Never underestimate the power of God. Do not underestimate what he can do.
I do not know why we seem to continuously doubt or question the abilities of God. To some people a person is too far “gone” to be saved…others think that their situation is too hopeless to be fixed...
In the testimonies of Jesus’ life we see all of the miraculous things he did for people whose situation seemed hopeless. Not to mention the thousands and thousands of accounts of the mighty and powerful things God did throughout the rest of the Bible. Even in the very beginning of Genesis, we see stories of amazing things he did and the obstacles people overcame through the power of God.
“We don’t need to declare what he does bad,” said Mr. Dennis last Sunday. “Be careful what we call bad because God uses that for good. Is it bad, or just uncomfortable?”
Last Sunday we had the opportunity to hear Mr. Dennis speak. He spoke about Joseph and started by explaining some of the obstacles he went through and how God used those for good. The main part of his teaching was about forgiveness, but I want to focus on the previous thought.
This sparked my interest, as I had not read Joseph in a long time, so I went back and read through it. It was quite crazy to see all of the things he had to go through. His brothers hated him and thought of killing him. Instead they sold him into slavery for 20 shekels (the equivalent of $5.30 today) and faked his death to his father, he was sold again to work for one of the Pharaoh’s officials and when his wife wanted to sleep with him and Joseph refused, she lied about him to her husband and Joseph was put in jail. He was there for over two years. He was released when Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream about great wealth and great famine and was given rule over all of the land. He was considered almost an equal to the Pharaoh and he eventually saw his brothers and father again.
One passage says mostly everything I would like to:
“’I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’”
Genesis 45:4-7
It’s easy to say these things after the fact but harder to trust as we are going through it. God uses every situation to mold us in to what he wants us to be. God puts us in a place where we have no control hoping that we will surrender to him so he can show us the mighty things he wishes to do in our lives. He can do anything and everything and truly uses all things for the good of those who love him. If the situation wasn’t beyond our control, then we wouldn’t need God.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
All God asks of us is our trust. We must trust, believe, and have faith that he is near to us. He knows what he’s doing! He will never leave us nor forsake us. We must go to him, cast all our fears and worries on him; he knows how to handle them better than we do!
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
And so we know that in everything he can use it for good. So really, there is no point in us constantly worrying and stressing because it changes nothing. Through our hard times he molds us and shapes us. He wishes for us to press in. So, press in, persevere, and give it up to him…that’s all we can really do.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 & 8
Last Sunday Pastor Mike spoke about the last verses in James 5 and talked about the types of prayers that were offered up. As I went back and read the last section titled, “The Prayer of Faith,” a few things stuck out to me. Though this passage is only eight verses long, I believe it says a lot about the fundamentals of Christianity and how we ought to be living as one.
In this section of eight verses, it says the words “pray, prayer, or praise” eight times. Prayer is something we should constantly be doing (1 Thes 5:17), as it is our direct communication line to God.
Another thing that stuck out to me is the theme of love in this passage. Though it never says the word love, I can feel the back bone of love from reading it. It talks a lot about dealing with others, calling on others, etc. All of these things must be done in love. We must pray for our brothers out of a Godly love for them. We must forgive our brothers because God tells us to do so and to love one another. All of the action it tells us to take in this passage must be done out of love and should be done to show love.
Lastly is the importance of faith.
“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well…” (James 5:15)
Our prayers must be offered up in faith. First, we are praying because we have faith that God hears us. But we should also pray because we know that God is near and he will always answer us in some way. It later talks about how Elijah prayed earnestly for no rain and it didn’t rain for three and a half years. The definition of earnest is: serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous. A prayer of faith should be an earnest prayer. The two should go hand in hand and we should pray with seriousness and intention because we have faith that God will hear us.
Prayer, faith, and love should be the basic fundamentals of our Christian lives. Without this, we’ve missed the most important things Jesus tried to teach us. Faith should be expressed through prayer and acted out in love.
Sept 27, 2009
Summary of impressions
Esther Ellis
The NIV version of James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” I do not believe that once we have come to God, he has to move to come near to us. Notice that it says first we must come to God and then he will come near to us. If I could change that verse, I would change it to say, “Come near to God, and he will be near to you.” Because in my heart, I do not think that God ever moves away from us. It is always us who moves away from him. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” - Matthew 16: 24 &25 The film Pastor Mike showed on Sunday, “Go” by Jackie Pullinger really touched me and I have watched it several times since then. I believe it correlates with the most important predecessor of v.8 where it says in v. 7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” Jackie says, “The principle of the Gospel is this: The Gospel always brings life to the receiver, and death to the giver. If the Gospel brought death to Jesus why would we think that in preaching the Gospel it would be any less for us? ...but for us, life is never ordinary. …Jesus was not sentenced to die by his Father. He was allowed to choose… God the Father had this extraordinary plan for winning you and me for eternity by having is son killed. But his son voluntarily responded. No, it’s not so easy for him to respond. In fact he spent his whole life practicing. And even the night before, it was still difficult for Jesus. And he said, ‘God is there another way?’ And I know many, many people in the church ask, ‘Is there another way?’ Normal Christians live a normal Christian life: go to meetings, jump up and down on stages while we are exhausted and dying… I think we’re all called to give up our lives. Would you like to do this with us? We’d really like some help. The poor people all over the earth, they are the poorest people… the most number of people world-wide who’ve never heard about the love of a Lord Jesus Christ are desperately poor and they are not going to come here to hear the Gospel, we have to go there. So…why haven’t people gone? … Those poor aren’t going to hear about Jesus on tv, they haven’t got electricity… There’s no other way to serve him except giving up your life, and this is voluntary. This is not a death sentence at all, we are not sentenced to death, we’re just privileged to answer his call.” There is no other way to draw near to God, except to actively lay down our lives for him every day. It is a continuous process that we must partake in. Christianity is not a passive religion, it is very active. It does not call for laziness. It calls for much thought and activity. Every day we must pray continually (1 Thess. 5:17), we must continually submit ourselves to the Lord, and we must continually fight off sin. Verse 7 of James also says that we are to “resist the devil…” In v. 8 it says we are to “wash your hands…purify your hearts.” The biggest obstacle that keeps us from the Lord, if not the only one, is our sin and sinful nature. “Flee from the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” -2 Timothy 2:22 There are a few times the Bible (1 Tim 6:11, 1 Cor 6:18 & 10:14) tells us to flee from our sin. If you look up “flee” in the dictionary, it gives you these results: 1. To run away, as from danger or pursuers 2. To move swiftly, fly, speed 3. Evade, escape, shun Notice, God doesn’t say “walk away from” sin, he says flee. We must run as fast and as far as we possibly can to flee from our sin so that we may draw near to him. In drawing near to him, we are to flee from sin and ask for his forgiveness. If sin is the only thing that keeps me from God, then possibly that is why it first says submit and resist the devil, and then draw near to God, and then finally once my sins are washed clean, he can be near to me. In v.7 it also says that when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. How amazing it is to know that when we resist the devil in the name of our Lord and Savior, he will flee from us, as if running away from danger. Just like Pastor Mike said, Jesus is a deposit in which we can draw from. In the name of Jesus we have all power and authority to live like he has called. What if? What if we lived for him? What if we truly believed acted as if all authority under heaven is given to us through Jesus Christ? How different would the world be today? How different would you be? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” -Matthew 18 & 19 I love how he uses the word go. Just as Jackie Pullinger said… They are not going to come to us, we must go to them. We must make disciples of all nations. But first we must be disciples ourselves. Take a close look at the word, “disciple.” Notice that when you take off the “e” and add “ine” you get the word “discipline.” A key factor in being a disciple is practicing discipline. You must make time for God. You must study, you must learn, and you must be active in your faith. (Heb. 6:1) This is something we should want to do out of our love for Christ, but it is also something we must be disciplined in. When I don’t feel like waking up early one morning to study God’s word, I must be disciplined enough to get myself awake. We must take authority over our lives and fight off the distractions of the enemy, because there are some every day. “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive our demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hand on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:17,18 How many of us are truly living like we believe that we have this much authority in the name of Jesus? The name of Jesus is power. “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” – Mark 1:15 Like Pastor Mike said, many of us focus on our future Christianity, but it is now! The time to act is now because we do not know how long we have. And those people aren’t going to come to us, we must go to them. It is our duty as Disciples of Christ, to go out and preach the good news. We should wait on him every day and ask him to show us how we can further his kingdom. We must operate in the fullness of the Christian life, everyday, not just Sunday.
Pastor Mike’s teaching last Sunday made me evaluate the passion I bring to the everyday activities of my life.
There comes a point when you don’t think about what you do, you just do it. Lately, the things I’ve done, I’ve done because I’ve always done them. Now I realize that I’ve forgotten why.
I understand that people have their ups and their downs BUT if in all I do, I’m supposed to work at with all my heart, as if I’m working for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23, Ephesians 6:7), why haven’t I been?
The things written in the Bible aren’t there for entertainment. The advice written in the Bible is for us to obey and follow as best as we can. The Lord has me in the exact position he wants me to be in. There are people all around me that I have the opportunity to influence. If those people know that I am a lover of Christ yet see no love or enthusiasm in my life, why would they want to be a Christian? As a Christian my life should be noticeably different.
Not only is it important for my life to be different in what I do, but more importantly (I think) my life should be different in respect to my attitude and outlook. When trials take place, there is a perfect opportunity to show my faith and that is when people notice.
Many times I lose passion for what I do because I forget why I do them or WHO I’m doing them for. Life gets busy and I get tangled up in the every day and eventually I lose myself in the world. I know how I ought to live, and yet I put God to the side. I do just as it is described in James 4:17.
When my outer life reflects no passion, what I really need to do is look at my inner life, my heart. Having no passion for my work and relationships is only a reflection of having no passion for my work and relationship with and in Christ. This is not how I want to spend my days. And so, I pray, “…renew a steadfast spirit within me,” (Psalm 51:10).
The Lord has a passionate desire to be with me, he “near to all who call on him” (Psalm 145:18). Praise the Lord for his unfailing love and his ever persistent desire to be with me. I truly take advantage of all that he does for me every day.
I pray that I can be “like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God,” (Psalm 52:8).
“…his banner over me is love.”
Song of Songs 2:4
This is a summary of personal application of the message on Aug 30,2009. We welcome your summary and your applications or perhaps takeaway from the time together. We want to be doers of the Word. Thanks Esther for being so transparent and real in your application.
drh
Controlling my tongue is something I’ve found myself struggling with for a while now, especially recently. That is why I knew that Pastor Mike’s sermon last Sunday was for me.
My tongue is something I’ve always tried to fix and deal with on my own. Sometimes I can stop my words or gossip and be fine for a while, but eventually I find myself in the same situation as before…sometimes worse. But something I never really noticed until now is that I always tried to fix the situation myself when the only way I can do anything is through Christ. (John 15:5) I have no power in anything that I do.
God knows my heart and He knows my desire to follow Him. He gives us grace. He would never deny help if we should ask, and He definitely would never deny us forgiveness. Jesus came and died so that I might live a life of freedom. If my tongue is something that holds me back from freedom, wouldn’t the Lord want to help me if I asked? I think so.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
James 1: 5 & 6
As Christians, we should show a reversal of the world’s values. We should commit ourselves to being made new every day. The tongue is something I struggle with, but it is something that God has already conquered, and through Him, I have the strength to do so as well.
“…put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24
As far as gossip goes:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank I your own eye?”
Matthew 7:3
I think that pretty much speaks for itself.
We are all children of God, made in His image and likeness. If we ever find ourselves in a situation of gossip, we should stop and ask ourselves,
“What is in my heart that is making me speak this way?”
The Bible goes as far as to say that if we hate our brother we are liars if we claim to love God.
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen…whoever love God must also love his brother.”
John 4:20 & 21
And please, do not forget that as mercilessly as you judge, you too will be judged also.
“The same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Matthew 7:1
I think it’s safe to say, that every person on earth knows how bad it feels to hear negative words being said about them. We have all felt the personal effects of words piercing us, “like a sword” (Proverbs 12:18).
Some of us may take it as an excuse to return ill comments to the one who spoke ill about us. However, the Bible says in Matthew 5, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Never seek justice in an unjust world, but never cease to give it.
God has called us to a life set apart, and we must constantly remind ourselves of this. Not everyone will live the life of a missionary or martyr, but it doesn’t make any of us less important in what we do every day, and there are always people watching us, taking note of how we live our lives.
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”
Ephesians 6:7
We should apply this to our actions as well as our words, treating every person we see as a child of the Most High King.
Remember: whatever we struggle with, the Lord has called us to a life of freedom.
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has dies has been freed from sin.”
Romans 6: 6 & 7
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