformation to the culture.
Today in countries where persecution is extreme, the Christian church is multiplying at an unprecedented rate.
“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1
In belief that God has not given up on Osoyoos, I want to prepare for all God may want to do in and through us.
I intend to desperately hunger for His presence and leading.
If we are to grow…..we must become desperate!
By God’s grace, I personally plan to implement the following steps:
- I intend to daily plead with God to saturate me with an unquenchable desperation for His presence.
- I intend to fast at least one meal each week for our church fellowship.
- I intend to be more devoted to prayer for God’s name to be glorified in Osoyoos and surrounding area.
Will you allow God to stretch you, too?
What a tragedy it would be if God by-passed Osoyoos because He could not find those whose hearts were “completely His”.
What a tragedy it would be if God by-passed your city, your community because He could not find those whose hearts were “completely His”.
Are you willing to join me in desperately seeking God, desperately seeking to be used for His glory?
Our desperation and total dependence on Him can open the doors to all that God wants to do in and
through us!
The Burning Bush
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 21 July 15, 2012
Exodus 3
Come with me to the Burning Bush...
“Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.”
The bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. It wasn't just that Moses saw a bush burning; apparently, it is not uncommon for a plant like this to spontaneously ignite out in that desert.
Myth Busters proved that - but they could not explain two things:
From the burning bush, God calls to Moses.
“So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then God said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”
God didn't speak to Moses until He had Moses' attention. Often God's Word doesn't touch our heart the way that it might because we don't give it our attention.
Moses, Moses! God's first words to Moses was to call him by name. This shows that even though Moses was now a forgotten shepherd on the backside of the desert, God knew who he was and Moses was important to God.
God told Moses to do two things.
Moses was to show special honor to this place because of the immediate presence of God.
Removing the sandals showed an appropriate humility, because the poorest and most needy have no shoes, and servants usually went barefoot.
It also recognized the immediate presence of God. In many cultures, you take off your shoes when you come into someone's house, and now Moses was in God’s “house”, a place of His immediate presence.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…..
God revealed Himself to Moses by declaring His relationship to the patriarchs. This reminded Moses that God is the God of the covenant, and His covenant with Israel was still valid and important.
This isn't a “new God” meeting Moses, but the same God that dealt with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God will reveal Himself to Moses more intimately than He had to any of the patriarchs, yet it all begins with God reminding Moses of the covenant.
And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
After forty years of chasing sheep around the desert, Moses didn't have the same self-confidence that he once had.
God's reply is intended to take Moses’ focus off of himself and on where it should be - on God.
Therefore, God never answered the question “Who am I?”
Instead, He reminded Moses “I will certainly be with you.”
You see - “Who am I?” wasn't the right question…..“Who is God?” was the proper question.
God's identity was more important than who Moses was.
It is certainly more important than who I am - I came face to face with that again this week.
When we know the God who is with us, when we really, really KNOW HIM, we can step forth confidently
to do His will.
Our greatest need is not to know who we are…..it is to know the God of the covenant!
My dear friends, I am desperate for you and I to KNOW OUR GOD!
Come with me to the Burning Bush...
“Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.”
The bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. It wasn't just that Moses saw a bush burning; apparently, it is not uncommon for a plant like this to spontaneously ignite out in that desert.
Myth Busters proved that - but they could not explain two things:
- How the Angel of the LORD appeared from the midst of the bush
- Why though the bush burned, the bush was not consumed.
From the burning bush, God calls to Moses.
“So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then God said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”
God didn't speak to Moses until He had Moses' attention. Often God's Word doesn't touch our heart the way that it might because we don't give it our attention.
Moses, Moses! God's first words to Moses was to call him by name. This shows that even though Moses was now a forgotten shepherd on the backside of the desert, God knew who he was and Moses was important to God.
God told Moses to do two things.
- to keep a distance (do not draw near this place)
- to show a reverence for God's presence (take your sandals off your feet)
Moses was to show special honor to this place because of the immediate presence of God.
Removing the sandals showed an appropriate humility, because the poorest and most needy have no shoes, and servants usually went barefoot.
It also recognized the immediate presence of God. In many cultures, you take off your shoes when you come into someone's house, and now Moses was in God’s “house”, a place of His immediate presence.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…..
God revealed Himself to Moses by declaring His relationship to the patriarchs. This reminded Moses that God is the God of the covenant, and His covenant with Israel was still valid and important.
This isn't a “new God” meeting Moses, but the same God that dealt with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God will reveal Himself to Moses more intimately than He had to any of the patriarchs, yet it all begins with God reminding Moses of the covenant.
And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
After forty years of chasing sheep around the desert, Moses didn't have the same self-confidence that he once had.
God's reply is intended to take Moses’ focus off of himself and on where it should be - on God.
Therefore, God never answered the question “Who am I?”
Instead, He reminded Moses “I will certainly be with you.”
You see - “Who am I?” wasn't the right question…..“Who is God?” was the proper question.
God's identity was more important than who Moses was.
It is certainly more important than who I am - I came face to face with that again this week.
When we know the God who is with us, when we really, really KNOW HIM, we can step forth confidently
to do His will.
Our greatest need is not to know who we are…..it is to know the God of the covenant!
My dear friends, I am desperate for you and I to KNOW OUR GOD!
Fearlessness
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 20 July 8, 2012
Isaiah 41:10–13 “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.' Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing, and will perish. You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, those who war with you will be as nothing, and non-existent. For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.”
This passage has helped me to relieve my fears more often than any other text in the Bible.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Two commandments are seen here….
1. “Fear not”
2. “Do not anxiously look about you”
As always in the Bible, there are reasons for commands. Commands don't hang in the air without a basis in reality.
If God commands us to do something, you can be sure there are good reasons to do it.
The Five Pillars of Fearlessness
The key to overcoming fear is resting on these five promises of God.
Looking at the verses leading up to verse 10, you will see how they intensify these promises and strengthen these pillars...that is being based on “God's Greatness”.
The Judge of All the Earth
Isaiah 41:1 God says, “Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, and let the peoples gain new strength; let them come forward, then let them speak; let us come together for judgment.”
The God of Isaiah 41:10 is the judge of all the earth. He calls all nations to give an account of their lives and their religions and their thoughts. They come into His courtroom. He is the judge of all and will pass sentence on every person.
That's the God who is with you to strengthen and help.
The Ruler of All Rulers
In Isaiah 41:2–3 Isaiah asks, “Who has aroused one from the east whom He [God] calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before him, and subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, as the wind-driven chaff with his bow.”
So the God of Isaiah 41:10 is Ruler of the rulers of history. He controls the affairs of men and nations for his purposes.
That's who gives the pillars for fearlessness in Isaiah 41:10.
Our God is Yahweh
In Isaiah 41:4 Isaiah asks, “Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.”
Here is a picture of God not only judging the nations and ruling the rulers of the earth but calling all the nations of the earth into being, “calling forth the generations from the beginning”.
God is the first - He is the absolute reality before all other reality and on which all other reality depends.
He is the uncreated first…..and He will be there with the last when all is accomplished according to His eternal purpose.
The God Who Chose His Own People
In Isaiah 41:5–7 Isaiah shows us the desperate attempts of the unrepentant nations desperately trying to convince each other that their self-wrought gods, made with soldering and nails, are really adequate for their needs.
Against this desperation of self-reliance and idolatry God says to His people in Isaiah 41:8–9 “But you [are] Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.”
That is what God has done for us in Christ.
He chose us before the foundation of the world. He called us out of darkness and death. And He took us for Himself to be His, to make Himself our God.
That God says to us who believe…..
I am your God!
I am with you!
I will strength you!
I will help you!
I will uphold you!
Therefore…..
I, the great and sovereign God, tell you that I am your God and I am with you, I will strengthen and help you and I will uphold you, Therefore, do not fear.
Think of it this way…..
I am your God - He is over you.
I am with you - He is by your side.
I will strengthen you - He is inside of you.
I will help you - He is around you.
I will uphold you - He is underneath you.
I ask you to…..
I urge you to recognize that God, our God is great!
Let not your hearts be troubled…..Let God be your God!
This passage has helped me to relieve my fears more often than any other text in the Bible.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Two commandments are seen here….
1. “Fear not”
2. “Do not anxiously look about you”
As always in the Bible, there are reasons for commands. Commands don't hang in the air without a basis in reality.
If God commands us to do something, you can be sure there are good reasons to do it.
The Five Pillars of Fearlessness
- Do not fear, for I am with you
- Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God
- I will strengthen you
- Surely I will help you
- Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand
The key to overcoming fear is resting on these five promises of God.
- God is with me
- God is my God
- God will strengthen me
- God will help me
- God will uphold me
Looking at the verses leading up to verse 10, you will see how they intensify these promises and strengthen these pillars...that is being based on “God's Greatness”.
The Judge of All the Earth
Isaiah 41:1 God says, “Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, and let the peoples gain new strength; let them come forward, then let them speak; let us come together for judgment.”
The God of Isaiah 41:10 is the judge of all the earth. He calls all nations to give an account of their lives and their religions and their thoughts. They come into His courtroom. He is the judge of all and will pass sentence on every person.
That's the God who is with you to strengthen and help.
The Ruler of All Rulers
In Isaiah 41:2–3 Isaiah asks, “Who has aroused one from the east whom He [God] calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before him, and subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, as the wind-driven chaff with his bow.”
So the God of Isaiah 41:10 is Ruler of the rulers of history. He controls the affairs of men and nations for his purposes.
That's who gives the pillars for fearlessness in Isaiah 41:10.
Our God is Yahweh
In Isaiah 41:4 Isaiah asks, “Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.”
Here is a picture of God not only judging the nations and ruling the rulers of the earth but calling all the nations of the earth into being, “calling forth the generations from the beginning”.
God is the first - He is the absolute reality before all other reality and on which all other reality depends.
He is the uncreated first…..and He will be there with the last when all is accomplished according to His eternal purpose.
The God Who Chose His Own People
In Isaiah 41:5–7 Isaiah shows us the desperate attempts of the unrepentant nations desperately trying to convince each other that their self-wrought gods, made with soldering and nails, are really adequate for their needs.
Against this desperation of self-reliance and idolatry God says to His people in Isaiah 41:8–9 “But you [are] Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.”
That is what God has done for us in Christ.
He chose us before the foundation of the world. He called us out of darkness and death. And He took us for Himself to be His, to make Himself our God.
- The God who judges all the earth and calls the coastlands to give account
- The God who rules the rulers of history
- The God who calls the nations of earth into being because He is first and last
- The God who calls His own people and makes Himself their God freely and graciously
That God says to us who believe…..
I am your God!
I am with you!
I will strength you!
I will help you!
I will uphold you!
Therefore…..
- because I am the judge of the nations
- because I rule the rulers of history
- because I call nations into being
- because I choose freely my own
I, the great and sovereign God, tell you that I am your God and I am with you, I will strengthen and help you and I will uphold you, Therefore, do not fear.
Think of it this way…..
I am your God - He is over you.
I am with you - He is by your side.
I will strengthen you - He is inside of you.
I will help you - He is around you.
I will uphold you - He is underneath you.
I ask you to…..
- stop defining and limiting your future in terms of your past, and
- start defining it in terms of your God.
I urge you to recognize that God, our God is great!
Let not your hearts be troubled…..Let God be your God!
Private Property - Keep Out
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 19 June 24, 2012
“Private Property - Keep Out” isn’t about keeping everyone out.
It’s about letting the right things in and keeping the wrong things out.
Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
The best offense is a strong defense.
It seems that life all around us is filled with reasons to be on our guard and to protect ourselves from loss or damage or theft with respect to our material goods. But what about spiritual matters? The things that concern our inner man seem to be far more important.
We consider it only reasonable to protect our car from theft, our home from burglary, our property from damage, and our financial interests from failure.....and yet fail to understand the need to protect our heart.
According to the standard biblical Hebrew dictionary, the Hebrew word for “heart” can have the symbolic meaning of such things as:
· the spiritual aspect of man
· the mind
· the will
· the conscience
· the moral character of a man
· the seat of his desires and passions
· the seat of his sense of courage
· even the whole man himself
So, it’s the whole “inner-life” that we’re to be concerned about. The “heart”, in the sense of that part of us, at which our thought-life, our values, our drives, our choices and our sense of right and wrong all find their seat.
We’re to “protect” it.
We are to be…..
· “watching” (NASB)
· “guarding” (NIV)
· “keeping” (NKJV) it.
And please notice, we are to do this “with all diligence”, like a prison guard keeping watch over a prisoner in a cell.
It can be translated, “with all guarding, watch your heart”.
It speaks of the exercise of serious, vigilant, careful diligence in “keeping an eye on” and protecting the heart.
If we would “keep our hearts with all diligence”, we wouldn't be careless, for example, about what gets into our hearts through the “eye-gate”.
We’d “censor” our own television viewing out of a greater concern to “watch” our own heart. And we’d even be willing to get rid
of our television if it’s affecting us negatively. We’d rid our homes of any visual images or literature that incline us toward sexual immorality or sin of any kind.
We’d not only guard what might come in but also what might come out. We would keep our own attitudes in check, so that the words that come out of our mouths aren't reflective of evil in our heart.
We need to be like David when he prayed in Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
We are to guard our hearts and protect them as sentries guard a city or as watchmen watch over it, looking for enemies that would do it harm.
You can’t always prevent your eyes from seeing bad things or your ears from hearing harmful things, but if you have your mind permeated with God’s Word, then you have a good defense and you will be able to beat back Satan’s assaults.
Psalm 119:9 asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”
Then verse 11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Many of our sins begin with a thought. This thought can in time lead to more thoughts and then to an act that is contrary to the commandments of God.
In James 1:13-15, he summarizes the psychological mechanism when he commented on temptation, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fullgrown, gives birth to death.”
James makes it plain that evil desire is where it all starts.
Ephesians 6:10-20 gets to the heart of spiritual warfare and tells us to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day
of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” and “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you
can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God.”
It is no wonder that we should have to protect ourselves with a shield of faith, and helmet of salvation because the flaming darts of the evil one are trying to bombard us.
That passage begins “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.”
We are told in James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Philippians 4 gives us some instruction on what to think about. “Be anxious for nothing. Don’t let thoughts of anxiousness, or worry, or fear penetrate, but rather “pray” about it, letting the God who can give you a peace that surpasses all understanding. Then brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
So taking the thoughts captive and obedient are to seize that negative thought and replace it by pondering
on the things that are pure and noble and admirable.
Literally you seize the negative thought and say if need be “In Jesus name I have no right to think that”.
Take the thought captive!
Pray through it!
Quote Scriptures!
Rebuke the devil
Stay grounded!
It’s about letting the right things in and keeping the wrong things out.
Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
The best offense is a strong defense.
It seems that life all around us is filled with reasons to be on our guard and to protect ourselves from loss or damage or theft with respect to our material goods. But what about spiritual matters? The things that concern our inner man seem to be far more important.
We consider it only reasonable to protect our car from theft, our home from burglary, our property from damage, and our financial interests from failure.....and yet fail to understand the need to protect our heart.
According to the standard biblical Hebrew dictionary, the Hebrew word for “heart” can have the symbolic meaning of such things as:
· the spiritual aspect of man
· the mind
· the will
· the conscience
· the moral character of a man
· the seat of his desires and passions
· the seat of his sense of courage
· even the whole man himself
So, it’s the whole “inner-life” that we’re to be concerned about. The “heart”, in the sense of that part of us, at which our thought-life, our values, our drives, our choices and our sense of right and wrong all find their seat.
We’re to “protect” it.
We are to be…..
· “watching” (NASB)
· “guarding” (NIV)
· “keeping” (NKJV) it.
And please notice, we are to do this “with all diligence”, like a prison guard keeping watch over a prisoner in a cell.
It can be translated, “with all guarding, watch your heart”.
It speaks of the exercise of serious, vigilant, careful diligence in “keeping an eye on” and protecting the heart.
If we would “keep our hearts with all diligence”, we wouldn't be careless, for example, about what gets into our hearts through the “eye-gate”.
We’d “censor” our own television viewing out of a greater concern to “watch” our own heart. And we’d even be willing to get rid
of our television if it’s affecting us negatively. We’d rid our homes of any visual images or literature that incline us toward sexual immorality or sin of any kind.
We’d not only guard what might come in but also what might come out. We would keep our own attitudes in check, so that the words that come out of our mouths aren't reflective of evil in our heart.
We need to be like David when he prayed in Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
We are to guard our hearts and protect them as sentries guard a city or as watchmen watch over it, looking for enemies that would do it harm.
You can’t always prevent your eyes from seeing bad things or your ears from hearing harmful things, but if you have your mind permeated with God’s Word, then you have a good defense and you will be able to beat back Satan’s assaults.
Psalm 119:9 asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”
Then verse 11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Many of our sins begin with a thought. This thought can in time lead to more thoughts and then to an act that is contrary to the commandments of God.
In James 1:13-15, he summarizes the psychological mechanism when he commented on temptation, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fullgrown, gives birth to death.”
James makes it plain that evil desire is where it all starts.
Ephesians 6:10-20 gets to the heart of spiritual warfare and tells us to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day
of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” and “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you
can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God.”
It is no wonder that we should have to protect ourselves with a shield of faith, and helmet of salvation because the flaming darts of the evil one are trying to bombard us.
That passage begins “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.”
We are told in James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Philippians 4 gives us some instruction on what to think about. “Be anxious for nothing. Don’t let thoughts of anxiousness, or worry, or fear penetrate, but rather “pray” about it, letting the God who can give you a peace that surpasses all understanding. Then brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
So taking the thoughts captive and obedient are to seize that negative thought and replace it by pondering
on the things that are pure and noble and admirable.
Literally you seize the negative thought and say if need be “In Jesus name I have no right to think that”.
Take the thought captive!
Pray through it!
Quote Scriptures!
Rebuke the devil
Stay grounded!
God Knows
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 18 June 17, 2012
· What has caused you to cry out to God lately?
· Are you having trouble trying to meet your obligations?
· Are you suffering from an illness you can’t shake?
· Are you crying out to God for those you love who are walking in sin, who are headed to destruction?
· Have you prayed and prayed and yet see no answer?
We will be considering Exodus 2:23-25, three verses about God’s response to the suffering of His people.
Though written 3500 years ago, these verses speak to us today.
The Israelites have been In Egypt almost 400 years, slaves to a king who hates them, who is trying to wipe them out as a people by killing all their baby boys. They still cry out to God.
· Is God there?
· Is He aware of what is going on with His people?
· Does He care?
· Does He remember?
These are the same questions we ask in our times of trouble.
“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
God saw the people of Israel - and God knew.”
In the Hebrew, the author uses only 15 words in these verses, but repeats the word “God” four times.
The four two-word phrases constitute our outline:
God Hears.....God Remembers.....God Sees.....God Knows!
God Hears
“When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears.” Psalms 34:17
God Remembers
God remembers His covenant…..His promise to Abraham and his descendants. God told him about this very time when his descendants will cry out in Egypt.
“Then the LORD said to him, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” Genesis 15:13,14
God was not…..nor is He ever caught off guard.
The fulfillment of the blessing of all nations through the offspring of Abraham is still future. God will indeed fulfill that promise.
In Isaiah 49, the prophet says, “But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”
But God replies, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:14-16a
God always remembers His promises, He is always faithful to His people.
As Paul tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.” II Corinthians 1:20
God Sees
Psalm 94:9 “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?”
As the author of Hebrews puts it, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (4:13)
God always sees!
God Knows
The Hebrew is quite simple….it says “God knew”.
In this context, what is it that God knew?
“Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.” Exodus 3:7
“I know their sufferings”.
God knows…..
· their pain
· their sorrow
· their loss
And He cares.
What else does God know that is relevant to Israel’s situation? What else does God know that is relevant to your situation?
· God knows their present weakness
He knows that they can do nothing to help themselves. He knows that unless He acts, they are lost.
The Psalmist says, “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (103:14)
Or as Jesus said to His disciples, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
God loved them and brought them out of Egypt by His grace.
Finally, God knows His plans for us.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
· God always brings about His plans.
“He declares, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” Isaiah 46:10
Psalm 1 “The LORD knows the way of the righteous.”
This verse relates to God’s plans for us.
· He knows the way He will lead us
· He knows how He will take us from our present situation all the way until we stand perfect before His glorious throne.
Question…..
In their escape, do you think when the Israelites ended up standing on the shore of the Red Sea, it surprised God?
Conclusion…..
· whatever your sorrows
· whatever your pains
· whatever your cries…..know this:
Your God Hears!
Every word you cry out, even your unspoken thoughts, God hears.
Your God Remembers!
All God’s promises are Yes in Christ Jesus. He is faithful to all those promises, including the promise to work all things,
together for our good.
Your God Sees!
God sees what is behind and what is ahead, all the threats, all the dangers.
Your God Knows!
God knows you….your sins, your failures, your weaknesses.
He knows your enemies….and the trials they will put in your path.
But most of all,
He knows His plans for you!
He knows the path by which He will lead you and how He will work all these trials together for your good and His glory.
So persevere! Hold on! Trust in God…..your God!
· Are you having trouble trying to meet your obligations?
· Are you suffering from an illness you can’t shake?
· Are you crying out to God for those you love who are walking in sin, who are headed to destruction?
· Have you prayed and prayed and yet see no answer?
We will be considering Exodus 2:23-25, three verses about God’s response to the suffering of His people.
Though written 3500 years ago, these verses speak to us today.
The Israelites have been In Egypt almost 400 years, slaves to a king who hates them, who is trying to wipe them out as a people by killing all their baby boys. They still cry out to God.
· Is God there?
· Is He aware of what is going on with His people?
· Does He care?
· Does He remember?
These are the same questions we ask in our times of trouble.
“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
God saw the people of Israel - and God knew.”
In the Hebrew, the author uses only 15 words in these verses, but repeats the word “God” four times.
The four two-word phrases constitute our outline:
God Hears.....God Remembers.....God Sees.....God Knows!
God Hears
“When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears.” Psalms 34:17
God Remembers
God remembers His covenant…..His promise to Abraham and his descendants. God told him about this very time when his descendants will cry out in Egypt.
“Then the LORD said to him, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” Genesis 15:13,14
God was not…..nor is He ever caught off guard.
The fulfillment of the blessing of all nations through the offspring of Abraham is still future. God will indeed fulfill that promise.
In Isaiah 49, the prophet says, “But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”
But God replies, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:14-16a
God always remembers His promises, He is always faithful to His people.
As Paul tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.” II Corinthians 1:20
God Sees
Psalm 94:9 “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?”
As the author of Hebrews puts it, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (4:13)
God always sees!
God Knows
The Hebrew is quite simple….it says “God knew”.
In this context, what is it that God knew?
“Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.” Exodus 3:7
“I know their sufferings”.
God knows…..
· their pain
· their sorrow
· their loss
And He cares.
What else does God know that is relevant to Israel’s situation? What else does God know that is relevant to your situation?
· God knows their present weakness
He knows that they can do nothing to help themselves. He knows that unless He acts, they are lost.
The Psalmist says, “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (103:14)
Or as Jesus said to His disciples, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
God loved them and brought them out of Egypt by His grace.
Finally, God knows His plans for us.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
· God always brings about His plans.
“He declares, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” Isaiah 46:10
Psalm 1 “The LORD knows the way of the righteous.”
This verse relates to God’s plans for us.
· He knows the way He will lead us
· He knows how He will take us from our present situation all the way until we stand perfect before His glorious throne.
Question…..
In their escape, do you think when the Israelites ended up standing on the shore of the Red Sea, it surprised God?
Conclusion…..
· whatever your sorrows
· whatever your pains
· whatever your cries…..know this:
Your God Hears!
Every word you cry out, even your unspoken thoughts, God hears.
Your God Remembers!
All God’s promises are Yes in Christ Jesus. He is faithful to all those promises, including the promise to work all things,
together for our good.
Your God Sees!
God sees what is behind and what is ahead, all the threats, all the dangers.
Your God Knows!
God knows you….your sins, your failures, your weaknesses.
He knows your enemies….and the trials they will put in your path.
But most of all,
He knows His plans for you!
He knows the path by which He will lead you and how He will work all these trials together for your good and His glory.
So persevere! Hold on! Trust in God…..your God!
Just As He Said
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos, BC
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 17 June 10, 2012
My daughter gave me a CD with a bunch of great songs on it, one in particular has become a favorite. While doing chores this morning I had it on “repeat”. I was so blessed by the message I went in and changed the message I had prepared for today. The song is by John P. Kee, called, “I Believe”.
I'll do all things through Christ, oh, I believe, I believe, I believe,
I'll do all things through Christ, oh, I believe, I believe just what He said
He shall supply my need, oh, I believe, I believe, I believe,
He shall supply my need, oh, I believe, I believe just what He said
By faith I believe it. By faith I receive it. By faith I can have it.
By faith I can share it. I believe just what he said
Five people showed up. That’s right….five! Four women and one elderly gentlemen was all that showed up in a concert hall which could easily seat 1,800 people. His name was William Brown. He was a world-class tenor, twice performed at Carnegie Hall. On this occasion, around 1968-69, he was to perform at Howard University in Washington D.C. Two days prior to the concert chaos broke loose. Confusion, racial riots, picketing, vandalism and violence everywhere, and the night of the concert it began to rain! The atmosphere and the streets in Washington were so severe no one would go out. Even the musical critics canceled. The pianist went to William Brown and said, “Look, five people are out there. They look lost in that huge auditorium. Let’s just go home!” To which William Brown responded, “No! I have made a promise that I will sing and I’m going to sing.” And sing he did for five people! He had made a promise. He had made a contract, an agreement. He made a promise and he kept it!
It is said that one’s character can be measured by the degree to which one keeps promises.
The problem that we find is that so often people follow another adage – promises are made to be broken.
The result is that we often find it very difficult to believe people or to place our confidence in them. They let us down.
Do you ever have a problem taking people at their word?
Today, I want to tell you there is One who never breaks His word; who always does just as He says!
His track record is impeccable. His very name is Truth – the Lord Jesus Christ!
When Jesus said…..
· “I am that bread of life” John 6:48
· “I am the light of the world” John 8:12
· “I am the resurrection and the life” John 11:25
He did so fully realizing that He had been empowered with this right by the Father who had promised to raise Him from the grave. There were more than 500 brethren at one time who bore witness to the fulfillment of this promise according to
I Corinthians 15:1-6
Consider God's promises to us?
· God promised to supply every need we have.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
· God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. II Corinthians 12:9
· God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. I Corinthians 10:13
· God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. Acts 2:32
· God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully. Romans 8:28
· God promised that those who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38
· God has promised His people eternal life. John 10:27&28
Jesus said He would rise from the garden tomb.
At least three times Christ told His disciples that He would die and that He would rise again after three days and three nights.
Mark 8:31, Mark 9:9, Mark 10:32b-34
Matthew 28:5-6 “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, just as he said.”
Jesus said, He would not leave us comfortless.
Christ said that He was going to return to His Father in heaven, but that in returning He would not leave us comfortless.
John 14:1-2, 16-18a, Acts 1:8
Just as He said in Acts 2:2-4 “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”
His Word is His bond! A promise from Christ is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence.
Here are just a few of His promises we can rest eternity upon.
· “He that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37
· “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
· If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
· “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
· He said He will come again just as He said would.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you
may be also.”
Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent that have been fulfilled, so both testaments are filled with references to the second coming of Christ.
One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ - an amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event.
For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second!
Revelation 22:12, 20 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be… He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
He has fulfilled the hardest promise, that being rising from the dead, and He will most certainly fulfill all the rest.
So Christians…..
· Trust Him!
· Depend on Him!
· Lean on Him!
· Take risks for Him!
For the one who rose from the dead, the sovereign God of the universe, the one to whom all power and authority has been given.
· He is the one who has promised never to leave you nor to forsake you.
· He turns evil to good.
· He knows the very number of hairs on your head.
· He has engraved your name on the palms of His hands.
· And He will know you and watch over you all the days of your life, and then He will take you to Himself.
Only believe!
· Acknowledge that without Him you have no hope!
· Acknowledge that compared to Him you are worthless, you are despicable and you deserve the flames of Hell for all eternity.
Then throw yourself on His mercy!
Romans 9:33 “The one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.”
I'll have my mansions now, oh, I believe, I believe, I believe
I'll have my mansions now, oh, I believe,
I believe just what He said
He worked it out for me, I believe, I believe, I believe
He worked it out for me, I believe, I believe just what He said
By faith I will know it! By faith I will show it!
By faith I will bare it! And now I declare it!
I believe just what he said
He loosed the guilty stain, I believe, I believe, I believe
All the guilt is gone away, I believe,
I believe just what He said
I'll do all things through Christ, oh, I believe, I believe, I believe,
I'll do all things through Christ, oh, I believe, I believe just what He said
He shall supply my need, oh, I believe, I believe, I believe,
He shall supply my need, oh, I believe, I believe just what He said
By faith I believe it. By faith I receive it. By faith I can have it.
By faith I can share it. I believe just what he said
Five people showed up. That’s right….five! Four women and one elderly gentlemen was all that showed up in a concert hall which could easily seat 1,800 people. His name was William Brown. He was a world-class tenor, twice performed at Carnegie Hall. On this occasion, around 1968-69, he was to perform at Howard University in Washington D.C. Two days prior to the concert chaos broke loose. Confusion, racial riots, picketing, vandalism and violence everywhere, and the night of the concert it began to rain! The atmosphere and the streets in Washington were so severe no one would go out. Even the musical critics canceled. The pianist went to William Brown and said, “Look, five people are out there. They look lost in that huge auditorium. Let’s just go home!” To which William Brown responded, “No! I have made a promise that I will sing and I’m going to sing.” And sing he did for five people! He had made a promise. He had made a contract, an agreement. He made a promise and he kept it!
It is said that one’s character can be measured by the degree to which one keeps promises.
The problem that we find is that so often people follow another adage – promises are made to be broken.
The result is that we often find it very difficult to believe people or to place our confidence in them. They let us down.
Do you ever have a problem taking people at their word?
Today, I want to tell you there is One who never breaks His word; who always does just as He says!
His track record is impeccable. His very name is Truth – the Lord Jesus Christ!
When Jesus said…..
· “I am that bread of life” John 6:48
· “I am the light of the world” John 8:12
· “I am the resurrection and the life” John 11:25
He did so fully realizing that He had been empowered with this right by the Father who had promised to raise Him from the grave. There were more than 500 brethren at one time who bore witness to the fulfillment of this promise according to
I Corinthians 15:1-6
Consider God's promises to us?
· God promised to supply every need we have.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
· God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. II Corinthians 12:9
· God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. I Corinthians 10:13
· God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. Acts 2:32
· God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully. Romans 8:28
· God promised that those who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38
· God has promised His people eternal life. John 10:27&28
Jesus said He would rise from the garden tomb.
At least three times Christ told His disciples that He would die and that He would rise again after three days and three nights.
Mark 8:31, Mark 9:9, Mark 10:32b-34
Matthew 28:5-6 “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, just as he said.”
Jesus said, He would not leave us comfortless.
Christ said that He was going to return to His Father in heaven, but that in returning He would not leave us comfortless.
John 14:1-2, 16-18a, Acts 1:8
Just as He said in Acts 2:2-4 “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”
His Word is His bond! A promise from Christ is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence.
Here are just a few of His promises we can rest eternity upon.
· “He that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37
· “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
· If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
· “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
· He said He will come again just as He said would.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you
may be also.”
Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent that have been fulfilled, so both testaments are filled with references to the second coming of Christ.
One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ - an amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event.
For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second!
Revelation 22:12, 20 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be… He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
He has fulfilled the hardest promise, that being rising from the dead, and He will most certainly fulfill all the rest.
So Christians…..
· Trust Him!
· Depend on Him!
· Lean on Him!
· Take risks for Him!
For the one who rose from the dead, the sovereign God of the universe, the one to whom all power and authority has been given.
· He is the one who has promised never to leave you nor to forsake you.
· He turns evil to good.
· He knows the very number of hairs on your head.
· He has engraved your name on the palms of His hands.
· And He will know you and watch over you all the days of your life, and then He will take you to Himself.
Only believe!
· Acknowledge that without Him you have no hope!
· Acknowledge that compared to Him you are worthless, you are despicable and you deserve the flames of Hell for all eternity.
Then throw yourself on His mercy!
Romans 9:33 “The one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.”
I'll have my mansions now, oh, I believe, I believe, I believe
I'll have my mansions now, oh, I believe,
I believe just what He said
He worked it out for me, I believe, I believe, I believe
He worked it out for me, I believe, I believe just what He said
By faith I will know it! By faith I will show it!
By faith I will bare it! And now I declare it!
I believe just what he said
He loosed the guilty stain, I believe, I believe, I believe
All the guilt is gone away, I believe,
I believe just what He said
The Road
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos, BC
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 16 May 27, 2012
All I hope to do this morning is reinforce a truth that you already know to be true so that you will know that it is still true and so that you believe it more than you already do.
Many years ago I learned a simple presentation of the gospel called the “Romans Road of Salvation”.
The “Romans Road to salvation” is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans.
It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining:
· why we need salvation
· how God provided salvation
· how we can receive salvation
· the results of salvation
1. The first step on the Romans Road to salvation
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent.
Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives, but the point is clear in Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one.”
2. The second step on the Romans Road to salvation
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Wages are just payment... due reward... what one has coming because of labor. The just payment for our sin is death.
Yes, the punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!
3. The third step on the Romans Road to salvation
This step picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
· Jesus Christ died for us!
· Jesus’ death paid for the price of our sins.
· Jesus’ resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for our sins.
4. The fourth step on the Romans Road to salvation
This step shows how you can be saved. Romans 10:13 “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death.
Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved!
Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Verse 9 says…..confess first and then believe.
Verse 10 says…..believe, then confess.
Why is that? Because it is possible to say “Jesus is Lord” and not mean it in your heart.
But no one is saved simply by repeating a few words. It’s the heart that matters to God because out of the heart flow all the issues of life.
First you believe in your heart, then you confess with your mouth.
Confession means nothing unless it is backed up by deep heart belief in Jesus Christ.
In the Roman Empire if you shouted, “Jesus is God”, no one would pay any attention. But if you shouted, “Jesus is Lord”, you could be stoned to death.
In those days declaring anyone but Caesar as Lord was considered treason.
Suppose you happen upon a crash and find a man who is obviously near death.
What will you say to him? Do you have any good news for a dying man?
· You can’t say, “Come to church”, because he doesn’t have time.
· You can’t say, “Let’s get you baptized”, because he will be gone a few seconds.
He is like the thief on the cross, he is going down fast.
Do we have any good news for the dying?
YES WE DO!
God is rich in mercy to all who call upon him, and he will do it in 30 seconds.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
5. The fifth step on the Romans Road to salvation
This final step shows the results of salvation.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Peace with God means we have been reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ.
We can now have a relationship with the living God because sin no longer separates us from Him.
Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God.
Romans 8:1 teaches us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
God opens the doors of heaven and invites the whole world to come in. Anyone who wants to can be saved.
Yes, God gave us a choice.
We can choose to believe this message or not…..the choice is up to you.
However in this simple message there is great and wonderful news, the good news of salvation!
You choose a life separated from God or a life in relationship with God.
God made it simple…..
I made it available…..
You can make it yours!
Many years ago I learned a simple presentation of the gospel called the “Romans Road of Salvation”.
The “Romans Road to salvation” is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans.
It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining:
· why we need salvation
· how God provided salvation
· how we can receive salvation
· the results of salvation
1. The first step on the Romans Road to salvation
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent.
Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives, but the point is clear in Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one.”
2. The second step on the Romans Road to salvation
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Wages are just payment... due reward... what one has coming because of labor. The just payment for our sin is death.
Yes, the punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!
3. The third step on the Romans Road to salvation
This step picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
· Jesus Christ died for us!
· Jesus’ death paid for the price of our sins.
· Jesus’ resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for our sins.
4. The fourth step on the Romans Road to salvation
This step shows how you can be saved. Romans 10:13 “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death.
Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved!
Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Verse 9 says…..confess first and then believe.
Verse 10 says…..believe, then confess.
Why is that? Because it is possible to say “Jesus is Lord” and not mean it in your heart.
But no one is saved simply by repeating a few words. It’s the heart that matters to God because out of the heart flow all the issues of life.
First you believe in your heart, then you confess with your mouth.
Confession means nothing unless it is backed up by deep heart belief in Jesus Christ.
In the Roman Empire if you shouted, “Jesus is God”, no one would pay any attention. But if you shouted, “Jesus is Lord”, you could be stoned to death.
In those days declaring anyone but Caesar as Lord was considered treason.
Suppose you happen upon a crash and find a man who is obviously near death.
What will you say to him? Do you have any good news for a dying man?
· You can’t say, “Come to church”, because he doesn’t have time.
· You can’t say, “Let’s get you baptized”, because he will be gone a few seconds.
He is like the thief on the cross, he is going down fast.
Do we have any good news for the dying?
YES WE DO!
God is rich in mercy to all who call upon him, and he will do it in 30 seconds.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
5. The fifth step on the Romans Road to salvation
This final step shows the results of salvation.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Peace with God means we have been reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ.
We can now have a relationship with the living God because sin no longer separates us from Him.
Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God.
Romans 8:1 teaches us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
God opens the doors of heaven and invites the whole world to come in. Anyone who wants to can be saved.
Yes, God gave us a choice.
We can choose to believe this message or not…..the choice is up to you.
However in this simple message there is great and wonderful news, the good news of salvation!
You choose a life separated from God or a life in relationship with God.
God made it simple…..
I made it available…..
You can make it yours!
On This Rock I Stand
Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos, BC
Pulpit Series Volume 22, Issue 14 May 13, 2012
“If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do.” Psalm 11:3
“And no one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have - Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 3:11
Today is Mother’s Day and I must tell you that I am proud of my mom. Not only did she give birth to me, she actually mothered me. She watched over me, nourished and protected me maternally, but most important, she prayed me to Jesus.
My mom and dad built a wall around my soul that the world, the flesh and the devil could not breach and deposited a sediment
of conviction in my soul that has stood the test of these near 40 years.
We lived for many a years at 83 Maple Ave. in Grimsby Ontario. It was an old farm house with a barn. The barn was built on a side hill so that the front was level with the driveway and the back was 10 feet lower in elevation. My dad took out the decaying wooden floor and had truck loads of fill brought in to fill the lower level. It worked great for a few months until one day dad
noticed the back wall was bulging out - the rock wall could not hold the weight of the fill. The problem occurred because there really was no solid foundation.
I learned a lesson back then that I have really never forgotten. My parents taught me the danger of compromise. They taught me that if I don’t stand for something could and would fall for anything.
I learned the importance of building solidly when it came to my soul, my heart and my spirit. I learned to be still and to think.
But there seems to be no such time for today’s generation.
We have more leisure, but how do we use it?
We've invented television, but really what is there worth televising? We watch Reality shows about life while in reality we
have none! We have computers to do our thinking, but who is really thinking? It isn’t that we are so educated, intelligent, or
informed… it is that we have internet access. We know how to turn on our PC, press a few keys and surf the net.
I am afraid that we are living in a great time of compromise. I fear for this generation and the one that follows. I am reminded
of the words of Jesus to Peter: “Satan has desired to sift you as wheat is sifted, but I have already prayed for you, that your faith remain.”
Satan is still trying to sift the church….
He is out to destroy or weaken our faith. Unfortunately we are so weak, we easily fall, giving into compromise. Billy Graham said, “I never thought I'd see the day when religious leaders would make it easy for young people to break the moral law of God.”
Last summer I watched as a car pulled over by one of the local orchards. The mom opened the door and let the young child run out into the orchard. After grabbing a few apples, he jumped back in the car, which then sped away.
I heard of a family on a picnic sometime ago. When the boy stole a watermelon from a patch nearby, his mother said “don't do that again, you don't know what they've been sprayed with.”
We are a generation of followers, thermometers if you would! Very few “thermostats” are in the church today!
Today sin is called sickness.
They call alcoholism a disease. If that is true, it's the only disease I know of that we spend multiple millions of dollars a year to spread. (Did you know in 2002, the cost of alcohol-related harm in Canada totaled $14.6 billion).
Nowadays…..
· a liar is just an extrovert with a lively imagination
· a murderer is just a victim of a traumatic experience in their past…his mother or father made him finish his oatmeal when he
was little
· we recognize adultery in the slums, but not in Hollywood
· illegitimacy has become respectable and is subsidized by the welfare state
· homosexuality celebrated
· incest tolerated
· murder, rape, fornication, vulgarity all make for good movies and video games
Our parents worried about us playing cowboys and Indians with sticks as guns…God have mercy!
Today the average 9 year old male has seen more bloodshed and death in their video games than my dad’s generation saw
in the War!
We are surrounded by experts who claim to know all the answers when they don't even know what the question is.
We wade through secondhand tobacco smoke from a generation of lung cancer prospects while the Surgeon General warns the nation and pulpits to keep silent.
We’ve polluted the air we breathe so we wheeze our way through the smog. We've polluted the water until the rivers become sewers. Our cities have become jungles of crime where no decent woman walks the streets at night. We live in a madhouse of earsplitting noise that’s become a national problem. Experts tell us that city dwellers soon will be wearing gas masks and
hearing aids.
We’ve learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it. Somebody has said, “birthdays tell how long you have been on the road, but not how far you've traveled.”
Well, I have travelled far enough to know that I'd rather know…..a few things for certain and be sure of a lot of things that
aren't so.
Here is what I know for certain:
· I believe the Bible is the word of God. I don't understand it all, but I stand on it
· I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God
· I believe He was born of the Virgin Mary, otherwise, He would have been born out of wedlock, and I'm not interested in that
kind of a Savior
· I believe the record God gave of His Son and on that rock I stand
· I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins
He didn't come down here merely to teach, to be an example or to die a martyr. He came to do something about our main problem, sin. You would never know sin is the main problem today. We are all busy trying to sweep out the cobwebs and
nobody says anything about the spider. But that spider is sin, and Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
That is what is recorded and on that rock I stand.
· I believe Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave
I'm not worshiping a ghost. The world knows that He died, and the church believes He rose. I accept the fact of the Resurrection. I've entered into that experience myself. I'm living in the power of it.
I'm awaiting the final fulfillment of it and on that rock I stand.
· I believe Jesus Christ is coming back personally and visibly to reign on earth and the sooner the better
When He came the first time, neither the Roman world of government, nor the Greek world of culture, nor the Hebrew world of religion would receive Him. When He comes back, neither government culture nor religion will hang out a welcome sign.
Even the church is so busy puttering around down here that she scarcely lifts her eyes toward heaven to pray, “Even so come Lord Jesus”.
But on that rock I stand.
But there is another church whose builder and founder is God, whose Fellowship is in the spirit, whose foundation is Jesus Christ.
And on that rock I stand.
There is still a remnant of good, humble, hard-working, grassroots people in Canada who are tired of a lot of things going on.
They have a heart for God and hunger for his Holy Presence.
I believe Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem – past, present and future. By him all things consist and we are made complete.
You may think that's old-fashioned thinking:
· the sun is old-fashioned but without it men grope in darkness
· the air is old-fashioned but without it men gasp
· water is old-fashioned and without it men go mad!
How utterly dependent we are on simple things, in spite of all of our gadgetry and technology.
The greatest hindrance to many a man's salvation is not his badness, but his goodness – the good that is not good enough. “Except our righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees”.
Well now, that righteousness is pretty good!!!!!
· They went into the Lord's house and read the Bible
· They tithed
· They lived separated lives
· They were ahead of most of our church members today
But it wasn't good enough…..
· Education is good, but isn't good enough
· Moral character is good, but isn't good enough
· Reformation is good, but isn’t good enough
· Church membership is good, but isn't good enough
Long ago one of England's greatest preachers Joseph Parker preached the mighty sermon of the stupidity of the specialists. His text was from I Peter 2 concerning the stone which the builders rejected – the builders of all people, mind you – the experts, the specialists. This is the age of the expert, our civilization is crumbling because the experts have rejected the only foundation that will endure. All other ground is sinking sand!
II Timothy 2:19 “Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his.”
And on that rock I stand!
In this day and age, it is important to put your hope and trust in God. When everything around you seems to be unstable and shakeable, rest assured and know that God will never be shaken. He is our Rock and Fortress, a Mighty God in whom we can trust. Be encouraged in the Lord.
Luke 6:48 “He is like a man which built an house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”
Matthew 16:15-18 “He said to them, who do say I am? And Simon Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered, You are blessed, Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
“And no one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have - Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 3:11
Today is Mother’s Day and I must tell you that I am proud of my mom. Not only did she give birth to me, she actually mothered me. She watched over me, nourished and protected me maternally, but most important, she prayed me to Jesus.
My mom and dad built a wall around my soul that the world, the flesh and the devil could not breach and deposited a sediment
of conviction in my soul that has stood the test of these near 40 years.
We lived for many a years at 83 Maple Ave. in Grimsby Ontario. It was an old farm house with a barn. The barn was built on a side hill so that the front was level with the driveway and the back was 10 feet lower in elevation. My dad took out the decaying wooden floor and had truck loads of fill brought in to fill the lower level. It worked great for a few months until one day dad
noticed the back wall was bulging out - the rock wall could not hold the weight of the fill. The problem occurred because there really was no solid foundation.
I learned a lesson back then that I have really never forgotten. My parents taught me the danger of compromise. They taught me that if I don’t stand for something could and would fall for anything.
I learned the importance of building solidly when it came to my soul, my heart and my spirit. I learned to be still and to think.
But there seems to be no such time for today’s generation.
We have more leisure, but how do we use it?
We've invented television, but really what is there worth televising? We watch Reality shows about life while in reality we
have none! We have computers to do our thinking, but who is really thinking? It isn’t that we are so educated, intelligent, or
informed… it is that we have internet access. We know how to turn on our PC, press a few keys and surf the net.
I am afraid that we are living in a great time of compromise. I fear for this generation and the one that follows. I am reminded
of the words of Jesus to Peter: “Satan has desired to sift you as wheat is sifted, but I have already prayed for you, that your faith remain.”
Satan is still trying to sift the church….
He is out to destroy or weaken our faith. Unfortunately we are so weak, we easily fall, giving into compromise. Billy Graham said, “I never thought I'd see the day when religious leaders would make it easy for young people to break the moral law of God.”
Last summer I watched as a car pulled over by one of the local orchards. The mom opened the door and let the young child run out into the orchard. After grabbing a few apples, he jumped back in the car, which then sped away.
I heard of a family on a picnic sometime ago. When the boy stole a watermelon from a patch nearby, his mother said “don't do that again, you don't know what they've been sprayed with.”
We are a generation of followers, thermometers if you would! Very few “thermostats” are in the church today!
Today sin is called sickness.
They call alcoholism a disease. If that is true, it's the only disease I know of that we spend multiple millions of dollars a year to spread. (Did you know in 2002, the cost of alcohol-related harm in Canada totaled $14.6 billion).
Nowadays…..
· a liar is just an extrovert with a lively imagination
· a murderer is just a victim of a traumatic experience in their past…his mother or father made him finish his oatmeal when he
was little
· we recognize adultery in the slums, but not in Hollywood
· illegitimacy has become respectable and is subsidized by the welfare state
· homosexuality celebrated
· incest tolerated
· murder, rape, fornication, vulgarity all make for good movies and video games
Our parents worried about us playing cowboys and Indians with sticks as guns…God have mercy!
Today the average 9 year old male has seen more bloodshed and death in their video games than my dad’s generation saw
in the War!
We are surrounded by experts who claim to know all the answers when they don't even know what the question is.
We wade through secondhand tobacco smoke from a generation of lung cancer prospects while the Surgeon General warns the nation and pulpits to keep silent.
We’ve polluted the air we breathe so we wheeze our way through the smog. We've polluted the water until the rivers become sewers. Our cities have become jungles of crime where no decent woman walks the streets at night. We live in a madhouse of earsplitting noise that’s become a national problem. Experts tell us that city dwellers soon will be wearing gas masks and
hearing aids.
We’ve learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it. Somebody has said, “birthdays tell how long you have been on the road, but not how far you've traveled.”
Well, I have travelled far enough to know that I'd rather know…..a few things for certain and be sure of a lot of things that
aren't so.
Here is what I know for certain:
· I believe the Bible is the word of God. I don't understand it all, but I stand on it
· I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God
· I believe He was born of the Virgin Mary, otherwise, He would have been born out of wedlock, and I'm not interested in that
kind of a Savior
· I believe the record God gave of His Son and on that rock I stand
· I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins
He didn't come down here merely to teach, to be an example or to die a martyr. He came to do something about our main problem, sin. You would never know sin is the main problem today. We are all busy trying to sweep out the cobwebs and
nobody says anything about the spider. But that spider is sin, and Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
That is what is recorded and on that rock I stand.
· I believe Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave
I'm not worshiping a ghost. The world knows that He died, and the church believes He rose. I accept the fact of the Resurrection. I've entered into that experience myself. I'm living in the power of it.
I'm awaiting the final fulfillment of it and on that rock I stand.
· I believe Jesus Christ is coming back personally and visibly to reign on earth and the sooner the better
When He came the first time, neither the Roman world of government, nor the Greek world of culture, nor the Hebrew world of religion would receive Him. When He comes back, neither government culture nor religion will hang out a welcome sign.
Even the church is so busy puttering around down here that she scarcely lifts her eyes toward heaven to pray, “Even so come Lord Jesus”.
But on that rock I stand.
But there is another church whose builder and founder is God, whose Fellowship is in the spirit, whose foundation is Jesus Christ.
And on that rock I stand.
There is still a remnant of good, humble, hard-working, grassroots people in Canada who are tired of a lot of things going on.
They have a heart for God and hunger for his Holy Presence.
I believe Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem – past, present and future. By him all things consist and we are made complete.
You may think that's old-fashioned thinking:
· the sun is old-fashioned but without it men grope in darkness
· the air is old-fashioned but without it men gasp
· water is old-fashioned and without it men go mad!
How utterly dependent we are on simple things, in spite of all of our gadgetry and technology.
The greatest hindrance to many a man's salvation is not his badness, but his goodness – the good that is not good enough. “Except our righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees”.
Well now, that righteousness is pretty good!!!!!
· They went into the Lord's house and read the Bible
· They tithed
· They lived separated lives
· They were ahead of most of our church members today
But it wasn't good enough…..
· Education is good, but isn't good enough
· Moral character is good, but isn't good enough
· Reformation is good, but isn’t good enough
· Church membership is good, but isn't good enough
Long ago one of England's greatest preachers Joseph Parker preached the mighty sermon of the stupidity of the specialists. His text was from I Peter 2 concerning the stone which the builders rejected – the builders of all people, mind you – the experts, the specialists. This is the age of the expert, our civilization is crumbling because the experts have rejected the only foundation that will endure. All other ground is sinking sand!
II Timothy 2:19 “Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his.”
And on that rock I stand!
In this day and age, it is important to put your hope and trust in God. When everything around you seems to be unstable and shakeable, rest assured and know that God will never be shaken. He is our Rock and Fortress, a Mighty God in whom we can trust. Be encouraged in the Lord.
Luke 6:48 “He is like a man which built an house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”
Matthew 16:15-18 “He said to them, who do say I am? And Simon Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered, You are blessed, Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”