Love the LORD!

This year, I was honored to speak at the Annual Meeting of the Neuse Baptist Association.  It was truly a privilege to share from God's Word.  This is a glimpse of the message from this year.  I am including it as a reminder to myself to love my LORD with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.

This message is about VISION.  We know people who have a vision…it is something good leaders should have.  When I think of vision, there are a few people who come to my mind…

I think of Isaiah – he had a vision of what God wanted him to do and he was willing to stand up and be counted - HERE AM I, SEND ME!

I think of Ezekial who had many visions given to him by God because God had a message for him to proclaim

Thinking about people since the Bible was written, I think of Lottie Moon who had the vision of reaching the people in a foreign land for Jesus.

I think of Martin Luther King Jr. who proclaimed  “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character… I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” (Martin Luther King Jr, “I have a dream speech”)

Vision is seeing beyond current circumstances to what could be…These people had amazing vision.  They didn't see what was before them, that is just observation.  They saw what could be even though it did not exist then!

I think that Jesus shares a vision as well…  Let me share a just a few verses that speak about the vision I want you to hear:

He gave the disciples a vision of the helper when He said:  In John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.”

Followed up with the role of the Helper in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

He changed thinking about following in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

For me personally, He gives a powerful vision of what is to come and a command for us all in Matthew 25:31-46 - READ IT!

But, the church has a difficult time fulfilling this vision and mission because something seems to be missing.  The church cannot ever completely be obedient to the missions in which it was called until we learn to LOVE! 

You may think that you love, you may even be sure that you love…but I would dare say most of us aren’t even close to loving like we are asked to…

When I refer to love, I am thinking about Matthew 22:37-39, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

Do you really love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength??  ALL of it??  ost of us cannot say that.  Not if we are honest with ourselves.  We can’t love God that much because God asks us to love others…We don’t even love each other, much less the world.  ou may think I have lost my mind b/c we all love each other, right? 

We love each other until the Pastor asks us to work with Sister…Or be on a committee with Brother…

We have trouble loving each other and we are all serving the same God!  Then we wonder why we struggle to love those not in church! 

1 John 4:11 says, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Not loving others is an indication we haven’t learned to love the Lord with all!  f we want to reach others, we will reach them with the love of Jesus Christ…It is easy to love those who love you…not so easy to love the “unlovables” – but God calls us to a love that would turn the world upside down.

We aren’t turning the world upside down because we aren’t loving Him first and then sharing that with the world!!!

John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Many of us have lost vision for the church…we have lost vision of what God has called us to do and we have forgotten that God can do so much more than we can fathom.

We have lost that vision maybe because we have forgotten about love…Maybe we have gotten sold on the US versus THEM concept…forgetting that we  are all sinners and that Christ died for all the world!

Without the cleansing power of Jesus Christ, we are nothing more than dirty rotten sinners.  With the power of the Lord and the love of Jesus Christ, we are called to do so much more…we are called to LOVE.  If you have lost vision of what Christians do and what the church is all about, I challenge you to return to the Word and check out the love that we are given and thus, called to share. 

I challenge you to go beyond the walls of your church with the love of Jesus Christ…and then we will be renewed to feed and clothe and visit and provide…

We can’t ever effectively do any of those things without a foundation of LOVE…  What are YOU going to do?  Will you look to the LORD and learn to love HIM with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?  Only then can we begin to turn this world UPSIDE down for Jesus Christ!!!

Where Are You Headed?

My sense of direction is unfortunately quite lacking.  I often get lost when I am driving.  Recently I was driving a different direction than I normally do and came upon a decision.  I had to choose...do I go east or west.  I knew I normally would go east, but I wasn't sure where I was geographically to know which one.  Guess what?  I went west when I should have gone east.   I could only choose one way.  Unfortuntely, I chose the wrong one that day.

Life is like that as well…we must choose a direction we will travel.  When I think about directions, I think of this scripture:

*Psalm 1

This Psalm points out 2 different directions we can take

We can take the path of the ungodly OR we can follow the path that is with the LORD

We get to choose…the world tells us one thing…the Bible tells us another.  They are not the same, yet we want them to be.  We want to have our “cake and eat it too.”  We can't go in the middle and try to do both… We MUST choose one way or the other

We choose to follow the world or follow Jesus…we can’t have it both ways!  We can’t do all the things that the world does, ignoring God all the time except for when we need Him and still be on the right path.  We can’t make our own decisions without consulting Him…leading our own path…going our own way…and expect to be on His path as well.

One way leads to destruction.  The other leads to life.  You choose…

It seems so easy.  It seems ridiculous to choose the way of destruction…that would just be crazy.  The problem is that the path of destruction is pretty…it has big houses…it has nice stuff…it has the best of everything…

The path of life has eternal life, unspeakable joy, unexplainable peace…but none of the things we treasure in this life…it isn’t the “pretty” and “easy” way.  It can be just plain difficult.

You can’t choose both…what do YOU choose?  You may think that you have chosen the right way…

I challenge you…if you think you are going in the right way, look at where you are going…look at the life you are leading…look at the choices you are making…Then tell me if you are going on the right path.  Just because the way looks rough and difficult doesn’t mean you are going the wrong way and just because it looks pretty and inviting doesn’t mean you are going the right way.

It all comes down to:  You have to know where you are, to know where you are going!  Where are you headed?

Is the world changing you or are YOU changing the world?

We can often feel a tension between living in this world, yet wanting to do the right thing

We have difficulty knowing what to do and when – or how much to do or not to do.  It can make life as a Christian difficult because we don’t know how to live as Christians in a fallen world…Jesus tells us that we are not part of the world and not to fall in the deceptions of the world.  Yet, we are called to love others and live out our faith…

As I read the Bible, I find that many had that same difficulty – and none as clearly as the Israelites

They are in a new world…the Promised Land.  God has brought them to the ultimate destination – at least on this earth…They are out of slavery, out of the desert and taking the lands that God has promised to them.  This can be an exciting time – God tells them that He has given them a land for which they did not labor, cities which they did not build, they eat of vineyards and olive groves they did not plant…the Promised Land.  Joshua knows the people and wants them to understand something about living in this new land.

Joshua 23:1-11

They are to go into this new land, but they are not to let the influences of this new land overtake what they know to be true – they are not to let the temptations around them overwhelm their belief in the Holy One – Who has brought them here!

Let us think of it like this:  They are to hold fast to what they know is true and not allow the world around them to sway from that…

They didn’t do such a great job of it, by the way…they didn’t heed the advice and God wasn’t pleased…

But, what about us? 

Is the world around us changing us OR are we changing the world??

Are we giving into the schemes of the devil and falling prey to his plan by not spreading the Good News, by not doing what the Bible tells us, by trying to make the church look attractive to the world?

OR are we staying true to the Word of God?

Do we know what the Word of God is telling us and living in the example of Jesus OR are we a group of people who look a lot like the world, but just do a few things differently…

How do we stop the world from changing us and instead, change the world?

I think we do this by focusing on the Word of God…we look at the example of Jesus Christ who lived in this world and managed to please the Heavenly Father…we look at the examples set before us and follow…But, you have to know the Word before you can live the Word…otherwise, the world could end up changing you!

Learn the Word, study the Word, and follow Jesus!  Don't let the schemes of the devil sway you from the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Stay diligent in what you know to be true because it is IN the Word!  Stay diligent to constantly follow the Lord and what He has shown and told us to do!  That way, we change the world instead of the world changing us!!

YOUTH SUNDAY!!

Today, we had an exciting Sunday at FMBC!  Our Youth led the entire service and did an outstanding job!!  All of the young people shared the talents that the Lord has blessed them with.  As a pastor, it is very difficult to stand in front of the church to lead a service or to sing or to speak.  I am so pleased with the courage that everyone had to stand before the church and declare their faith.

Greg also did an outstanding job.  He shared his story right from the heart.  As a new college student, he has to make difficult discussions that all college students have to make.  Some will choose the wrong path.  Greg talked about choosing the right path by trusting God completely and listening to His guidance.  That is a great testimony.  God has great plans for him and I am looking forward to watching him grow in the Lord!  I pray that all of our young people will follow the leading of the Lord in their lives. 

I am very thankful for the young people, for Martha Jo, and Tammy, and for ALLYSON for putting all of this together!! 

A New Church Year

Let’s get to the heart of the matter – it’s a new church year…do the right things for the right reasons this year!!  How many times do we look for reasons not to do what we know is right…in an effort to justify ourselves?  In my opinion, that is exactly what the scribes and Pharisees are doing in the scriptures we will look at...

Matthew 15:1-20

We will notice several things in this scripture that can help us as we seek to worship and serve the Lord.

First, notice that the Pharisees are trying to use their traditions to corner Jesus.  (TRAPPING JESUS W MANMADE RULES)

They are watching the disciples and they have not completed the ceremonial cleansing prior to eating.  This is a problem, not because of cleansing, but because of the laws.  You need to know that this part is manmade.  Jesus comes back at them by asking them why they don’t do the commandments of God but are willing to make sure that what they have instituted is done. 

They are more concerned about the process being done correctly than the actual reasoning behind it.  They are willing to put this ahead of other things.

Second, they are attempting to use God as a scapegoat from doing what they know they should.  (USING BIBLE TO THEIR BENEFIT)
They are instructed to take care of their parents.  However, their parents are struggling and need their help.  Instead of helping their parents, they are telling them that the money has been set aside for God later.  Problem is, that isn’t true…just a scapegoat.

Third, He quotes Isaiah 29:13…saying that they are more concerned with appearance than the heart . (NO HEART IN THE MATTER)

They want things to look good and want to follow the law for the sake of justification, but really have no love for God or heart in the matter

Fourth, Jesus clarifies that it is more important what comes out of the mouth, because it comes from the heart.
What you truly believe and what means something to you will show forth in your life…actions, speech, etc.  You can follow all of the laws and not care at all about serving Jesus.  It is about where your heart is.

Lastly, Jesus gives examples of what evil things can come out of an evil heart.

We don’t need to hide behind a process of worship and service…it is about loving God with your all and letting Him lead and guide you in service.  It isn’t about coming to church and singing songs and hearing a sermon…it is about coming to worship and offering yourself before the Lord

Loving the Lord is the most important thing we can do…our service, actions, speech should reflect that!