Year: 2015

Overcoming Obstacles

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Genesis 39:9
“…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

2015/01/img_1354.jpgJoseph faced a temptation that many would have succumbed to, yet he resisted, even when it cost him his job, reputation and freedom. There were many factors that could have influenced him to fail. His difficulties could have caused him to blame God for losing his family and his freedom; making him bitter toward God. The constant pressure from Mrs. Potifer, could have caused him to justify their relationship. After all, she must not have been treated properly by her husband, or she would not have been looking to the “help.” The customs of Egypt were, no doubt, much freer than those of Scripture. He could have thought “everybody else is involved in these kinds of behaviors.” While there were many things that could have led Joseph to sin, there was one factor compelling him to withstand the temptation. Joseph realized that a relationship with Potifer’s wife was a sin against God.

God has given us His Word, so we will understand His ways. Instead of blindly walking through life using our own experience, or intellect as our compass, we have been given the Word of God. The psalmist spoke of it as a light that illuminates our paths (Psalm 119:105). Peter referred to it as a light that shines in the darkness until the dawn appears and the morning star arises (2 Peter 1:19). Instead of blindly walking through life, we can have the Word illuminate the way. Tragically, many neglect the Word and use their own desire as a guide. Thinking of themselves as a “good person”, they do whatever seems best to them at the time. The end result is violating the ways of God, and suffering the consequences that come with it.

Joseph’s story was not over when the guards arrested him and threw him into prison. God still had plans for him, and would richly bless his life. Doing things God’s way, did not derail the life of Joseph, but if he had slipped, the story would have taken a turn for the worse. The key to the blessed life is not doing things our own way, but doing them His way. A decision to obey the Word, is a decision that will be blessed by the Lord.

Pastor Jim

 

Busted

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Genesis 38:24
“And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, ‘Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.’ So Judah said, ‘Bring her out and let her be burned!’”

2015/01/img_1350.jpgOur sin always looks worse on someone else.

Judah, after the death of his wife, and in the loneliness of that condition, stumbled in his walk with God, committing fornication with a young woman. While we do not read of his reaction to this, it is highly likely he was ashamed, and at least somewhat remorseful. I can imagine he confessed his failure, and may have even made offerings to God.  A few short months after this  incident, Judah got word that Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law, was pregnant outside of marriage. The same sin he had committed, had been engaged in by Tamar. Whatever his response to his own sin was we cannot be sure, but we do know how he responded to her’s. He was furious, and wanted her to receive the harshest judgment the law would allow.

It seems to me, this is an all too common reaction towards sin. We take the harshest stand we can against the sin of others, and expect the fullest extent of mercy for ourselves. It might do us well to consider what Jesus said regarding our sin and that of others. He declared;

Matthew 7:5
“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Jesus declared, while we should not ignore sins committed by others, we must always take the time to look inward, before we go on a campaign against the sins of others. One of the tragedies of the church is having people rally for causes, while neglecting their own walk with God. Paul gave this simple, yet very helpful, instruction for dealing with the faults in others,

Galatians 6:1
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

Pastor Jim

 

Thoughts On Marriage

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Matthew 19:4-6
“He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’”

2015/01/img_1349.jpgWe understand that marriage was designed by God. He created man and woman, and designed marriage as the most intimate of all relationships. But why? What is the purpose of marriage? If we were to walk the streets and interview people, asking them, “Why did you get married?”, I think the most common reply would be, “I got married to be happy.” I don’t think every married couple is happy, but I think that it is the motivation behind most marriages. We think being with that person will make us happy. But I want you to notice what we read regarding God’s design in marriage: “It is not good for man to be alone…” (Genesis 2:18). It was not for man’s happiness alone that God designed marriage, but instead, for his good.

Let me remind you of another very familiar verse:

Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good for to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Paul is reminding us that God uses everything in our lives for good. But what is the good? Does he mean everything in our life is designed to make us happy, or healthy, or wealthy? If we look at verse 29, Paul continues:

Romans 8:29
“For whom he foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”

What is the good that everything is working toward? What is the good that marriage was designed to provide? It is the good of being made more like Jesus. Everything in our lives is like a tool in the hand of God, which He uses in order to make us more like Jesus. The difficult boss, the rain on your wedding day, receiving the promotion, finding money you did not know you had, are all tools God uses to make us comparable to Jesus. What is the tool that He uses the most? Once you get married, I think that tool will be your spouse. In fact, the marriage relationship is the closest thing the unbeliever will see of a relationship with the Lord. The husband’s love is compared to Christ’s love for us, and the wife’s obedience is compared to the obedience the believer is to show to Christ.

We need to learn not to look to our spouse to make us happy. It is too great a burden for them to carry. We need to learn to look to the Lord, and allow the Lord to mold and shape us into the image of Christ.

Pastor Jim

 

Such Comfort

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Genesis 37:35
“And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’  Thus his father wept for him.”

2015/01/img_1348.jpgDealing with the death of a loved one is perhaps the most difficult part of life. Since God created us for life, and it was sin that brought death into the world, we were never really designed to handle death. No matter what, death seems to be unexpected, and the emotions that arise within us are more than we can bear. I recently heard Greg Laurie say, death is often more difficult for the believer because we love at a deeper level. The extreme grief associated with death is made evident in the reaction of Jacob, upon hearing of the death of his son, Joseph. He is so utterly devastated by the news, he refuses to be comforted. While death is difficult, the sorrow it brings is deep, and a season of mourning is expected, but there is something unnatural about Jacob refusing comfort. He should have been comforted by at least three truths.

First, Paul declared that we, the believers, do not sorrow as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Jacob should have been comforted in knowing that while life on earth ended too soon for his son, Joseph, eternity awaited him. David, in a similar situation, received comfort knowing, while on earth he would not see his son again, they would be reunited in eternity (2Samuel 12:23).

Second, while the sorrow of death is great, God himself promises to be our comforter. Paul spoke of the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our tribulations (2 Corinthians 1:3-40). He speaks of a comfort that is so great it is able to not only to strengthen us, but give us what we need to aid others who are facing similar difficulties. Jesus added, the role of the Holy Spirit would be to comfort the believer (John 14:26), even calling Him “The Comforter.” When Paul said we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, it is partly due to the fact that we have the hope of being comforted by God. In our deepest pain, we can cling to His great love.

Finally, it was wrong for Jacob to refuse comfort, because he could not see the overall plan of God. His case is unique in that his son was not actually dead. However, it serves to illustrate the truth that God is the author of a much bigger plan than we can see or comprehend. While Jacob wept over the loss of his son, God was raising Joseph to a place of prominence within Egypt, in order to save a nation. What seemed to be a loss for Jacob, would prove to be the way of salvation for his family.

At the end of the story we read, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20).

It has been my experience that death within a family will often lead others into a relationship with Christ. While that does not completely remove the sorrow of loss, it does help us to see the overall plan of God. His great desire is for all men everywhere to be saved. If you are struggling to grasp the comfort available to you because of the loss of someone you love, allow me to encourage you to get alone, call out to God, and let the consolation of Christ, and the comfort of His love surround and strengthen you.

Pastor Jim

 

Let It Go

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Matthew 18:21
“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’”

2015/01/img_1347.jpgI think Peter had a little more insight into the mind of God than he gets credit for. In the passage leading up to this, Jesus spoke regarding confronting those who are in sin. He spoke of going to a sinning brother, bringing others and going a second time, then telling the church of his sin, and finally treating the unrepentant as you would an unbeliever (which of course means that you want to do all you can to win them back to Christ). It is in response to this that Peter asks regarding forgiveness.

Not all sins are to be confronted. When a believer is committing a sin that endangers their relationship with God, we must do all that is available to us to warn them, instruct them, and win them back to Christ; but not all sin is like that. Some sins are what we might call the sins of humanity. They are sins that manifest themselves in things like forgetfulness, or being inconsiderate, or even unkind. We might also call these relational sins. Those are not the sins that need to be confronted, but forgiven. Many of us have had a well-intentioned believer come to us, quote Matthew 18 about confronting sin, then proceed to tell us of the recent times when we disappointed them by neglecting to call, seeming to ignore them, or sitting in a different location at church. I want to suggest that those are not sins to confront, but to forgive.

Forgiveness is really the key to relationships within the body. The longer we walk with Jesus, the more we will find that even the Christians we admire most will do things to let us down or hurt our feelings. If we carry those things around, not only are we disobeying Jesus’ example and command to forgive, but we are also carrying around weight that will slow us down in our Christian progress.  It will work like a poison, turning us from a sweet and fruitful tree that draws others to Christ, into a bitter root that others avoid.

Perhaps now would be a good time to examine your heart. Are you bearing a grudge? Is there anyone you are not forgiving? Is there anyone who you would like to see in debtor’s prison?

Paul said, “Forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:32

Look at the debt which you have been forgiven, and forgive!

Pastor Jim

 

Go Back

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Genesis 35:1, 2
“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.’ And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.'”

2015/01/img_1346.jpgJacob again hears the voice of God. This time he is being called to return to a place called Bethel, meaning “House of God.” This was the site of Jacob’s first encounter with the Lord. There, he had been the recipient of the great and precious promises that revealed the plans and purposes God had for his life. Decades have since passed, and Jacob has grown from a lonely bachelor, to a large and prosperous family. Jacob returns to the place where he had made a commitment to the Lord.

Jesus gave a similar call to the church when he wrote,

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…” Revelation 2:5

Jacob’s action, in returning to Bethel, serves as a model of returning to the Lord. First, he had to put away the false gods that had crept into his life. Living in a pagan culture, it would be easy to pick up the practices of the people around him. In the same way, we often, unknowingly, develop the practices of the world we live in. Returning to the Lord involves doing inventory, and removing ungodly practices that have become a part of our lives. Jacob had his family bury the false gods under a tree. I suggest a more permanent solution. Don’t leave sin at an arms length, but remove it completely.

Second, after removing the idols, Jacob and his family began the long journey to Bethel. Sons, daughters, wives, children, grandchildren and supplies would make this a slow and difficult trip. In addition, the route they had to take was a dangerous one. There were many reasons not to make the journey to Bethel, but for Jacob, the desire to return to the Lord was greater. Whenever we choose to move forward in the Lord, there is always opposition. We face the difficulty of overcoming our past and our present, as well as the fear that we will not be able to change. It is encouraging that, in Jacob’s case, the Lord stepped in and held back the would-be attackers of their caravan. In the same way, once we begin to pursue the Lord, He will aid us along the way, making our return to Bethel successful.

Third, upon arriving at their destination, Jacob built an altar and poured a drink offering upon it. The drink offering is symbolic of a life poured out to the Lord. Paul used the phrase to describe his commitment to the Lord. Once we determine to go back to the Lord, we must decide to surrender all to Him.

Finally, it was at Bethel that the Lord unveiled his plan for Jacob. After he chose to leave the idols behind, do the work required to return, and pour himself out to the Lord, he received the promises of God. There is no doubt, God has a plan for each of us, but that plan is wrapped up in a life of surrender to Him. Let’s return to Bethel where we can experience the life God intends for each of us.

Pastor Jim

 

Glimpse Of Heaven

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Matthew 17:1
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; . . .”

2015/01/img_1342.jpg
This event had a tremendous impact upon Peter. Years later, when writing his first epistle, Peter recounts this event and how amazing it was to witness. I think some of its value is in the fact that it is a portrait of what awaits the child of God in heaven.

First, we read Jesus was “transfigured before them”. In other words, they saw the veil of humanity taken away and were able to see something of the deity and glory of Christ. We know heaven will be filled with glorious sites: streets of gold, gates of pearl, spectacular angelic beings, and so much more. But truly, heaven’s heaven, the great glory of eternity, will be the presence of Christ. There will be no need for the sun, for the glory of Jesus will illuminate heaven. The disciples got to see a glimpse of the glory of God.

Next, we read that Moses and Elijah appeared and were recognizable. Peter, James and John had never seen a picture or video, yet had no trouble recognizing these men. Moses represents, to some degree, those who will enter eternity through death; Elijah, those who will enter through the rapture. Upon arriving, we see that they are fellowshipping with each other and Jesus. Another of Heaven’s glories, is the fact, that we will fellowship together with all who have gone on before us. What a great joy it will be to gather with our longed-for loved ones, and together,enjoy the presence of Jesus.

Finally, we read that they heard God speak. We know from other texts, the voice of God is like the sound of roaring thunder, or the waves of the sea, or even of a multitude. But for most of us, all we have ever heard is that faint, still whisper. There is a day coming, in heaven’s glory, where we will hear the voice of God speaking loud and clear.

It is no wonder Peter wanted to build tents so he could have this experience daily.

Pastor Jim

 

Face Of God

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Genesis 33:10
“And Jacob said, ‘No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.’”

2015/01/img_1341.jpgI am sure we have all been complimented, at one time or another, for how we looked, or what we were wearing. Of all the compliments I have received, none has been quite like what Jacob said to Esau. After not seeing his brother for 20 years, Jacob said, “you look a lot like God.” Jacob is not saying God is a six foot tall man with red hair, but that the actions of Esau were, in some way, reflective of the character of God. What was Esau doing that was so godlike?

The answer is forgiveness. After being deceived time and time again by his brother, Esau finally resolved to let it go. He was no longer haunted by his hurt, anger, or bitterness, but had freed himself by letting it go. Instead of bringing an army to attack Jacob, he brought a welcoming committee, and extended an arm in forgiveness.

Sadly, many of us carry around a heavy weight of unforgiveness, not realizing it is like a poison that pollutes our joy. We think ourselves justified in holding a grudge, instead of looking at the cross and realizing, we too, are guilty of the most heinous sins. Instead of harboring bitterness and hurt, it is time we reflect the face of God, and forgive those who have wronged us.

Pastor Jim

 

The Champion

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Genesis 32:28
“And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’”

2015/01/img_1338.jpgThe Bible is filled with fascinating stories and amazing promises. I think it is safe to say, the most amazing events ever recorded are written in the pages of our Bibles. Of all these stories, this one records perhaps the most striking statement of them all,

” . . . you have struggled with God and prevailed.”

The same truth is recorded later

Hosea 12:4
“Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed. . .”

It does not surprise me to read that Jacob fought with God; that is an all too common occurrence. All of us have had times when God has instructed us to do something and we have resisted Him, to our hurt. I have found, when I fight against God, not only will I lose, but sometimes, I will bear scars from the battle. How is it that Jacob fought with God and came out victorious?

I think the answer is quite simple. Victory was achieved, not by the fight, but with the surrender. It was when Jacob stopped fighting and gave in to God, that he became the champion and received the spoils. We will never win a battle against the will of God, or the ways of God, but we can come out victorious if we are willing to surrender to God. Years later, when the book of Hebrews was written, the writer refers to the heroic faith of Jacob, who leaned upon his staff. The reference is to the victory won when his knees bowed in submission to the the Lord.

Whatever stage of life you may find yourself, it is high time for a victory. The losing streak needs to come to an end. Why not give in to the ways of God, and begin to experience the blessings of a champion, rather than the agony of defeat.

Pastor Jim

 

Gates Of Hell

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Matthew 16:18-19
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘prevail’ as,

“to gain ascendancy through strength or superiority, . . .to triumph over.”

2015/01/img_1337.jpgThis verse has always fascinated me. Jesus is promising He is the one who will build the church. Since the church is not a building, but people, He is saying, He will add the living stones to the church of God. Jesus is also telling us, the devil and his forces seek to prevail against the church. The Bible gives us just enough insight into the realm of the spirit to know there are spiritual battles that take place. The battle is between the forces of God and the forces of Satan, and they are fighting over the souls of men. Jesus said He came to give us abundant life, while the devil is trying to steal, kill, and destroy us. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. You can have great confidence this morning that the forces of Heaven are far superior to the forces of hell.

It also strikes me, the weapon which Jesus refers to the devil using, is a gate. In all of my experience, I have never heard of an army or even an individual soldier, going into battle carrying a gate. I have heard of people with guns, knives, swords, pitchforks and other farming tools, but never a gate. You see, a gate is not an offensive weapon, but a defensive weapon. A gate would be used to enclose the city and keep people in. Jesus is giving insight into what the devil is trying to do. He wants to keep people in bondage to sin and death. Jesus is also giving insight into the role of the church. We are on a mission to rescue people held captive to sin and death, by declaring to them the message of Christ.

Take a few minutes this morning to pray for your sphere of influence; your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors who have not yet come to Christ. Pray that the gates of hell would not prevail, and that they would listen to the Gospel and be saved.

Pastor Jim