THANK THE LORD FOR OUR FUTURE

            Our heart is in heaven; our home is not here. -Heber

Hebrews 13:14, For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

            We sing about Heaven, preach about Heaven, think about Heaven, and if you’re a child of God… you’re on your way to Heaven! When I think about Heaven, I think about the streets of gold, walls of jasper, gates of pearl and sea of glass.      I think about the mansion He has built for me. I think about lasting peace. I think about no sorrow. I think about family reunions. I think about all those things but the greatest thing I think about is Jesus! I think about standing before my Saviour and bowing before Him. I think about praising Him personally face to face for all He has done for me.

            Why wait though? I can get a head start today by thanking Him for my future home in Heaven!

THANK THE LORD FOR FAITH

           It is not to have faith in this church, this doctrine or that man, but it is to have faith in the man Christ Jesus at the right hand of God.  That is the only faith that will ever save a soul. - D.L. Moody

Galatians 3:22, But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

            What a gift Jesus has given us in our salvation! He has done it all for us to be saved. Jesus came from Heaven, sacrificing His life, arose the third day, came to me when I could not go to Him, convicted my sinful heart, imputed His righteousness, adopted me in my family, I could go on and on but we don’t have enough time this morning to thank Him for everything He has done. I will thank Him for one last thing—the faith! I praise God this morning that I had sense enough to believe His Word!  What a blessing to know I am saved and it’s all because what Jesus has done for me! It’s because I took Him at His Word—I have faith!

THANK THE LORD FOR FAMILY

           This week, I want to thank the Lord for different things He has provided. I’m starting with family because your family will share joy, be there for one another in times of disappointment, and share values of this life that are right and true, making us faithful to the Lord Jesus. Family will stick with you when you have totally messed your life up. Family will forgive quicker than others. Family will help you when there isn’t anyone else to help. God ordained the family to be that way and I am thankful for both of mine; my human family and my church family.

            In Daniel 2:23, the Word of God says, “I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.“ What makes family great is the God of the family! It’s not Grandma or Grandpa. It’s not Mom or Dad. It’s not the Children or Grandchildren. It’s God and God alone!

            Today, be thankful for the family God has provided for you! But even more than them, be thankful to the Lord for giving them to you. I sure am thankful for mine because they have helped me become the man that I am!

WORSHIP CHRIST

My happiest moments are when I am worshiping God, really adoring the Lord Jesus Christ, and having fellowship with the ever-blessed Spirit.  In that worship I forget the cares of everything else.  To me it is the nearest approach to what it will be in heaven. -Spurgeon

Mark, 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

            One of the greatest things we can do as born-again believers is worship our Lord and Saviour. God has appointed one day a week to come together and worship Him—Sunday. To not be willing to GET UP, GET READY, and GO TO CHURCH to worship Jesus is one of the signs of a back slid heart or a heart that doesn’t know the grace of God.

            What are you doing on this Sunday morning to worship the One who got up on Calvary’s tree for you? When is the last time you spent together with fellow believers singing praises to His holy name? When is the last time the Holy Ghost touched your heart during a special song? Why not get ready and go today?

CHRIST GIVES WISDOM

            He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever. -Tillotson

1 Corinthians 2:14, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

            As I read newspapers, listen to the news, and every once in a while read post on social media, I am often reminded of the wisdom that came into my life the day I got saved! I am reminded that it didn’t stop that day either; it was the day that it began. According to Ephesians, when one gets saved, they get wisdom and prudence. That’s part of the riches we have in Christ.

            Are you seeking understanding in this life? Give your life to Jesus Christ and let the wisdom of God flow into your life directing you in your footsteps!

CHRIST FAMILY

I’m a child of the King!

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Being in the family of God has many privileges. We have peace, love, joy, contentment, and the list goes on and on. The riches we have in Christ are innumerous. But one of the greatest things we have in Christ is when this life is over, we get to live with Him in Heaven for eternity!

            Are you a child of the King? Are you a part of His family? If you are then live like it! Do you know you are rich in Christ? If you do, then live like it! Rejoice! Praise God! Tell others about Him! Tell them about His goodness, grace, and good time living for the Lord!

CHRIST THE ENCOURAGER

            The men who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize. --Elizabeth Harrison

Luke 12:7, But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

            In Jesus’ exhortation of faithfulness in Luke 12, He turns our eyes toward His creation as He often does in Scripture. He compares our lives to the lives of the birds of the air pointing out that our lives are of much more importance. In doing so, it brings us encouragement knowing that whatever I am going through, how dark the day may be or become, no matter how much month I have left, no matter how empty my bank account may be, He will provide for me!

            What a blessed promise we have this morning, God will take care of us! “God will take care of you, Through every day, o'er all the way, He will take care of you, God will take care of you!”

IN CHRIST, THERE IS REDEMPTION

           Redemption as defined by Webster’s 1828 dictionary— Deliverance from bondage, distress, or from liability to any evil or forfeiture, either by money, labor or other means.

Romans 3:24, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

            The more I study the Word of God, the more I see how much God loved me when He sent Jesus to die on the Cross. He delivered me from the bondage of sin. I was in a distressed state and I didn’t even realize it until I heard the Gospel. I was just fine living in my sin but God didn’t want me to go to Hell. Praise His holy name that He sent His Son to die on the Cross of Calvary so that I would not have to! How did He did He redeem me? He gave His life’s blood for me! He paid the ransom with His blood! Ephesians 1:7, In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

            Has His blood been applied to your account? Do you have the redemption only Christ brings? If not, you can. Just shoot me a message and I’ll be glad to share with you how Jesus can save you!

CHRIST CLEARS THE MIND

Without Christ, one can never discern between right and wrong.

Ephesians 5:15-16, See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

If you have watched the news in the past month you may have been discouraged. On every hand there is gloom and doom, no hope or help in sight. It will get you into the place that you don’t want to do anything. Oh, let’s sleep in. Oh, let’s take the evening off of visitation. Oh, let’s skip church this Sunday. Oh, I’ve heard that preacher before. Oh, the pastor is so old and boring. It will get us to the point of what’s the use—I don’t see anything good coming from what I’m doing.

Christian, what does Scripture command us to do? Look to the news for help or hope—definitely not. Our source of strength and hope is found in Christ Jesus! It’s found in the resurrected Saviour. Don’t let this world and its ways cloud your mind. Wake up out of your sleep and slumber! Fall back in love with Jesus and get back serving Him! Now is not the time to take a break! There is a lost, dying, and hurting generation without Jesus Christ out there needing you and I to be in our place! So, let’s get busy!

JESUS ALONE DESERVES WORSHIP

   My happiest moments are when I am worshiping God, really adoring the Lord Jesus Christ, and having fellowship with the ever-blessed Spirit. In that worship I forget the cares of everything else. To me it is the nearest approach to what it will be in heaven. -Spurgeon

Philippians 2:9-10, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

            Worshipping and praising the Lord is not a request, it is commanded throughout Scripture. Yet, even though we are given opportunity time and time again, we forsake meeting together with our church family to what He has commanded. It’s a crying shame that God gave His best for us but we can’t give Him our best back!

            What will be your excuse this week? I’m tired? I’m too busy? The preacher is too loud? The Sunday School teacher is boring? Why not let church be your excuse of why you don’t do other things instead of other things being the excuse why you don’t come to church?

CHRIST BRINGS PEACE

A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done.  God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do-is to enter into it. - D.L. Moody

John 14:27, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

While there is chaos in the streets, across the oceans, and even in our hearts, there is a God in Heaven offering peace to everyone. He will remove the rage. He will comfort the comfortless. He will bring help and hope into your life. All you have to do is ask Him.

Hey friend, why not GET UP, GET READY, and GO TO CHURCH TODAY with the thought of finding peace for your weary heart? It could be the best day of your life. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Isaiah 55:6

SECURED TIL DEATH OR RAPTURE

I believe a man may be as vile as hell itself one moment and be saved the next. - D.L. Moody

Ephesians 4:30, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

            Not only does the Spirit indwell the saved man, He also seals the saved man until the day of redemption. We are eternally secure in Jesus because the Spirit dwells within us. This security brings about a confidence in Jesus Christ. It gives us a boldness to be a witness for Him. Many Christians struggle with being a witness because they do not have the assurance of their salvation. Many don’t have that assurance because they neglect their personal Bible reading. Vanhetloo states, “If we believe that this is the message of God for us, we will read this message.” It is imperative for us to have that assurance and we will get it when we get into the Scriptures.

SPIRIT FILLED

           The Spirit of God first imparts love; He next inspires hope, and then gives liberty; and that is about the last thing we have in many of our churches. --Dwight L. Moody

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

            While the Baptism of the Spirit (being saved) cannot be lost, the filling of the Spirit can be. We can quench and grieve the Spirit. 1Thessalonians 5:19, Quench not the Spirit. Ephesians 4:30, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. We quench and grieve the Spirit when we have sin in our life. Psalm 66:18, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: The loss of God’s filling comes because we are filled with sin. But praise be to the Lord that He convicts His children and has made the way for us to confess and repent. 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In our confession and repentance, we can walk and be filled with the Spirit as we once were.

            Are you living in a Spirit filled life or do you have your belly full of Satan’s spirits? Turn from those wicked ways and follow the path that leads to Spiritual Delight not destruction!

CHRIST COMMANDS BAPTISM

Baptism doesn’t save but it is an outward showing of what has transpired in our hearts.

Matthew 28:19, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Baptism is for those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. It’s for those who are willing to show others that they have consciously made a decision to trust Jesus with their life. While, baptism is not required for salvation, it does identify who you have chosen to love with all you heart, mind, and soul. When someone gets married, the husband and wife exchanges wedding rings, they are not necessary but the rings when worn, does show to those around that we are married.

Friend, if you have been saved and have not been baptized, what is hindering you from doing so? What’s holding you back from following the Lord’s command? What’s hindering you from taking that step of obedience? Go on, be a testimony to others! They may stop and take into consideration their standing before God and trust Him as Saviour as well.

CHRIST CARES FOR YOU

Lay the burdens down before your burdens take you down.

1 Peter 5:7, Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

            I preach a message, every once in a while, about burdens. I ask a burly, tough guy to come forward, taking a can of soda, and placing it on his out stretched hand. I tell him, “If you can hold it the entire time I’m preaching, it’s yours.” After a little while, that tough guy is struggling with the weight of that soda.

            Friend, no matter how small of a burden you carry around, it will take you down if you continue to try to carry it. You will stumble over it because it gets in the way of serving the Lord. The longer you hold it, the more it will hurt after you do lay it down. The best thing to do, is to trust Him, giving Christ the burdens because He cares for you.

CHRIST BUILDS THE CHURCH

This was posted on a Bronx, New York, church bulletin board: "Do come in-Trespassers will be forgiven." -Anonymous

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

            Jesus is the foundation which the church is built upon. He adds to the church. He builds those in the church. Without Him as the chief cornerstone in our life and in the church, everything within the church and our life will be out of square and leaning toward destruction. Either Jesus will be the ruler by which you measure everything with or you will come up short every single time!

            Is Christ building you? If He isn’t, before your life falls apart you need to find another contractor!

CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST

Our confidence in Christ does not make us lazy, negligent or careless, but on the contrary it awakens us, urges us on, and makes us active in living righteous lives and doing good.  There is no self- confidence to compare with this. --Ulrich Zwingli

Ephesians 1:6, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

I have had confidence in my parents. I have had confidence in my pastor. I have had confidence in some people. But there is no greater confidence than what we can have in Christ. He is the one that never changes. He is the one that will never leave us nor forsake us. He brings us confidence because we are accepted in Him.

PREACHERS- PREACH

We want new ministers in the pulpit and new people in the pews.  We want people quickened by the Spirit of God. - D.L. Moody

2 Timothy 4:2, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

            If we want this world to repent and follow the Lord, we must get back to what the Word of God tells us to do. We cannot continue in our lax, lazy Christianity and expect sinners to vote for the principles found in the Bible. We cannot expect sinners to stand for righteousness. We must get back to preaching Jesus Christ; death, burial, and resurrection— conquering death, hell and the grave. We must preach— His blood. We must preach—His Book. We must preach—His Second Coming.

            That’s what the preacher must do but there is a responsibility for those in the pews as well. They must GET UP, GET READY, and GO hear the message God has prepared in the hearts of His preachers! Then and only then will we see a difference in the world we live in. Then and only then will we see a turning back to the God of the Bible.   

            So, preachers—preach! People in the pews—get up and go! And let’s make a difference in the world we live in!

WHERE DID THEY GO

1 John 2:19, They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

            The difference between listening to a radio sermon and going to church, someone has said, is almost like the difference between calling your girl on the telephone and spending an evening with her. -Moody

            Many people come and go through the doors of churches in America. Within each of those individuals I see and sometimes hear potential. Potential to be who God wants them to be. Potential to serve in the church. Potential to be a blessing to others. Potential to follow God’s Word, doing God’s work, following God’s will.

            Do you have that kind of potential?

HOPE IN THE FACE OF HORROR

Satan would tempt us to despair; but good hope keeps us trusting in God and rejoicing in him. -Henry

Psalm 68:19, Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

No matter what we face today or in the days ahead we can rest in the God we serve. There is no need to worry or fret because:

            We that are saved, place our hope in God. The day we accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour—we were saved. Eternally secured in Him. If you’re not saved, in spite of your past, in spite of what you have done, in spite of the horrible person you might think you are, there is Hope! That hope is found in Jesus Christ!

            Christian, we are being saved. We are being saved from our self and Satan’s temptations. How many times has God saved you from yourself and Satan’s temptations through His Word? 2 Peter 2:9, The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: Friend, that helps me! It gives me hope to know that God knows what I am going through and He can help me get through it!

            I will be saved one day from this old world and the wickedness found therein!

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come

No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.

All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,

What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,

And I look upon His face,

The One who saved me by His grace;

When He takes me by the hand

And leads me through the Promised Land,

What a day, glorious day that will be.

            What a day that will be church when we will be saved from this old world, Satan’s temptations, and my flesh… forever! Oh, what glory awaits me! I will be saved!!!

            The Psalmist said in Psalm 43:5, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Our hope is in God!