GUARD

It is easy in this information age to allow the ideas of others to influence you. It is equally as easy for a person or persons of means to insert themselves into your path in order to influence you.

For example, let’s say you are a Christian and you love to read. In order to buy a book you go to a Christian bookstore either in person or on the internet. How certain are you that the owner of the bookstore is Christian? How certain are you that the author of the book you purchased is a Christian? Their publisher? The marketing people behind the publication? You see what I’m getting at; the only book we can be absolutely positive about is the Holy Bible.

People in bible times were no different, though the amount of information available to them was less than it is now. Listen to this excerpt from the letter to the church at Thyatira:

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. ²⁰“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. ²¹I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality. ²²“Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. ²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. Revelation 2:19 - 23 (NLT)

The Jezebel spoken of was most probably a woman that was being likened to the one mentioned in 1 Kings 18. That historical Jezebel was the daughter of a Zidonian king (1 Kings 16:31) and educated in the idolatrous practices of her native country. She is known for having introduced the worship of Baal and other idols, maintaining four hundred priests of Astarte at her own expense while the “real” King, Ahab, maintained 450 priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:19). She resolved to exterminate all the prophets of God.

Is there someone in your church who has the “spirit of Jezebel?” Perhaps they are seemingly suggesting things that might improve the operation, but are bypassing the authorities that God has put into place.

We must be on guard against this in our fellowships today. Jesus told us that

…many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. ¹²Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:11 - 12 (NLT)

However, do not despair. You do not have to be doomed to their same fate. Just as He promised to the church in Thyatira,

the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:13 (NLT)

Jesus’ actual words to the church there were these:

To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. ²⁷ They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. ²⁸They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star! Revelation 2:26 - 28 (NLT)

The key words are “obey me.” Remember Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me you will obey my commandments.” There are no short cuts. There are no substitutes. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

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MODIFY

Men have modified the Word of God to meet their needs, or should I say lusts, throughout history. If someone wants to justify a certain life style, he or she might simply say it is “covered by God’s grace.” Paul answered that in Romans…

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ²Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Romans 6:1 - 2 (NLT)

This practice continued and we read of it in the letter to the church at Pergamum within the book of Revelation…

‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ¹⁵‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. Revelation 2:13 - 16 (NASB)

Balaam was a money hungry false prophet who had a close encounter with the God of Israel, but not close enough. He offered meat to idols and engaged in immorality. The Nicolaitans have been linked to the type of heresy taught by Balaam (Num. 25:1-2; 2 Pet. 2:15 “loved the wages of unrighteousness”), especially the pagan feasts and orgies that they apparently propagated in the first-century church. They were seemingly a class of professing Christians, who sought to introduce into the church a false freedom or licentiousness, thus abusing Paul’s doctrine of grace. (Holman and Parson’s Bible Dictionaries)

What can we learn from this? We cannot modify the Word of God to justify actions that are contrary to His Word. Jesus said if you love me, obey my commandments (John 14:15). If we then are to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, we obviously shouldn’t do something contrary to His desire for our lives. If we are to love others properly, how could we commit acts with them that God says are wrong thereby causing them to show disdain for God’s desires in their own lives.

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NOT

When I was a teenager, those I saw living contrary to what the preacher said formed my perception of “church”. If the preacher spoke against “smoking”, inevitably, we would walk outside and somebody would light up a cigarette. As I got older I realized that was rather silly, but also that there are some “in the church” who say they are Christians and are not (as far as I can tell).

‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:9 - 10 (NASB)

This passage indicates that there will be times we will “suffer” at the hands of those who are “not.” Our task is not to prove them wrong or to lash out at them but to “Be faithful (to Christ) until death.”

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FIRST

Sometimes we get so caught up in doing the right thing that we forget WHY we are doing it. As I write this morning, others are listening to David Jeremiah on the television talking about jealousy. He stated something like, ‘If we are jealous of others and their relationship with God and what He is doing in and through them, we have taken our eyes of what He wants to do in and through us.”

It reminds me of denominations that promote their denomination so much that they have forgotten to promote the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ.

‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; ³and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ⁴‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Revelation 2:2 - 4 (NASB)

There was a line in the movie “City Slickers 2” by the gruff old cowhand to the yuppie business professional on the cattle drive that I still remember, “Keep the One thing, the One thing.” To me that says, “Keep God in first place in your life.” He is the 'One thing' that is important and we need to keep Him in the first position of all of our thoughts.

Return to you first love, Jesus Christ, for He alone is worthy of our praise.

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HELP

Have you ever been so tired that you couldn’t think? I feel that way right now. So I asked God to talk to me and He took me back to this familiar verse pointing out how important the attitude within its words is for us all.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalms 139:23 - 24 (NLT)

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

God I acknowledge that you exist and are all-powerful and all-knowing.

God has the ability to look into every man’s heart, his inner thoughts

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

I submit myself to you God.

I may not even know my own thoughts and anxieties, perhaps I’m afraid to, but I know that You do and can help me.

Point out anything in me that offends you,

God, if you find something in my life, even my thought life, point it out so that I might make things right with You.

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Your Son, Jesus, is the Way, the Truth and the Life and I want to follow Him. Help me to do that dear Lord. I want to be with You forever because that is what You intended. Help me to please You.

When you become tired, weary, and need help even to think, call on the Almighty God. He has promised to help. He alone can restore us to the image, His image, in which we were originally created for His glory.

²⁹ He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. ³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. ³¹ But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29 - 31 (NLT)

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COMMUNITY

Have you ever noticed, with children, that when something bad happens they are quick to point the finger at the wrong doer? Actually, not just children do that. We adults are just as guilty!

I was reading this morning about a man who loved God and wanted to please him greatly. He had just found out that many of his people had not been following the commands of God, including the leaders and rulers.

Listen to the opening line of his prayer…

I prayed, “O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens. Ezra 9:6 (NLT)

Ezra included himself in the prayer when he said, “…our sins.” I wonder if we in the church today could take a lesson from Ezra. Rather than praying, “Lord fix them for they are sinners,” perhaps we should be praying, “Lord have mercy on your church. Help US to be faithful to You.”

Here is how Ezra ended his prayer…

O LORD, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.” Ezra 9:15 (NLT)

We have to be careful that we don’t adopt an attitude of “I’m holier than you” and instead realize that NONE of us is worthy or able to stand in the presence of God on the merit of our own behavior. Only the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, gives us that right.

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. ³ They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalms 14:2 – 3; Romans 3:10 (NASB))

Pray for each other and encourage each other for we have the same Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

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SIMPLE

More than every, people are searching today for the “meaning of life,” the reason for their existence and what happens after we die. The answer is simple.

Many who were not brought up going to church have heard this verse…

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NASB)

It is very powerful and contains key truths for all of us…

1. God

…The Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe and beyond

2. God loved the world

…not just the “pretty people” or the popular, He loved and loves everyone

3. God gave

…not just a bracelet or a book, but His only Son, Jesus Christ

He did this so that His Creation, you and me, might once again have communion with Him. Jesus paid the price for our sin by dying a horrible death on the cross.

Whoever believes…

You and I or anyone else on this planet…will live forever with God if we only believe in what God has done for us through His Son Jesus.

The Gospel is simple. Share it with someone today.

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BEWARE

Have you ever been involved in something that you thought was really great? You knew that this was something you were supposed to do and it would benefit many people. Oddly enough, there seemed to be people against what you were doing.

I suppose there are various reasons that people would not want to see something good happen…

• They didn’t think of it
• They don’t trust the person doing the good thing
• They’re doing something they feel is important and don’t want the spotlight on their project to diminish

Regardless of that, we must keep doing what we believe is right, what we believe God wants us to do. Look at this situation recorded in Ezra when the people were rebuilding the Temple…

Ezra 4:1 - 5 (NLT) ¹The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding a Temple to the LORD, the God of Israel. ²So they approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and said, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God just as you do. We have sacrificed to him ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here.” ³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel replied, “You may have no part in this work. We alone will build the Temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.” ⁴Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. ⁵They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne.

1. ‘Enemies’ will try to worm their way inside.

I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Acts 20:29 - 30 (NLT)

2. Those same ‘enemies’, when not allowed to be part of the good work will try to destroy it.

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. Matthew 26:59 (NASB)

So what do we do? We keep going, trusting God for the outcome.

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Joshua 1:7 (NLT)

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ADAPT

People disagree on many things; music styles, architectural design and clothing are just a few. Those of us that are older can lament in the “way things used to be” or we can rejoice and adapt to the way things are now.

By that, I do not mean that we are to rejoice and adapt in the face of apathy in the church or turn a blind eye to hypocrisy or sin. However, when new ways of doing things are introduced by a younger generation and they are in line with God’s Word, we should rejoice because they care enough about God to be involved in the first place.

They sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹²Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, ¹³so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away. Ezra 3:11 - 13 (NASB)

My prayer is that the weeping and lament of the older generation would be drown out or changed into rejoicing on account of the praising of the Lord by the younger generations that have chosen Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Let us work together toward honoring the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, in all that we endeavor. Let us be unified in the Spirit of Christ and do away with our self-concerns.

Let us be like the father that Jesus spoke about in Luke 15 upon the return of his son, and not like the brother who was jealous…

⁶When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! Luke 15:6 - 7 (NLT)

Let us go forward together, in obedience, showing love to all and being Christ to all.

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SONG...

PRAISE
God for all the work done at the SPRING yesterday. Adam and Chris hung the bathroom doors and raised and reversed our last exit door! A big "thank you" to Courtney, Sharon and Bea as well.

PRAY
We are looking at opening the SPRING Student Center on Thursday, August 30. That way people are settled into their new routines at school. HOWEVER...we need your prayers for two VERY IMPORTANT items:
1. We still have no air conditioning installed at the SPRING and it is very warm.
2. Our electrical work is still not completed.
We DO KNOW that God is faithful and able to provide all that we need...

WORD...SONG

When something really great happens in your life, I’ll bet you can’t wait to tell somebody. That’s the way we are; we want to share our “good news” with everyone.

Perhaps one of the major differences in being a follower of Christ and someone who is not, is to whom we give credit for the good things that come into our lives. If we are saying, “I did this” or “I did that,” we are drawing attention to ourselves. On the other hand, if we say, “Look at what God has done” we are drawing attention to Him. After all, God is the giver of all good things…

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. James 1:17a (NLT)

When God did something great in the lives of the people in the Bible, they wrote a new “song” so that God’s deed would be remembered. Look at the Song of Moses in Exodus 32, the Song of Deborah in Judges 5, Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46 or the Songs (Psalms) of David. They each recount how God has done something wonderful in the lives of His people.

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD. Psalms 40:3 (NLT)

So, when something good comes into your life, make sure you’re giving credit where it belongs and sing your “new song” to the Lord. Let everybody know how great He really is so that they will want Him to be their Lord as well.

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WEAK

When we hear the word “weak” in our society, it does not conjure up a very good picture. Whether it is a person that is weak or the branch of a tree, we generally think of the subject referred to as being inferior.

It is not so with God. He created us for His purposes. When we acknowledge God as our Creator as well as realizing that we cannot accomplish His purposes on our own, we are often seen as being weak. God sees it as admitting that we need Him!

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)

As I get ready to leave the house this morning to go and continue the work on the SPRING Student Center, I feel very weak; my back hurts, my elbow hurts and I’m tired. However, since I know that this project is exactly where God wants me to be and I know it is HIS project. I can go knowing that He will accomplish all that needs to be done.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

I must look to Christ for my strength. Jesus said,

For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5b (NLT)

He will keep me going and provide help to complete His task.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:3 - 4 (NLT)

Does this work in all situations? The answer to that is found in the above passage; we have everything we need for living a godly life. The minute I forget that and start living for myself, I’m going to fall. The last part of this passage from Second Peter shows that our goal is escaping the world’s corruption caused by our own human desires. When we succumb to our desires, we separate ourselves from His power.

So the next time you feel weak, whether physically, in public speaking or some other task that God has called you to do, realize that the Lord is more than able to keep you from failing and to cause His purposes to be fulfilled in your life.

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PURPOSE

Who determines what you will do today? Is it your boss? Is it one or both of your parents? Or, is it God?

When we operate on a daily basis simply meeting needs as they arise, we can often forget our overall purpose in life. Now maybe you have forgotten what that purpose is and it has been condensed into “just getting by.”

I want to suggest that perhaps you reassess what that purpose is…look at the overall picture of your life. What do you want folks to remember about you? Then look at your daily routine and see how that fits in to the plan.

Jesus stated His purpose like this,

I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. John 5:30b

Now that seems like a great purpose. What is God’s will for you? Jesus said, If you love me obey my commandments (John 14:15). His commandments to us were to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40). Wouldn’t it be fantastic if people remembered you for your love of God and loving others?

Determine today to do the will of God regardless of what comes into your path.

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MOCKED

There are those who say, “God can’t help you. He doesn’t really exist outside your mind.” Of course, there are many variations of this kind of thinking but we can try to help those people out by telling them stories of how God HAS worked in our life.

Those of us that are call ourselves followers of Christ need to give God glory in ALL things.

Listen to this story from the Old Testament. The king of Assyria was trying to get King Hezekiah of Jerusalem to give up without even a fight…

¹⁷The king also sent letters scorning the LORD, the God of Israel. He wrote, “Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail.” 2 Chronicles 32:17 (NLT)

King Sennacherib doubted, not only that the God of Israel couldn’t help Hezekiah and his people but also that if He tried He would fail.

Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. ²¹And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword. 2 Chronicles 32:20 - 21 (NLT)

Prayer is our most powerful weapon. It tells God that we know we can’t do something and we need Him to do it. God will not allow His name to be mocked for long. There will be consequences to those who are ridiculing Him.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 (NASB)

Sennacherib not only lost the war, but also lost his life because he mocked God.

From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the LORD arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too. 2 Chronicles 32:23 (NLT)

Because the story was told throughout the land…even the “surrounding nations” who didn’t believe in the God of Israel sent gifts to Him.

Tell your story of how God has worked in your life that all may honor him.

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MISSIONARY

The word “missionary” is generally thought of as someone who goes to a foreign country and tells people about God. They have gone there in response to Jesus’ words that we know as “The Great Commission.” It is most often quoted from Matthew 28:19-20, but is found in some form or another in all the Gospels. Here is Mark’s version:

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Mark 16:15 (NLT)

My question to you is, “Where is the ‘world’” of which Mark speaks? Is it possible that it is right where you live? Could God have placed you in the city where you are right now to be a missionary for Him?

The town of 3500 people in which I live has almost 30 churches. Yet, there are only a handful of teens in all of them. There are 500 students in the high school alone. That, to me, is a “mission field.” That is why we are building the SPRING Student Center. Those that work there with me are missionaries.

Think about that in relation to where God has placed you.

Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21 (NLT)

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ACCEPT

I have a confession to make. I used to look down on other people that called themselves believers and didn’t believe the way I did. I wouldn’t even consider them believers! The problem is that is totally contrary to God’s teaching.

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. Romans 14:1 (NLT)

Thankfully, I dealt with that issue. The danger though is people that call themselves “believers” and then have beliefs that totally contradict God’s Word. This is not what this passage is talking about.

For example, if a believer in Christ chooses to have a glass of wine, who are we to say he is “bad, back-slidden, etc.” and try to argue with them about it? On the other hand, if a professing believer in Christ engages in “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these,” (Galatians 5:19-21) there is certainly room for discussion!

Having been a youth pastor for many years now, I have learned to “pick my battles.” Dressing in all black doesn’t seem to be up there with sexual immorality. Loud music in a style that isn’t my favorite didn’t make the list of “thou shalt nots.”

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ³Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. ⁵There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all. Ephesians 4:2 - 6 (NLT)

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PRIORITIZE

We are generally an impatient people. We want to have it now. We want power, recognition and a list of other things that all come from fleshly desires.

This particular verse jumped out at me today. It reminded me of Solomon’s request to God for wisdom in governing His people. Remember, God gave Solomon riches and power as well because his heart was lined up with God’s desires first.

Here’s the verse I was talking about…

King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God. 2 Chronicles 27:6 (NLT)

What is it that you want in your life today? Whatever it is, make sure that you are careful to FIRST live in obedience to the LORD your God. Like my life verse (Matthew 6:33) says,

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UNFATHOMABLE

If we can’t see, taste it, touch it, hear it or smell it, we have a hard time understanding what something is. We are a people that like to have things quantifiable. We respect scientists because they can “prove” things.

Yet, these same principles do not work when it comes to God, the Creator of all that exists including you and me. We must take His Word for things. A former student of mine put it well when he said, “Since creation is past, we cannot prove or disprove anything using the scientific method.” We must simply trust God, or have faith in Him. We must come to the point where we can admit we don’t and can’t know everything that God knows. He is far above us. The upside of that is that He also loves us.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ³⁴For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? ³⁵Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? ³⁶For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33 - 36 (NASB)

Rest today, in the incredible love of the Almighty God…

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