tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165533972024-03-05T11:31:25.501-08:00Pastor Thorpe's ViewThis is the place where I share my ideas and views on a variety of issues. Some serious issues and even some irrelevant ones. Feel free to comment and subscribe to this site. Thank you!revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-45371818292380347802015-02-17T16:22:00.002-08:002015-02-17T16:24:55.014-08:00The Creative Power of God in Your World <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">READ: Genesis chapter 1<br />
<br />
The Bible starts at a dizzy pace, doesn’t it? I mean, if I were reading the
Bible for the very first time – I just picked it up and started at the
beginning – I think I’d get to the end of chapter one and say to myself, “This
book’s going to be a page-turner.”<br />
<br />
It’s a gripping opening. And there are literally thousands of sermons waiting
to be preached out of just this first chapter of Genesis. Because it reveals so
much about God; about His nature and His character. We could preach this
morning about Him being eternal (“in the beginning God”); we could preach about
…<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> His creativity<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> His almighty power<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> His holiness<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> His providential care<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> His fatherhood<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> That He is one God, but a trinity of
Persons<br />
<br />
And on and on - it’s all right here on the first page! So much about the
greatness of God.<br />
<br />
As I was reading it again recently, I began to think about the Creation account
and what we see here of God’s power, and suddenly God was speaking to me about
that creative ability of His that is still at work today. <br />
<br />
As far as we know, God’s not creating planets or stars or animal species any
longer. He has completed it, and that work came to an end. But Jesus said in
John 5, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
Another translation says: “My Father never stops working”.<br />
<br />
God is always active – He speaks today and things happen. Romans 4:17 says that
Abraham “believed God who gives life to the dead and calls (present active
tense) those things which do not exist as though they did.” Abraham dared to
believe that the great Creator STILL speaks and things are brought into being
by that word of His mouth. And therefore nothing is impossible with God.<br />
<br />As we look together at Genesis 1 – the very foundation of the
world – I want you to see that the same, unchanging God who did all this wants
to move by His power in your life today, and create something for His glory.<br />
<br />
There is a law of physics known as the 2nd law of thermodynamics – you may have
heard it quoted before because it is a fundamental principle of physics which
(if it’s true) means that the bankrupt theory of evolution was never possible
in the first place. So it’s a law that is often raised in debates against
evolutionists. The 2nd law of thermodynamics says, basically, that in every
process – physical, natural, biological, industrial or technological – if
something which is in a state of order is left alone, without any force or
influence being applied to it, it will not “improve” but rather it must move to
a state of disorder and then to a state of chaos.<br />
<br />
You know that! Your car rusts, your clothes wear out, your house will
eventually crumble. And single cell blobs do not “crawl out of the primeval
swamp” and evolve themselves into complex life forms like animals and human
beings. It’s not physically possible! It’s nonsense.<br />
<br />
But I want to look at that law (the 2nd law of thermodynamics) for another
reason. Not only is it a very convincing argument against evolution – it also
illustrates something that is equally true in the spiritual realm. Whenever we
leave God out of our lives, anything that was working grinds down to disorder,
and ultimately to complete chaos and devestation. Order returns to “void” without
the creative, life-giving power of God.<br />
<br />
The history of NATIONS is a testimony to this. To the degree that nations
throughout history have honoured God, and heard His Word, they have experienced
the hand of God in blessing. Where Christianity has flourished, there has been
law and order, and great freedom and even prosperity. (“Righteousness EXALTS a
nation…” ) But those nations who have rejected God for idolatry have receeded
into gross darkness, anarchy and bondage. <br />
<br />
You think about the United States, we have led the world in advancement, and
have prospered – and that has been the legacy of the gospel light that our
societies were founded upon. But today, that light is flickering at an all time
low. One of the fastest growing religions in America today is Islam. Most Americans today are in
paganism. Many of our laws are no longer Christian. At the same time, some of
the nations that were once in pagan darkness are beginning to blaze with the
fires of Christianity. If that trend continues, then the tables will turn – God
will exalt those nations to leadership.<br />
<br />
Thank God there is coming a day (very soon) when “the glory of the Lord shall
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.” The King is coming! He will rule
the nations with a rod of iron – His light will govern every place on earth;
east and west.<br />
<br />
We see it in the nations - there is this principle. And I want to apply it to
our lives individually now. We’ll state it this way … Just as God created all
things out of nothing - to the degree that we submit our personal world to God,
He is able to create something beautiful even from calamity and chaos.<br />
<br />
Just walk quickly with me through some things in this first chapter of Genesis.
When we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>1. HE TURNS DARKNESS TO LIGHT.<br />
</b><br />
Verses 2-3. “…and darkness was on the face of the deep … Then God said, ‘Let
there be light’; and there was light.”<br />
<br />
Have you ever been out in the woods , away from any street light, on a moonless
night with no stars? It is pitch black. So dark that you literally can’t see
your hand in front of your face. Every step you take is unnerving because you
don’t know where you’re treading next.<br />
<br />
That’s a picture of what so many people’s lives are like. Without the light of
God, without His truth, there is just darkness. People don’t know where life is
taking them. They don’t know what the future holds. Everything is in
uncertainty and confusion. (Story about
squad in the dark).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Imagine what the darkness was like on day one of creation, before God had
established a single source of light. Intense darkness. But God spoke into that
darkness: “Let there be light”, and all of creation just LIT UP. Sight and
warmth was everywhere – in an instant!<br />
<br />
God had to do that in my life. Thank God – it happened to me! Just like the
Apostle Paul said in <i>2 Corinthians 4:6,
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness WHO HAS SHONE
IN OUR HEARTS to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ.”<br />
</i><br />
I was in darkness – I had no answers, I couldn’t hear God’s voice, I couldn’t
grasp right from wrong / wise from foolish. But God spoke and everything
changed. Night turned to day.<br />
<br />
Some of you have loved ones who’ve heard the gospel countless times, but
they’re still away from God. The fact is, you can put the truth right under
their nose but they can’t see it because of the darkness. They need an infusion
of God’s light so that they can see it. Don’t try to win the battle by debating
and arguing – win it in prayer! Win it
by speaking the Word over their lifes. Cry out to God until He shines His light into
their life and they can see.<br />
<br />
The ninth plague that Moses brought upon the land of Egypt, because Pharaoh
wouldn’t let God’s people go, was the plague of darkness<i>. Exodus 10:21-23 says that the darkness was so thick it could be
“felt” – it was so intense that no Egyptian moved from their bed for 3 days.
But while the Egyptians were in darkness, just down the road the Israelite
slaves had light in their dwellings.<br />
</i><br />
You know what that tells me? There may be darkness all around – but wherever
God commands the light, it shines. <br />
<br />
There are still dark moments in my life. Times I’m confused about what to
believe, I can’t see which road to take. But as I seek the Lord, His light
comes flooding in every time. I open up the Bible, and “the entrance of His
Word brings light.”<br />
<br />
When we bring God into our world, He turns the darkness to light. <br />
<br />
Secondly, when we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>2. HE TURNS CHAOS TO ORDER.<br />
</b><br />
Verses 6-10. There’s light now, but still nothing is stable or organized in any
way. But God speaks again, and this time separates earth and sky so there is an
atmosphere. And then he speaks again, and the great continents of land form
from the oceans. God brings everything together to become an ordered
environment.<br />
<br />
Have you ever felt like everything was out of order in your life – like nothing
was fitting together properly as it should? I’ve heard people say things like:
“Nothing ever works out right” or “my personal life’s a mess” or “my career’s
in shambles” … “this is not how I planned life to be”.<br />
<br />
There is only one sure way I know to have your life move from chaotic to real
peace and order. You need God’s creative power. Put your life in His hands, let
Him direct you, and obey what He says completely. If He can organize everything
from revolving solar systems, right down to microscopic organisms – and have it
all working in perfect harmony together – don’t you think He has the power and
the wisdom to bring peace into your life, and to build the fragments into
something that makes sense.<br />
<br />
God has a plan for you. A perfect plan. And yet I know Christians who are still
chasing their tails – their family life is dysfunctional, their finances are in
a mess, they’re in relationship problems, they’re constantly in upheaval. Why?
Because too many Christians are trying to live life according to their own
wisdom to achieve their own desires. And when you’re calling the shots, God
isn’t! And so you’re devoid of His creative power.<br />
<br />
But the good news is that, if you’ll repent of that self-sufficiency and seek
God’s wisdom to do it – there is no chaos too great that He can’t turn it to
order.<br />
<br />
When we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>3. HE TURNS BARRENNESS TO LIFE.</b><br />
<br />
Verses 11-13. God has a stable, organized environment now, but nothing’s
growing yet. There’s no life. Until God speaks with creative power again, and
immediately grass and herbs and fruit trees appear, and begin to flourish.<br />
<br />
<br />
Some people could say that no matter what they try, nothing grows. Everything
seems such a heart-breaking effort. There never seems to be any fruitfulness
for all their hard work.<br />
<br />
When Adam was expelled from the Garden, and intimacy with God was broken, God
told Him that the ground was now cursed. Every blade of every crop would need
to be produced by blood, sweat and tears. It wasn’t that lush garden any longer
that just produced in perfection. Adam was cut off from God and it was all
ruined. So he toiled for everything. Weeds overran everything. Proverbs 13:15
says, “The way of the transgressor is hard.”<br />
<br />
Jesus said in John 15 <i>that the way to
have a fruitful life (a life that is productive, a life that blooms) is to be
“connected” to Him. To be in vital union with Him. God’s power can transform
you from barrenness to life.<br />
</i><br />
Is life too hard today? Maybe you need to relinquish all those efforts, and
build that relationship with God whose creative power brings life to the
barren.<br />
<br />
When we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>4. HE TURNS EMPTY YEARS TO FULL SEASONS.<br />
<br />
</b><i>Verses 14-18. Before God hung the
sun, moon and stars, there could be no fluctuation – no ebb and flow of the
tides – no changing of the days. All there could be was the passing of time.<br />
<br />
</i>I hear people complain about the meaninglessness of life. Some get to the
point that they’re even ready to give up on life – not for it’s hardships, but
just it’s boredom; it’s monotony. No purpose.<br />
<br />
That is what King Solomon found whenever he looked at life on earth without
reference to God. You read his search in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He says
“meaningless, meaningless – life is meaningless”. It’s all in vain – it’s just
the passing of time. Without God we exist, but nothing more.<br />
<br />
Only God can turn empty years into full seasons.<br />
<br />
Here in Illinois we have 4 seasons. We’ve come into Autumn now – we’ll start to
see all those beautiful browns and golds – the leaves will start falling from
the trees. The winter will come. Cold days, snow and ice. Sitting by the fire
in my easy chair and a throw over me.
Trying to stay warm. Then we’ll
be well and truly ready for the spring. The warmth starts to return –
everything seems to brighten. And finally the Summer. Hot days, balmy nights – cook
outs and time with the family.<br />
<br />
Aren’t the seasons wonderful. Each of them has their own particular beauty. I
wouldn’t mind living in a warm climate year round. But it sure beats living
in Alaska where it is always cold and
dark.<br />
<br />
I love the seasons. My God created that. He hung the stellar bodies in place,
and marked out the seasons. Only HE can make the days and weeks flow together
in rhythm. Only He can put meaning and purpose into life.<br />
<br />
As a Christian we still experience difficult seasons – trials and hardships
(there’s the winter as well as the spring). But God makes even those times have
PURPOSE. You soon learn that “all things are working together for good for them
that love God and are the called according to His purpose.” As you look back on
tough times and see what God has done in your life through them, you’re even
glad you went through them.<br />
<br />
God turns empty years into full seasons.<br />
<br />
When we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>5. HE TURNS LACK TO ABUNDANCE.<br />
</b><br />
<i>Verses 20-25. So far there’s only plant
life – the earth has no inhabitants. God speaks again, and the waters teem with
life – every kind of fish and sea creatures. Schools and schools of millions of
species and varieties. The air is filled with birds of all kinds. Then animals
– so many exotic types – they fill the earth. From lack to abundance by the
simple word of God’s mouth.<br />
</i><br />
Without God, life is impoverished. And this has nothing to do with money. You
can be the richest person in America – the richest in the world – and have a
bankrupt life.<br />
<br />
God has caused the waters, and the air, and the land in my world to teem with
life. The more I yield to Him, the more His creative power can be active in my
life, the more abundance flows.<br />
<br />
Doors of opportunity in abundance. Joy in abundance. Revelation and truth in
abundance. Abundant wisdom. All of God’s richest blessings.<br />
<br />
Some people’s world is so small. So confined. They never see a new horizon
possible. They need God to speak abundance into their life.<br />
<br />
When we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>6. HE TURNS LONELINESS TO LOVE.<br />
</b><br />
<i>Verse 27. God finally created man and put
him in the garden, but chapter 2 explains how
Adam wasn’t complete. Up until that point, after every act of creation
God’s verdict was “it is good”. But when He created Adam he said: “it’s NOT
good” – the creation was wonderful; Adam was a fine specimen. But it was “not
good” that he was alone. So God created a woman, and brought her to Adam. He
saw the need, and He created the answer by the word of His mouth.<br />
</i><br />
How can you feel all alone among 6 billion people on this planet? People feel
it every day! People who live in huge metropolises feel isolated and lonely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
But when God is in our world, His creative power can turn loneliness into love.
First God filled my longing for love with His own self. Then he gave me Amberi.
Then 2 great kids. Some awesome and loyal friends. The whole family of God. He
fills my life with LOVE. He seems to have just continuously created it out of
nothing! That’s His power.<br />
<br />
Finally, when we bring God into our world …<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>7. HE TURNS POWERLESSNESS TO CONTROL.</b><br />
<br />
<i>Verse 28. When God had created
everything, he gave Adam “dominion” – mastery – over it all. He said, you
steward this. What an awesome responsibility – but Adam did it. He named the
animals. He tended the garden. Everything was working. But again, when he and
God were separated things were thrown into uproar. So for thousands of years
man has been wrestling to control the great forces of creation that are in
upheaval (Romans says that the whole creation is “groaning” because of the
devastation of sin.)</i><br />
<br />
People strive to be in “control” of their lives – to work everything out just
as they think it ought to be – to please themselves. And the result is that
their lives seem to get more and more OUT of control.<br />
<br />
The funny thing is you need to do the opposite. Instead of grasping for control
– you need to relinquish control to God. Let Him be the lord and Master.<br />
<br />
You see, in God’s economy everything is back-to-front. Have you figured that
out yet? The way to “greatness” – is DOWN – serving. The way to grow up strong
in God, is to become more and more like a little child. It’s all back to front!<br />
<br />
I was trying to undo the screws on a computer one day, and they wouldn’t budge.
And someone saw me struggling, and had a look at it for me. “Oh,” they said,
“these screws are reverse thread. You’re not undoing them, you’re tightening
them even more. To undo them you have to go the other way – clockwise.” It took
me 15 years to figure out how to use a screwdriver, and now they’ve changed the
rules!<br />
<br />
Everything in God’s kingdom is like that – it’s reverse thread! When you give
up “control” to God – yield your will over to His, He doesn’t manipulate you
like some robot or puppet with stringd. No. For the first time in your life, He
GIVES YOU BACK real control in your life. He’s going to direct you, and lead
you – but He enables YOU to manage life properly, with all His blessing. Through His Word.<br />
<br />
<i>“The fruit of the Spirit is …
SELF-CONTROL.” (Gal 6)<br />
“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a SOUND
MIND (self-control)” (2 Tim 1:7)<br />
<br />
</i><br /><b>
CONCLUSION</b><br />
<br />
Don’t you want this Creator God – with all His divine energies and mighty power
and unfathomable wisdom – don’t you want Him moving in your world?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All your situation is waiting for is one word from
God. He has given us His Word. This book and all of it’s promises. This book is alive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Just as God created all things out of nothing - to the degree that we submit
our personal world to God, He is able to create something beautiful even from
calamity and chaos.<br />
<br />
He gives us “Beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness – that we should be called the planting (the
creation) of the Lord!”</span></div>
revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-36376556217143998292013-03-08T15:40:00.002-08:002013-03-08T15:43:18.784-08:00Freedom From Failure<img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><B>Introduction:</B></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Luke
5:1-5 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to
hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And  they
saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out
of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of
the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out
a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of
the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch
out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon
answering said unto him, Master, </SPAN></I></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><I><B>we
have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">:
nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.“We have toiled
all the night, and have taken nothing.</SPAN></I></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Everyone
of you have fought the battle of failure.  There are many different
kinds of failure.  Not all failure is sin. Nobody wants to be a
failure.  And nobody has to be a failure.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">There
is a difference between experiencing failure and learning from
failure, even in suffering from failure, and actually being a
failure.  Everyone fails from time to time and hopefully we all learn
from experiences of failures, but here is an important distinction. 
Remember it well.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><B>I.
 To Fail Does Not Mean You Are A Failure</B></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">The
devil would like for you to believe that every time you make a
mistake, every time you stumble, every time you fail that you,
yourself are a failure.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Life
is more than a few happenings.  No one is a total failure and no one
has to fall all the time.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Satan
turns the magnifying glass upon our own mistakes and failures and
wants us to believe that our failures make us a failure.  The devil
likes blowing our failures out of proportion and he likes having us
believe that we are no good.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">The
bible says </SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">“<FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">My
little children, sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father,  Jesus Christ the righteous.”  </SPAN></I></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Jesus
prays for us.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Luke
22:31-32 says:</SPAN></I></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">¶A</SPAN></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">nd
the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren. </SPAN></I></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">On
the heels of every failure, you can look for Satan.  Chiding,
Sneering, Jeering, Blaming, Shaming, Condemning, Mocking, Accusing,
and Lying.  Pretending to be your friend, he tries to convince you
that because you have failed you are a failure.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>II.
 Failure Is Not A Disgrace</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">You
may think it is.  Others may think it is.  The devil wants you to
believe it is.  </SPAN></SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Romans
3:23 “ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”</SPAN></I></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Failure
is not a disgrace, or at least it doesn't have to be.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Illustration:
 </B></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Boxing
Champion James J. Corbett.  When asked “What's the most important
thing for a person to do to become the champion of the world.”
Corbett replied “Fight one more round.”</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Illustration:
</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Walt
Disney's rejected application to the Kansas City Star for a job as an
artist.  The editor sent him away, urging him to give up his idea.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">The
first time George Gershwin played the piano in public, they laughed
him off the stage. Anybody who knows any thing about american
composers knows about the music  he wrote.  Lullaby, Blue Monday and
Rhapsody in Blue are among some of his masterpieces.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Michael
Jorden was cut from his high school basketball team.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Jesus
looked like a failure for a few days.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Failure
is not a disgrace.  It's always too soon to give up.  God is not
dead.  He is still alive.  With God all things are possible.  He
wants to lift us up above our circumstances, above our failures,
above our mistakes, above our shortcomings and set our feet on the
Solid Rock, Jesus Christ!</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>III.
 No One Is A Failure Who Tries</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">The
only thing worse than a quitter is the fellow who is afraid to begin.
 I would rather attempt something great and fall than to attempt
nothing and succeed.  Achieving low aims, low goals, can be a greater
failure than aiming  for a higher target and missing.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Phillipians
3:14 says “I press toward the high mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.  </SPAN></I></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Paul
did not say I will coast toward the mark.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>IV.
 Failure Is Not For Ever</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Failure
need never be final.  You don't need to throw in the towel.  The ball
game isn't over until the last man is out.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Illustration:
 Cardinals 2011 season-David Freese.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">There
is always room for you to overcome and succeed.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">When
you know Jesus as your personal savior and Lord of your life you
become the child of the King.  Royal blood flows through your veins. 
A royal robe of righteousness is around your shoulders.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">The
next time the devil tries to tell you that you are a failure, that
you are a worthless, you look him straight in the eye and tell him he
is a liar.  When he reminds you of your past, you remind him of his
future.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">When
He talks to you he is talking to a child of the King.  He's talking
to a son or daughter of God.  God is your Father, Jesus is your elder
brother, angels are your guardians, heaven is your future home.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>V.
 Refuse To Be Paralyzed By A Fear Of Failure.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Overcome
your fears before they overcome you.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Illustration:</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Thomas
Edison was asked by a laboratory worker how he could go on after
thousands of failures.  Thomas Edison's reply was. “Failures? I
haven't failed. I have found thousands of combinations that will not
work.  As we know, he did not quit.  A few days later he invented the
light bulb.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Illustration:</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">
 There was a donkey who was placed between two luscious bales of hay.
</SPAN></SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">And
he starved to death trying to decide which one he was going to eat.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">That's
the way some people are.  They are paralyzed by fear.  We must refuse
tobe paralyzed by the fear of failure.  </SPAN></SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Illustration:
 </B></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">
Abraham Lincoln was defeated by a landslide when he ran for the
Illinois legislature.  Afterward he went into business with a partner
and it took 17years  to pay back all his debt. He ran for congress
and was badly defeated.  He was even denied an appointment to the
U.S. Land office.  In 1856 he was defeated in his candidacy for
vice-president. In 1858 he was defeated for a Senate seat by Douglas.
 But from the ruins and ashes of failures,  Abraham Lincoln was
elected President of the United States.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Failure,
don't be paralyzed by it.  You are not alone the Lord is with you. 
Stand still and see the glory of the Lord. </SPAN></SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>Closing</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">:</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">It
was dawn on the sea of Galilee.  The warming rays of the sun was
melting away the early melting mists.  Tired. Bedraggled, discouraged
fishermen were coming back to shore after a long night of labor
without any results.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">When
Jesus had told them to launch out into the deep and let down your
nets.  Peter shrugged his shoulders and said; “But Lord, we have
taken absolutely nothing.”  They had failed with a big capital “F”.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">“<FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Never
the less, Lord we will put down the nets.”  And that was faith with
a big capital “F”.  It is only faith that can replace failure. 
They did what Jesus said.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">They
had tried it their way and failed.  And that's what happens when we
try it our way.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">But
Peter turned around and did it Jesus' way.  He launched out into the
deep.  And  the results were astounding.  They caught so many fish
that their nets broke.  That is fullness . That's another big capital
“F”.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">God
wants you to have a life of fullness. Rather than a life of failure. 
God wants you to have a life of peace rather than a life of pieces.  
I tell you that when you do it God's way you will not go away empty. 
</SPAN></SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Maybe
you are disappointed in yourself in the frequency of your failures. 
I don't know of any more shattering disappointment than to be
disappointed in yourself, to be disappointed in not achieving your
personal goals.  But there is no disappointment in Jesus.  </SPAN></SPAN></FONT>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>I.
 To Fail doesn't mean you are a failure.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>II.
 You don't have to be disgraced by your failure.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>III.
 A person who keeps trying, is not a failure.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>IV.
 Failure is temporary.  It is never forever.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=4><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><B>V.
 You must not let the fear of failure paralyze you.</B></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P CLASS="western" ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
</BODY>
</HTML> " /><br />
<i>These are my sermon notes from February 17,2013</i><br />
<i>ENJOY!!! </i> <br />
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<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Introduction:</b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Luke
5:1-5 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to
hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And they
saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out
of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of
the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out
a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of
the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch
out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon
answering said unto him, Master, </span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>we
have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing</b></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">:
nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.“We have toiled
all the night, and have taken nothing.</span></i></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Everyone
of you have fought the battle of failure. There are many different
kinds of failure. Not all failure is sin. Nobody wants to be a
failure. And nobody has to be a failure.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
is a difference between experiencing failure and learning from
failure, even in suffering from failure, and actually being a
failure. Everyone fails from time to time and hopefully we all learn
from experiences of failures, but here is an important distinction.
Remember it well.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>I.
To Fail Does Not Mean You Are A Failure</b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
devil would like for you to believe that every time you make a
mistake, every time you stumble, every time you fail that you,
yourself are a failure.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Life
is more than a few happenings. No one is a total failure and no one
has to fall all the time.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Satan
turns the magnifying glass upon our own mistakes and failures and
wants us to believe that our failures make us a failure. The devil
likes blowing our failures out of proportion and he likes having us
believe that we are no good.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
bible says </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">My
little children, sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” </span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Jesus
prays for us.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Luke
22:31-32 says:</span></i></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">¶A</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">nd
the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren. </span></i></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
the heels of every failure, you can look for Satan. Chiding,
Sneering, Jeering, Blaming, Shaming, Condemning, Mocking, Accusing,
and Lying. Pretending to be your friend, he tries to convince you
that because you have failed you are a failure.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>II.
Failure Is Not A Disgrace</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
may think it is. Others may think it is. The devil wants you to
believe it is. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Romans
3:23 “ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”</span></i></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Failure
is not a disgrace, or at least it doesn't have to be.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Illustration:
</b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Boxing
Champion James J. Corbett. When asked “What's the most important
thing for a person to do to become the champion of the world.”
Corbett replied “Fight one more round.”</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Illustration:
</b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Walt
Disney's rejected application to the Kansas City Star for a job as an
artist. The editor sent him away, urging him to give up his idea.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
first time George Gershwin played the piano in public, they laughed
him off the stage. Anybody who knows any thing about american
composers knows about the music he wrote. Lullaby, Blue Monday and
Rhapsody in Blue are among some of his masterpieces.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Michael
Jorden was cut from his high school basketball team.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jesus
looked like a failure for a few days.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Failure
is not a disgrace. It's always too soon to give up. God is not
dead. He is still alive. With God all things are possible. He
wants to lift us up above our circumstances, above our failures,
above our mistakes, above our shortcomings and set our feet on the
Solid Rock, Jesus Christ!</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>III.
No One Is A Failure Who Tries</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
only thing worse than a quitter is the fellow who is afraid to begin.
I would rather attempt something great and fall than to attempt
nothing and succeed. Achieving low aims, low goals, can be a greater
failure than aiming for a higher target and missing.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Phillipians
3:14 says “I press toward the high mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. </span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Paul
did not say I will coast toward the mark.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>IV.
Failure Is Not For Ever</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Failure
need never be final. You don't need to throw in the towel. The ball
game isn't over until the last man is out.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Illustration:
Cardinals 2011 season-David Freese.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
is always room for you to overcome and succeed.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
you know Jesus as your personal savior and Lord of your life you
become the child of the King. Royal blood flows through your veins.
A royal robe of righteousness is around your shoulders.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
next time the devil tries to tell you that you are a failure, that
you are a worthless, you look him straight in the eye and tell him he
is a liar. When he reminds you of your past, you remind him of his
future.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
He talks to you he is talking to a child of the King. He's talking
to a son or daughter of God. God is your Father, Jesus is your elder
brother, angels are your guardians, heaven is your future home.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>V.
Refuse To Be Paralyzed By A Fear Of Failure.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Overcome
your fears before they overcome you.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Illustration:</b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thomas
Edison was asked by a laboratory worker how he could go on after
thousands of failures. Thomas Edison's reply was. “Failures? I
haven't failed. I have found thousands of combinations that will not
work. As we know, he did not quit. A few days later he invented the
light bulb.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Illustration:</b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
There was a donkey who was placed between two luscious bales of hay.
</span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
he starved to death trying to decide which one he was going to eat.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That's
the way some people are. They are paralyzed by fear. We must refuse
tobe paralyzed by the fear of failure. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Illustration:
</b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Abraham Lincoln was defeated by a landslide when he ran for the
Illinois legislature. Afterward he went into business with a partner
and it took 17years to pay back all his debt. He ran for congress
and was badly defeated. He was even denied an appointment to the
U.S. Land office. In 1856 he was defeated in his candidacy for
vice-president. In 1858 he was defeated for a Senate seat by Douglas.
But from the ruins and ashes of failures, Abraham Lincoln was
elected President of the United States.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Failure,
don't be paralyzed by it. You are not alone the Lord is with you.
Stand still and see the glory of the Lord. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Closing</b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
was dawn on the sea of Galilee. The warming rays of the sun was
melting away the early melting mists. Tired. Bedraggled, discouraged
fishermen were coming back to shore after a long night of labor
without any results.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
Jesus had told them to launch out into the deep and let down your
nets. Peter shrugged his shoulders and said; “But Lord, we have
taken absolutely nothing.” They had failed with a big capital “F”.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Never
the less, Lord we will put down the nets.” And that was faith with
a big capital “F”. It is only faith that can replace failure.
They did what Jesus said.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
had tried it their way and failed. And that's what happens when we
try it our way.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But
Peter turned around and did it Jesus' way. He launched out into the
deep. And the results were astounding. They caught so many fish
that their nets broke. That is fullness . That's another big capital
“F”.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">God
wants you to have a life of fullness. Rather than a life of failure.
God wants you to have a life of peace rather than a life of pieces.
I tell you that when you do it God's way you will not go away empty.
</span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Maybe
you are disappointed in yourself in the frequency of your failures.
I don't know of any more shattering disappointment than to be
disappointed in yourself, to be disappointed in not achieving your
personal goals. But there is no disappointment in Jesus. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>I.
To Fail doesn't mean you are a failure.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>II.
You don't have to be disgraced by your failure.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>III.
A person who keeps trying, is not a failure.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>IV.
Failure is temporary. It is never forever.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>V.
You must not let the fear of failure paralyze you.</b></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-10221027046708617912012-05-30T21:47:00.001-07:002012-05-30T21:47:21.576-07:00The Key to Pleasing God<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have you ever asked the question,
“What does it take to please God?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- There are some people who think
that the way you please God is through religious ritual. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You do certain kinds of rituals
and then God is pleased and you're in the in-crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But that's not true. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- There are others who think that
the way you please God is through rules and regulations – and that if you just
do certain things, then God will say, "You're okay."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But that doesn't please God
either. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Some people think that if my bad
works are real low and my good works are real high, and we kind of balance them
out, well, maybe God will grade on a curve and as long as I do more good than bad,
I'm okay – That's not true either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- The Bible says that there's only
one way that you can please God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- (Hebrews
11:6) <i>And <u>without faith it is impossible to please God</u>, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those
who earnestly seek him.</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- The only way you can please God is
by faith. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> Now, the
problem with that is that a lot of people think they have faith, but they
don't.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- How do I know I have the kind of
faith that gives me access into heaven?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Fortunately, in the book of James,
chapter 2, James tells us four things that faith is not – and then he tells us
what it is. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WHAT IS REAL FAITH? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Real faith is not just something you <u>SAY</u></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- (James 2:14)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>What good is it, my brothers, if a man <u>claims</u>
to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You might circle that word,
"claim".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He's not saying here that the guy
actually has faith, he says he just claims it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- In other words, he talks a good
line – He knows all the right phrases – He's got the jargon down pat – He knows
the language of Christianese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.5pt 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He claims faith, but that doesn't
mean he's necessarily possesses it. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- George Gallup says that there are
50 million people in America</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who say, "I am a
Christian."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But not all of those 50 million
can back it up with a Christian lifestyle. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And just because a person claims
it, doesn't mean they have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- The point I want to make here is
that real faith is more than just talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Not everybody who has a Christian
bumper sticker or Fish symbol on their car is a Christian – Have you figured
that one out?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I mean, you don't have to get more
than a couple rude hand gestures from the driver before you begin to figure,
“Hey, maybe that guy’s not a believer.” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- “He must have borrowed the car –
Or he bought it second-hand and couldn't scrape it off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Not everybody who claims to be a
believer really is – Faith is more than just something you say. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Real faith is not just something you <u>FEEL</u></span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- A lot of people confuse emotions
and feelings with faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- They come to a church service and
they are emotionally moved, they're inspired, and they're stimulated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- They get a quiver in their liver
and, you know, "Oh, man!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm
moved!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And they go out after the service
and maybe they've even cried or felt God's presence, and that’s great. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But just because you've felt God's
presence doesn't mean you have real faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- There's a big difference between
faith and feeling. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- (James 2:15-16) <i>Suppose a
brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him,
"Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about
his physical needs, what good is it?</i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He's saying here that faith is not
just mere sentimentality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You go out on the street and you
see some homeless person who's destitute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- They're poor, they're hungry,
they're cold, they need clothing and shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And you walk up to them and say,
"Cheer up," or "Don't worry, be happy!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- That's not faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- (1 John 3:17) <i>If anyone has
material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how
can the love of God be in him?</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Faith is practical – It gets
involved in people's hurts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And when you see a need, you do
something about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You don't just spout off and say,
"I'll pray for you." – You do something about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You see, if you're a Christian,
you're a part of the family of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And when you became a believer,
you became a part of this family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And as a result, you have some
family responsibilities. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- What are those family
responsibilities?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You care about it when other
Christians are hurt, or in pain, or grief, or sorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You say, "Well, I can't meet
everybody's needs!" – You're right – You can't.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But you can meet some – and it may
not make a difference to everybody, but it makes a difference to those people. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Real faith is not just something you <u>THINK</u></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You know, some people think of
faith as a philosophical quest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- It's something they want to
discuss and debate and argue about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And when they think about faith,
it's their mental stimulation, it's a concept to be debated, it's an idea to be
discussed, it's a principle to be bandied about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And we don't make any decision on
it, and we certainly don't make any commitment to it, we just discuss it. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Now James imagines this kind of
person in verse 18, this philosophical debater, he says, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(James 2:18</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">)</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> But someone will say, "You
have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will
show you my faith by what I do.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- What's he talking about here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He says, "Well, here's this
guy who says, "Hey! You're into faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hmmm. I'm into deeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Different
strokes for different folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You're into
that, I'm into this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let's debate
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let's talk about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let's discuss it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And James is making a point
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He's saying faith is not something
you debate – It's something you do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- The key phrase in here, and I want
you to circle this, is the phrase, "show me".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- "Show me your faith with o
deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Faith is odorless, it's colorless,
it's weightless – So how do you know when you've got it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- How do you know if you've got the
real kind of faith that pleases God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- How do you know you've got the
kind of faith that gets you into heaven?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Well, the Bible says to look at
your lifestyle, and real faith will show up in the way you are living your day
to day life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Faith is like calories – You can't
see them, but you can sure see the results. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And when a person really has
Christ in his or her life, you can see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And if you can't see it, you have
every reason to doubt, "Do I have the real, legitimate stuff? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- In America</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">today,
we have this gap between behavior and belief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And what we say we believe, we
don't always back up with our lifestyles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You might say, "Hey, Pastor,
you know my husband is a Christian." </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I say, "Oh, really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does he
hang out with other Christians, you know, fellowship?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"No."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- "Does he have any desire to
go to church?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you ever see him read
the Bible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you hear him pray on a
regular basis?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does he tithe his income?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does he share his faith with anybody, ever
tell anybody about Christ?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"No"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- "Then how do you know he’s a
Christian?" – "Well, he thinks he is." </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But just because you think it,
doesn't mean it's so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Faith is not something you think,
or that you feel, or that you say. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- It's much more than that – If it’s
real, it will show up in your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- If you were to walk out of here after
the service and you were to stick your hand into a 220 voltage socket, you'd
get connected to the power source, and you would know it – and your body would
show it. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Well, God is a far greater power
source than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And I don't think it is possible
for God to come into your life with o changing you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And when people say, "Oh, I
have Christ in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe in
Christ."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And you say, "Well, how are
you different?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- If they don't know any difference,
you have every reason to doubt if they've got the real thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I don't believe somebody as big as
Jesus Christ can come into your life and not change you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Because when Jesus moves into the
house, He starts rearranging the furniture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And all of a sudden, your values
change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Things that used to be important
to you are cheap thrills now–and you see through it </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And you've got a whole new set of
values and all of a sudden, you're concerned about other people who are
Christians and all of a sudden you're concerned about serving God, not just
making money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And all of a sudden, you're
concerned about things that are going to last for eternity -- not just what's
going to happen tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Your whole life starts taking on
new meaning and new purpose and new significance and new value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Real faith always produces a
changed life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Real faith is not just something you <u>BELIEVE</u></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- A lot of people have strong
beliefs about Jesus Christ, strong beliefs about God, strong beliefs about the
Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I mean, they went to catechism,
they know the creed, they know the religion, they've got the doctrine down,
"I believe in this and that and this and that . . ."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and all those kind of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Oh, they have great beliefs! – But
that's not enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And James points this out, he uses
a little sarcasm here in v. 19, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(James
2:19</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">)</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> You believe
that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
says, "Big deal!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You're not doing
anything different than Satan does."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Satan believes in God, but you're
not going to find him in heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he hasn't made a commitment. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You see, I believe in George
Washington – But I'm not a Washingtonian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But I believe in Jesus Christ and
I'm a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I have committed my life to Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have accepted Him as Lord. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I’ve gone beyond a merely
intellectual belief in His existence, to a belief that says “I trust You”, “I’m
turning over my life to You.” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- A lot of people are going to miss
heaven by 18 inches, because they've got it up here, in their head, but they
don't have it here, in their heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- They've got a head knowledge – but
let’s see it in your life. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- “Well, I’m Baptist”, Good, glad to
hear it! "Well, I'm Catholic."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fantastic!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"I’m Presbyterian," Fantastic!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"I'm from the Independent Christian Church, Restoration
Movement." Well, Good for you! "I'm Lutheran." Fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Listen, that’s all fine and good,
but there's no verse in the Bible that says, "Religion is the way to
heaven." – Because it's not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Jesus didn't say, "I've come
so that you might have religion."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or rules, or regulations, or rituals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He said, "I've come that you
might have life." – It's a relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Real faith is not just something
you believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Real faith is something you <u>DO</u></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(James 2:20</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NLT)</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fool! When will you ever learn that faith
that does not result in good deeds is useless?</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- He's saying, how will you know
that you've got real faith?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You look at your lifestyle and see
what kind of actions follow as a result of it. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You say, "How do I visibly
show that I have faith?" </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Well, the first thing you need to
do is to be baptized if you haven’t yet. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- That's the very first command of
Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- In Baptism I am publicly
identifying myself with Christ, and with His Body, the Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Once a little boy asked,
"Pastor, when can I get advertised?"—I like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Because that's what baptism is –
Baptism is an advertisement for Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Baptism is saying to the world,
"I'm not ashamed to say I'm a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I'm not ashamed to follow the first command of Christ, to identify
myself as a believer."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- What else do you do? – You start
following the other commands of Christ – Our faith is proven by the way we
live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Now, please don't misunderstand me
– This is too important to misunderstand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You ask, "Are you saying that
I've got to work my way to heaven?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- "Are you saying that I've got
to do good works to be saved?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.
No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Good works are not the root of
salvation, they are the fruit of salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- They don't make you a Christian,
they show that you are a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- They don't deliver salvation; they
demonstrate salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You do good works not to get it
but because you've already got it – It's proof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Only by trusting Christ can you be
saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- But the proof that you have
trusted Christ is shown in your lifestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And if there's no proof out there,
you have every reason to doubt whether you've ever really tuned in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- A good passage that shows both of
these truths together is Ephesians 2:8-10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- (Eph 2:8-10) <i>For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's
workmanship, <u>created in Christ Jesus to do good works</u>, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. </i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TWO IMPORTANT FACTS: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
basis for my salvation is <u>GOD’S GRACE</u></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I can't earn it – I never will – I
don't deserve it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- It's just a free gift that I
accept, and I trust God to come through on His promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I accept what Christ did for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- The basis of my salvation is God's
grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The proof of my salvation is <u>MY MINISTRY</u></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You say, "Do I have a
ministry?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, you do if you're a
believer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- What is ministry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ministry is just a $10 word that means
serving God by serving other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- The Bible says that you have a
ministry if you're a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- That you are called to serve – You
are saved to serve – It’s part of the deal. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- What am I saying?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me just summarize all of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- I'm saying that if your faith doesn't
work, if there's no evidence of it, then it's not real faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- And you need to settle that
issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Some of you need, today, to say,
"I want to settle the issue today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I want to start, not just to believe in Christ, but I want to follow
Him."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's real faith. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Now, let me ask you, what are you
going to do as a result of today's message?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Specifically, as you walk out of
here, what are you going to do about it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You could say, "Oh, I heard
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I thought about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I felt it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I believed it.” But that's not enough. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- What are you going to do about
what you've heard today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You need to ask God, "What's
the next step in my life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Some of you need to be
baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- You believe that Jesus is who He
claimed to be, and you need to identify with Him in this way as you begin your
journey. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Others need to discover your
ministry. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-77435979034980632712012-02-28T20:45:00.000-08:002012-02-28T20:45:06.736-08:00Don't Drink The Hot Kool-Aid!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NwTsZHGQ6FE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-84801074267236302362012-02-24T08:28:00.001-08:002012-02-24T08:29:02.606-08:00There's Power in ChristI revised this from my sermon last week. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ephesians 3:14-3:21 <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b> Three people were arguing about what profession was used first in the bible. The Surgeon says, "The Medical profession was used first when God took a rib from Adam and made Eve.<br />
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The Engineer says, "No, engineering was used first. Just think of the engineering job it took to create the world out of chaos. But the Politician says, "You would have nothing if we didn't create chaos in the beginning?”<br />
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I think politicians see themselves as men and women of power, but I think most Americans view them as creating chaos in our country. Power is not found in politics. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> I think we have some really good things available to us in Christ but often, we don’t even realize it! And we don’t put these things to use in life. And one of them is the power to overcome obstacles and difficulties in life.<br />
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Paul tells how to receive power for life.<br />
1- Power through prayer<br />
2- Power through Spirit<br />
3- Power through love <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I. POWER THROUGH PRAYER<br />
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</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.<br />
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Preacher John Wesley said, “I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” Could this be the reason that he was able to accomplish so much for Christ during his lifetime? <br />
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John Wesley traveled two hundred and fifty miles a day for 40 years. He rode 250,000 miles in his lifetime. He preached forty thousand sermons (2 or 3 times a day); produced four hundred books; knew ten languages. At eighty-three he was annoyed that he could not write more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes, and at eighty-six he was ashamed he could not preached more than twice a day. He complained in his diary that there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morning.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He was quite a man, quite a preacher man! And you could easily see why he accomplished much for Christ.<br />
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Abraham Lincoln said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> I wonder why Abraham Lincoln wanted to go any other places before going to God in prayer! Why didn’t Lincoln want to go to God first? Why don’t we turn to God first instead of turning to Him as a last resort?<br />
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It’s like what Corrie Ten Boom said about prayer. She said, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” Why not make the Lord in prayer your steering wheel instead of your spare tire?! “Jesus, take the wheel!”<br />
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Matthew 7:7-11 7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Luke 11:1 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”<br />
</i><br />
Why did the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray? What did they see in the prayer life of Jesus that made them want to learn to pray? Could it be that Jesus received power through prayer, power through talking to His heavenly Father?<br />
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There is great power through prayer, but not because of who we are, but because of who He is!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">II. POWER THROUGH SPIRIT</b><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, <br />
</i><br />
An American with an English gentleman was viewing the Niagara whirlpool rapids, when he said to his friend: “Come, and I’ll show you the greatest unused power in the world.” And taking him to the foot of Niagara Falls, “There,” he said, “is the greatest unused power in the world!”<br />
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“Ah, no, my brother, not so!” was the reply. “The greatest unused power in the world is the Holy Spirit of the living God.”<br />
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There is some truth to this story and that is, the Holy Spirit is a spirit of great power. He waits to give us strength to serve the Lord, but He is not to be used, but rather we are to be used by Him!<br />
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- It was said of the famous preacher, Dwight L. Moody of 1800‘s, that he didn’t have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit but that the Holy Spirit had a monopoly on him!<br />
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THIS IS OUR NEED TODAY. The Holy Spirit needs to have a monopoly on our lives and when He does, we will experience greater power for life and service.<br />
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E. M. Bounds wrote: “The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer."<br />
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D.L Moody said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. <br />
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“But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled." AMEN. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And the Holy Spirit.<br />
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If the Holy Spirit is indeed the third person of the Godhead, and He is, then we need Him just as much as we need God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus as our Savior! <br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">John 16:7-13 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. <br />
</i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”<br />
</i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.<br />
</i><br />
The Holy Spirit can strengthen our inner being or our human spirit if we ask God for His strength. But what if we don’t ask? Does this mean that we have to go it alone or without help? I don’t know but I sure don’t want to try to do things on my own. I want to rely on God’s Spirit to strengthen me for life and service. I can’t serve or teach and preach without His help! Maybe you can, but I can’t.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">III. POWER THROUGH LOVE<br />
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</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">17 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">measure of all the fullness of God.</i> <br />
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Rooted and established in love. Is there anything better than this? God is love so is there anything better than being established in love? And when you love like God loves people, there is great power. <br />
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Here is a love story. It’s called: CYMBALA'S EASTER STORY. Jim Cymbala preaches at a church in the slums of New York. He tells the following story: It was Easter Sunday and I was so tired at the end of the day that I just went to the edge of the platform, pulled down my tie and sat down and draped my feet over the edge. <br />
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“It was a wonderful service with many people coming forward. The counselors were talking with these people. As I was sitting there I looked up the middle aisle, and there in about the third row was a man who looked about fifty, disheveled, filthy. He looked up at me rather sheepishly, as if saying, “Could I talk to you?” We have homeless people coming in all the time, asking for money or whatever. So as I sat there, I said to myself, though I am ashamed of it, “What a way to end a Sunday. I’ve had such a good time, preaching and ministering, and here’s a fellow probably wanting some money for more wine.” <br />
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He walked up. When he got within about five feet of me, I smelled a horrible smell like I’d never smelled in my life. It was so awful that when he got close, I would inhale by looking away, and then I’d talk to him, and then look away to inhale, because I couldn’t inhale facing him. I asked him, “What’s your name?” “David.” “How long have you been on the street?” “Six years.” “How old are you?” “Thirty-two.” He looked fifty--hair matted; front teeth missing; wino; eyes slightly glazed. “Where did you sleep last night, David?” “Abandoned truck.” <br />
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I keep in my back pocket a money clip that also holds some credit cards. I fumbled to pick one out thinking; I’ll give him some money. I won’t even get a volunteer. They are all busy talking with others. Usually we don’t give money to people. We take them to get something to eat. <br />
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I took the money out. David pushed his finger in front of me. He said, “I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus, the One you were talking about, because I’m not going to make it. I’m going to die on the street.” <br />
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I started to weep for myself. I was going to give a couple of dollars to someone God had sent to me. See how easy it is? I could make the excuse I was tired. There is no excuse. I was not seeing him the way God sees him. I was not feeling what God feels. <br />
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But oh, did that change! David just stood there. He didn’t know what was happening. I pleaded with God, “God, forgive me! Forgive me! Please forgive me. I am so sorry to represent You this way. I’m so sorry. Here I am with my message and my points, and You send somebody and I am not ready for it. Oh, God!” <br />
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Something came over me. Suddenly I started to weep deeper, and David began to weep. He fell against my chest as I was sitting there. <br />
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He fell against my white shirt and tie, and I put my arms around him, and there we wept on each other. The smell of His person became a beautiful aroma. Here is what I thought the Lord made real to me: If you don’t love this smell, I can’t use you, because this is why I called you where you are. This is what you are about. You are about this smell. <br />
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Christ changed David’s life. He started memorizing portions of Scripture that were incredible. We got him a place to live. We hired him in the church to do maintenance, and we got his teeth fixed. He was a handsome man when he came out of the hospital. They detoxed him in 6 days. He spent that Thanksgiving at my house. He also spent Christmas at my house. When we were exchanging presents, he pulled out a little thing and he said, “This is for you.” It was a little white hanky. It was the only thing he could afford. <br />
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A year later David got up and talked about his conversion to Christ. The minute he took the mic and began to speak, I said, “The man is a preacher.” <br />
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This past Easter we ordained David. He is an associate minister of a church over in New Jersey. And I was so close to saying, “Here, take this; I’m a busy preacher.”<br />
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We can get so full of ourselves. There is great power in living a life of love.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.<br />
</i> </span></div>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-28666370943025800852012-01-20T10:58:00.000-08:002012-01-20T10:58:11.597-08:00Facing The Wilderness of Life<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"> <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> I adapted my sermon last Sunday for this post.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">2 Kings 3:1-3:21 <br />
<br />
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">In the context of our country’s history, we don’t think about wilderness in the same light as the biblical wilderness. <br />
<br />
We grew up hearing about Daniel Boone and the wilderness...meaning the woods and forests. <br />
But in the Bible, when the writers spoke of the wilderness, they were referring to desert regions.<br />
<br />
Picture in your mind a dry place where nothing green grows.<br />
Everything in the wilderness is brown and unappealing to the eye.<br />
The environment of the wilderness is void of any brightened colors, ranging from brown to browner. (Is that a word?)<br />
<br />
Everything in the wilderness has adapted itself to live in this type of climate.<br />
It rarely rains in the wilderness, and when it does, plants store the moisture they need because there is no guarantee when it will rain again.<br />
<br />
When we, as Christians are going through our wilderness experience, we must be like the trees and the other animals of the wilderness.<br />
We must learn to adapt our faith to the challenges that a wilderness brings.<br />
<br />
The animals in the wilderness have learned to travel and hunt at night because it is cooler at night.<br />
<br />
Spiritually, we too must learn to find a place where the Lord can minister to us in our wilderness.<br />
It is a place where He can give us instruction about what to do next.<br />
<br />
Like the trees that store up water, uncertain of when it will rain again, we must store up His Word in our hearts.<br />
<br />
Many of us are living in the wilderness for various reasons.<br />
<br />
The wilderness is a place of dying. <br />
It is a place where all the things that cause you to stumble in your walk with God are killed.<br />
<br />
If you have ever watched a movie where people have gone into the desert with little or no understanding of life in the wilderness, they often did not survive there.<br />
Since they had no one to help or advise them, they tried to fight the elements in their own strength.<br />
<br />
In the same manner, many of us have spiritually been in the wilderness, and we have tried unsuccessfully to fight the battle in our own strength.<br />
You see, the wilderness is a place where God says, <br />
"I finally have you in a place where I can speak to you."<br />
<br />
In our text today, we find that because Jehoram was unprepared for life in the wilderness, he needed someone who knew something about the wilderness.<br />
Therefore, he asked for Jehoshaphat’s help.<br />
<br />
Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that you can be fully prepared for life in the wilderness.<br />
Sometimes, God leads us abruptly into the wilderness.<br />
He might have been trying to get you to come to Him or to get you to take your spiritual life more seriously.<br />
<br />
Perhaps He has been trying to draw your attention to the call that He has placed on your life.<br />
<br />
God loves you so much that he is willing to take a risk on you and lead you into the wilderness experience.<br />
<br />
Understand, God will not override our will.<br />
But He also knows that it really is our desire to do His will.<br />
So He takes you into the wilderness experience.<br />
That time when it is not pretty.<br />
It’s dry. It’s Hot! It is trying...<br />
<br />
He knows that here in the wilderness, you will either serve Him or reject Him. <br />
<br />
You may say, " Lord, where ever You lead, I will follow...even through the wilderness".<br />
Or you may decide to say, "I can’t deal with this. I quit."<br />
<br />
God knows that we must be tried in the fire so that we can become pure as gold. <br />
So he brings us into the wilderness experience to perfect our faith.<br />
<br />
Can I tell you that you cannot have all pleasure with out pain.<br />
And you can’t truly enjoy the good times without adversity!<br />
<br />
Your faith is perfected in the furnace of affliction and adversity.<br />
There is something about going through dilemmas and crises that brings us to the place where we discover things about God which we would not have known under other circumstances!<br />
<br />
The sins in Jehoram’s life prevented him from walking with God like he should have.<br />
His relationship with God was superficial.<br />
However, when he got in trouble, whenever he needed God as a fire escape.<br />
He called on God only when things where going bad.<br />
In essence, he wanted to use God as his servant, rather than serve God.<br />
He was interested in God only if God served his own selfish purpose.<br />
<br />
Many of us have tried to use God for personal gain.<br />
We view God as a spiritual Santa Claus who is there at our every whim, one who will bring us gifts and presents that are beyond our reach.<br />
The only time some talk to Him is when they need something from Him!<br />
<br />
If a loved one becomes terminally ill, we immediately call on Him.<br />
We are ready to beat down the pastor’s door so that he can pray for us, or we call on the saints and implore their prayer and support.<br />
<br />
But for some, as soon as the problem is over, what happens?<br />
<br />
They slump right back into the backslidden state that they were in before the problem jolted them to pray.<br />
Can I tell you.... that is precisely the reason that some folks are constantly in a problem!<br />
<br />
You see, God is fully aware of the sad fact that should we have all our needs met, we will never seek Him with all our hearts.<br />
<br />
Like the children of Israel, we tend to become arrogant, prideful, and forget the fact that we must fully acknowledge God in times of prosperity AND adversity!<br />
<br />
Old Jehoram was pretty smart, and he knew something about God.<br />
He realized that he did not have a solid relationship with the Lord, <br />
...so he courted the friendship of someone who did.<br />
<br />
He said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "I have go to go out to fight and I want you to fight with me".<br />
<br />
Jehoshaphat says, "If you are going to war, I will go with you. <br />
My people are your people. I’m going to assume the responsibility of getting you the victory and all my captains and warriors are at your disposal".<br />
<br />
So, now that the union has been made, and Jehoshaphat has committed himself to bring home the victory, the next question to address is, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"How do we go about it?"<br />
<br />
They began to seek the mind of God on the matter.<br />
One of the servants of the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat about Elisha who had the word of the Lord.<br />
<br />
So Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and the king of Edom set out to see Elisha, the prophet of God.<br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2K 3:13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. <br />
2K 3:14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of<br />
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor<br />
see thee. (KJV)<br />
</i><br />
You know, there are times that we are so obsessed with our destination that we forget that we must go through various phases to get there.<br />
<br />
For example, when a woman is pregnant, it is apparent to all that she is carrying a baby.<br />
After the baby is born, all we see is a beautiful baby.<br />
We forget that there is a process of bringing that baby into the world......a process that is painful, for both the mother and the child!<br />
<br />
For the mother, it is the process of pushing this delicate life our of her body where it has lived snugly for nine long, peaceful months.<br />
For the baby, it is the process of being pushed into a place that it perceives to be unfriendly and cold, very different from the home it had occupied for nine months.<br />
<br />
Just like the baby in it’s mother’s womb, we may have to let go of something that has become part of us. The comfortable place.<br />
<br />
We are always confessing that we want the perfect will of God for our lives, but we must not forget the fact that we must conquer the obstacles that stand in the way of our future success in which God’s ultimate will is realized.<br />
<br />
King Jehoshaphat asked the question, "How shall we go up against Moab to get victory?"<br />
<br />
The unexpected answer was, "You have to go through the wilderness of Edom to get the victory."<br />
<br />
Listen to me church, If you want to get the victory, you must be willing to go through the wilderness.<br />
<br />
I want to reiterate this fact:<br />
It is not always easy to get the victory because it belongs to the other side of the wilderness! <br />
<br />
You must be willing to go through a little time of abasement, confusion, adversity, and even opposition before you arrive at your destination.<br />
<br />
Many think that it is unfair to go through this phase.<br />
<br />
But you see, it is the wilderness that weeds out the saints from the "aints".<br />
<br />
It is the wilderness that weeds out the people who really want to do something for God from people who just have a momentary, superficial, mundane relationship with Him.<br />
<br />
It is the wilderness that makes a hypocrite back up and say, <br />
"I can’t take it anymore".<br />
<br />
The wilderness, God’s killing field, will weed out all the impostors because they cannot survive the adversity of the wilderness.<br />
<br />
I want to warn you that you will have to go through the wilderness to attain the will of God for your life.<br />
<br />
The wilderness teaches us to stand;<br />
It teaches us to cast our cares upon Him;<br />
It teaches us to rely and totally depend on Him for life support, because we know in due season we shall reap if we faint not!<br />
<br />
<br />
Some can’t handle the smallest problems.<br />
Some feel that the hardships placed on their path indicate that God either has forsaken them or is punishing them for some sin they have committed.<br />
<br />
The devil has successfully employed that lie to deter folks from seeking the Father.<br />
Don’t for a moment think that you can do it on your own.<br />
You will fail miserably.<br />
<br />
Remember the story of Joshua and Caleb.<br />
When the spies had been sent in to Canaan, and the report came back, Joshua and Caleb were the only two with a good report.<br />
They were the only ones of faith.<br />
<br />
Had they tried to enter into Canaan on their own strength or cognizance, they would have perished in the wilderness.<br />
<br />
Even when life in the wilderness became dull and unappealing, they did not stop seeking God.<br />
They continued to rely on His guidance.<br />
<br />
We need to be like Joshua and Caleb, and be persistent in faith even in the wilderness where problems are at their worst.<br />
<br />
The greatest battle that we face while we are in the wilderness is the one between the new and the old man.<br />
<br />
The old man that God is trying to kill in the wilderness refuses to die.<br />
It wants to resurrect old hurts and old problems.<br />
But as new creatures in Christ Jesus, we must put the old man to death.<br />
<br />
Despite the situations that you may be facing, you must constantly remind yourself that you are a new creature and the old man is DEAD!<br />
<br />
Let me tell you something this morning...<br />
My God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.<br />
There is nothing too hard for Him!<br />
There is nothing that He cannot handle!<br />
Because we know who we are in Christ Jesus and what we mean to our heavenly Father, Satan tries to discourage us.<br />
<br />
He tries to use sickness, financial problems, family stress and anything and everything you can think of to incapacitate us.<br />
<br />
The question that you must ask yourself is, "Who is my God?" "Whom do I serve?"<br />
Then answer the question.... "My God is the way Maker." <br />
The Bible says that if God be for us, who can be against us?<br />
<br />
* God is so real in my inward man.<br />
<br />
* He has not only washed away all my sins, but He has filled my<br />
cup with His love so that my cup bubbles over.<br />
<br />
* He is the Lover of my soul.<br />
<br />
* He is the Answer to my every need.<br />
<br />
* He is my Burden-Bearer,<br />
<br />
Now, maybe you are the kind of person who can handle everything that comes your way, but I can’t!<br />
<br />
However, I know someone who is able to take it!<br />
His name is Jesus!<br />
<br />
<br />
The enemy fights those who know who they are and whose they are.<br />
The Bible affirms that God is Faithful.<br />
<br />
Are you aware that the more the enemy fights you, the greater the indication that blessings are on the way?<br />
<br />
You must become aware of this fact as a Christian!<br />
If you do not know this about your life, you cannot make it.<br />
<br />
You have got to know that it is because you are on the verge of a miracle that the devil is fighting you.<br />
<br />
He is fighting you so hard because you are getting closer to your<br />
deliverance, and the closer you get, the greater the struggle!<br />
<br />
If you hold out a little while longer, God’s going to give you the victory in every circumstance of your life.<br />
<br />
I am learning to be encouraged when I meet with obstacles because I see them as an indication of a fresh move of God in my life.<br />
<br />
Now let me tell you, when you are in the wilderness, you must find out what the plan of God is for you.<br />
<br />
You cannot rely on anyone else’s plan.<br />
Only a plan from God will suffice in the wilderness.<br />
<br />
God has not promised that you will not go through hardship.<br />
And He has not promised that you will not experience adversity.<br />
<br />
But listen to what He does say,<br />
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.<br />
When you go through the flood, I’ll be there.<br />
Should you have to go through fire, I will be there.<br />
As I was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, so will I be with you.<br />
I will be the forth One in the furnace!"<br />
<br />
I am so very grateful that the Lord’s been walking with me these past 34 years.<br />
<br />
I say this, not because I have not been through anything, or that I have not faced various challenges and dark moments in life, <br />
but rather because I do recognize that the Lord has been with me in the fiery furnace.<br />
He has protected me from the scorching of the flames.<br />
When the pressure and the flames seemed as if they would engulf me, His words of assurance would comfort me.<br />
<br />
There are many who would have lost their mind had the Lord not been on their side.<br />
<br />
They would have gone crazy and lost control, but the Lord comforted them in their darkest hour.<br />
<br />
It is not that we did not go through the wilderness, but when we went through it, God was with us. <br />
God will be with you when mama, daddy, sister, and brother leave.<br />
<br />
When the folks you thought would be with you all the way, walk out of the door, God says, "Lo, I am with you always even unto the ends of the world."<br />
<br />
You need not fear the wilderness if you take God with you everywhere you go.<br />
<br />
I must take Him with me everywhere I go, or else I would fall on my face.<br />
<br />
I truly need the Lord for I cannot function without Him.<br />
I need Him in the morning;<br />
I need Him in the noon day;<br />
I need Him when the sun is down.<br />
I need Him to run this church.<br />
I need Him to teach me how to be a good father.<br />
I need Him to be a good husband.<br />
<br />
Don’t you try anything without God, because you will not succeed.<br />
<br />
The enemy may come to discourage you.<br />
He may whisper to your mind that you are all alone.<br />
He will tell you that God will not help you or that you have committed a horrible sin that has brought God’s wrath on you.<br />
Don’t you buy that stuff for even a minute.<br />
<br />
Satan thinks that he catches the Lord by surprise, but oh, is he wrong!<br />
<br />
God is a God of plans.<br />
He is a God of order.<br />
As the God who knows all things, He is never surprised by the attack of the enemy.<br />
<br />
While the enemy is planning his strategies, <br />
God has already made a counter plan for him. <br />
<br />
He has already made a way of escape for you.<br />
Now, you must trust Him!<br />
<br />
Peter asked the Lord if he could join Him on the sea.<br />
After the Lord told Him to come, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the sea until he took his eyes off of Jesus.<br />
<br />
Maybe you are in trouble right now.<br />
<br />
Maybe you are hearing this sermon, and you are trying to find answers to your situation.<br />
<br />
Maybe you have been trying to run your life without God, or you have been trying to deal with your wilderness without God’s help.<br />
<br />
You may be convinced that you know what you are doing and that you are not obligated to listen to anyone.<br />
<br />
Be careful, for pride comes before a fall.<br />
My friend, you do need God.<br />
You need Him to help you hold your mind together.<br />
<br />
You need Him when you are at the breaking point and people have disappointed you.<br />
<br />
Can I tell you something....<br />
Nobody else but God will get up with you at 4:00 a.m. and hold you in His arms.<br />
<br />
Nobody else but God can comfort you when you are depressed.<br />
<br />
Only God can supernaturally soothe your nerves and quell your worries.<br />
<br />
Only He can give you that peace that passes all understanding.<br />
<br />
When the Bible talks about peace that passes all understanding,<br />
it refers to a peace that is anointed!<br />
<br />
When people look at your situation, and then look at you, they will be confused.<br />
They will say, "Why is he/she so peaceful? <br />
Doesn’t he realize that it is hopeless?"<br />
<br />
It is simply the God-given peace that you enjoy.<br />
Try it. Believe me, you will like it!<br />
<br />
God says, "It’s gonna be alright. <br />
Just trust Me, just lean on Me, and look to Me for total deliverance!"<br />
<br />
You might not be able to see how it will work out, but you’ve got to trust that before it is all over, God’s going to give you the victory.<br />
You see, God’s Got a Plan!</span>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-82189466485439462272012-01-13T12:05:00.000-08:002012-01-13T14:15:26.950-08:00Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have had people ask me throughout my life, if I am a religious person. I usually reply no. I have a relationship with God. I don't need religion. This video does explain pretty well what I am talking about.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1IAhDGYlpqY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-74224678657025857202012-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:002012-01-06T09:31:13.478-08:00We must Peek, Push and Press in 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TdotwfaxJN1fP0Su0HCHFG_OdJ9GX8acz8kWJLLP6YjjiLL1UXFYgU-sDKGSe_xq0pup77RZB-eERBXOaTXAExZfyeu-3soDZeyS6zmh6c8pWdZ6II64S7b-3xBdyG8Vx2Xq3Q/s1600/2012newyear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TdotwfaxJN1fP0Su0HCHFG_OdJ9GX8acz8kWJLLP6YjjiLL1UXFYgU-sDKGSe_xq0pup77RZB-eERBXOaTXAExZfyeu-3soDZeyS6zmh6c8pWdZ6II64S7b-3xBdyG8Vx2Xq3Q/s320/2012newyear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyday and everything worked out just as you planned? Think about it, if every morning the sun was shining, the temperature was just right with a light breeze coming from the right direction. You made exactly the amount of money that you needed and had enough left over to do what you wanted, your kids never needed new shoes and your extended family never bothered you! And what if in your spiritual life you always understood the scripture, God always answered your prayers exactly like you thought He should, your body was always healed and no one ever got on your nerves? Wouldn't it be nice? But it usually isn't that way is it?<br />
But what if you could do something about where you are? What if there were simple steps that would enable you to reach beyond where you are to where God wants you to be? Would you be willing to take those steps? After all, we can't expect God to do everything...can we?<br />
Our walk with God is a journey and a covenant, there is nothing God cannot do, He is willing to do anything for His children, but there are somethings we have to do with Him to arrive at our destination:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Peek</b> -Perhaps our greatest need is to see what God is seeing, to have spiritual vision that enables us to see beyond the outward appearance and to see what is actually taking place around us. The amazing thing to me is that too often we believe that God doesn't really know what is actually taking place in our lives, we think He's surprised at the events of our lives and world, that unless we tell Him, He really doesn't have a clue...but He does. Just as Elisha had to remind his servant, God has to remind us, open your eyes and look, there are more for you than against you, surrounding you is an angelic host that is prepared to defend you and to deliver everything you have need of...just peek into the realm of heaven!<br />
<b>2. Push</b> -Sometimes we have to push some stuff out of the way, to get rid of the things that prohibit and hinder our progression. The Apostle Paul said that we have to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us in order that we may run and obtain the prize. But not do we push out the stuff, we push ourselves out of the box, out of our comfort zones, out of the nest so that we may fly! I have to admit, sometimes it's easier to stay in the nest than it is to fly, to do something we've never done before, to go where we've never been...you have to push yourself knowing that in every step you take God is with you!<br />
<b>3. Press</b> -The Apostle Paul we haven't arrived or received everything Christ died for us to receive, so we press forward. Pressing is more than getting up in the morning and saying, "Well, I think I'll be victorious today!" In fact, we are victorious because we are in Christ and He is in us. Pressing forward is the determined walk that says regardless of what takes place in my life I will keep moving, I will go forward until I have crossed the finish line!<br />
Today, take a moment to peek into what God is saying, push out the junk and push out from the safety zone and press forward into all that God has for you...It's going to be worth it!<br />
revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-38716342138117673162011-12-31T15:58:00.000-08:002011-12-31T15:58:15.970-08:00Phil Cross: You Do Not Owe Me One Thing Father.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FWnWW549ywA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>This song really blessed me. I'm sure it will bless you too.revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-37885590298360933822011-12-28T09:35:00.000-08:002011-12-28T09:35:12.877-08:00What! Me Worry?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I adapted this post from a sermon I preached back in November.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> The old sea captain was quizzing a new crew member to see how he’d do at sea. <br />
“What steps would you take if a sudden storm came up on the starboard?” he asked the young man.<br />
“Well, sir,” said the crew member, I’d throw out an anchor, sir.”<br />
“What would you do if another storm sprang up aft?”<br />
“I’d throw out another anchor, sir.”<br />
“But, what if a third storm sprang up forward?”<br />
“I’d throw out another anchor, sir.”<br />
“Just a minute, son,” said the captain. “Where in the world are you getting all these anchors?”<br />
“Well, sir. I’m getting them from the same place you’re getting all your </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">storms."<br />
<br />
The Bible tells us this world is filled with storms. The Bible is filled with stories of the storms that many of the great men and women of faith encountered in their lives. It matters not if you’re reading of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Samuel, Esther and others, each and every man and woman of faith encountered at least one crisis of faith. <br />
Even Jesus warned us repeatedly that life wouldn’t be easy for those who follow Him. <br />
<br />
BUT after having told us all that, the Bible tells us there is ONE thing we must not do.<br />
<br />
Jesus is with us in the midst of the storms the one thing we shouldn’t do is worry. He said “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Matthew 6:25<br />
<br />
Jesus said: don’t worry about your life.<br />
Don’t worry about where having enough to eat.<br />
Don’t worry about having good enough clothes to wear.<br />
DON’T WORRY.<br />
<br />
And other Scriptures say almost exactly the same thing:<br />
<br />
Psalm 55:22 tells us "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."<br />
Psalm 62:8 declares: "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."<br />
<br />
And in the New Testament we’re told the same thing:<br />
Paul wrote: "Do not be anxious for anything..." Philippians 4:6<br />
And Peter wrote: "Cast all your anxiety on him" I Peter 5:7<br />
<br />
So, I’m not supposed to worry.<br />
I’m not supposed to be anxious.<br />
<br />
But I do get anxious. I do worry.<br />
But, why?<br />
Why do I get anxious?<br />
Why do I worry?<br />
<br />
Well, you could offer all kinds of reasons:<br />
• I don’t have a job.<br />
• I don’t have much money.<br />
• I have a boatload of debt.<br />
• I’m going through a divorce.<br />
• My family’s falling apart.<br />
And the list could go on and on and on...<br />
<br />
But Bible tells me: In the midst of those difficulties in my life I’m not supposed to worry.<br />
<br />
Well, great!<br />
I feel better already!<br />
I mean, if I’d only know I shouldn’t be worrying, it would have been all better by now<br />
If I just wouldn’t be anxious life would be smooth sailing.<br />
If I didn’t worry all my problems would be solved.<br />
<br />
Is that way it works? <br />
<br />
<br />
No… it doesn’t work that way does it?<br />
Just because I decide not to worry doesn’t mean my troubles pack up and disappear.<br />
NOT worrying doesn’t SOLVE my problems.<br />
<br />
So then, why does God say that I shouldn’t be anxious or filled with worry if that doesn’t really solve anything?<br />
<br />
Well, the first thing we need to do here is go back to our original question:<br />
Why do I worry? <br />
Why do I get anxious?<br />
<br />
Well, the answer’s very simple actually <br />
I get anxious because something has happened that I can’t control. I don’t have the money, I don’t have the resources, I don’t have the ability, I don’t have the time...<br />
You name it, I ain’t got it.<br />
<br />
Essentially, the reason I worry is because there’s a problem and I can’t do anything about it.<br />
I can’t change it!<br />
I can’t fix it!<br />
I can’t do a single thing to alter my situation!<br />
<br />
So, I worry because I have a problem I can’t fix.<br />
Ok.<br />
But does worrying help me fix the problem?<br />
Jesus said “no”<br />
He asks "Can any of you - by worrying - add a single hour to your life?"<br />
Well, the answer, of course, is NO!<br />
Worrying can’t change that because worry doesn’t fix anything.<br />
<br />
AND SO what Jesus is saying is this: worrying is worthless.<br />
When your back is up against the wall... worrying is a worthless emotion.<br />
It doesn’t change anything... it’s a worthless reaction to my problems.<br />
<br />
In fact – worrying is worse than worthless.<br />
Worry NOT ONLY doesn’t change what you’re facing it just makes everything I DO face worse.<br />
<br />
Corrie Ten Boom said: <br />
“Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow<br />
It empties today of its strength.”<br />
<br />
In fact, worry NOT ONLY robs today of its strength, when worry takes over my thinking it robs ME... physically.<br />
<br />
Dr. Charles Mayo himself observed: <br />
"Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system. I have never known a man who died from overwork, but many who died from doubt."<br />
<br />
Worry is NOT the solution to our problems.<br />
<br />
Now Jesus said: “... do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34<br />
<br />
Each day has troubles. <br />
Even as a Christian you can’t avoid those troubles.<br />
But worry doesn’t help us... it hurts us.<br />
And SO we need to get it off our plate, we need to get it out of our minds, we need to remove it from our considerations. And we need to do that immediately if not sooner.<br />
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So, one of the reasons we worry is because there’s a situation we can’t control.<br />
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I hate to say it... but worrying is faith issue.<br />
And I say “I hate to say this” because I’ve been known to worry. To be anxious.<br />
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But right in the middle of His teaching on doubt Jesus says:<br />
”Oh Jerry of little faith.”<br />
No… that’s not what He said. He said “Oh you of little faith.”<br />
But He may as well have said my name… and your name… and your name.<br />
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He could have said “Jerry don’t you know? Don’t you understand “the PAGANS run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Mt 6:30&32<br />
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You see – WORRY is a faith issue.<br />
Worry is when I put more faith in my problems than I do in God’s promises.<br />
Let’s repeat that:<br />
Worry is when I put more faith in my problems than I do in God’s promises.<br />
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That’s why so many Scriptures stress looking on God in the midst of our difficulties: <br />
Psalm 55:22 declares "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."<br />
Psalm 62:8 declares: "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."<br />
And Peter writes in I Peter 5:7: "Cast all your anxiety on him for He cares for you." 7<br />
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You see, God is the doctor for my doubt. God is the antidote for my anxiety. He’s the fix for my lack of faith. And the Bible tells me that over and over and over again.<br />
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So if that’s true (and it is) how do I lay hold of God in the midst of my doubt & fears<br />
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Well 1st, Jesus says, it’s a question of what you look at.<br />
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23<br />
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If I focus on doubt and fear and anxiety and worry my eyes grow so dark that my whole body gets FULL of darkness. That doubt and fear will so invade my soul that I won’t be able to see anything else.<br />
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So Jesus says: focus your eyes in the somewhere else.<br />
“LOOK at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26<br />
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"SEE how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Matthew 6:29<br />
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Look at the birds.<br />
Look at the lilies of the field.<br />
When you and I get bogged down with doubt, we need to look around for God... pay attention to what He’s ALREADY done <br />
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That’s what Philippians 4 tells us:<br />
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!<br />
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.<br />
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<br />
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Rejoice in the LORD always and peace of God will guard my heart and mind?<br />
What am I supposed to rejoice in?<br />
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Well, Paul goes on to say “...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me— put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”<br />
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I need to think on the things God’s has already done.<br />
The things that are: True, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.<br />
And when I rejoice in those things that God has done THEN the peace of God will be with ME. Worry will be beaten back/ anxiety will disappear. And I will replace doubt and fear with the peace of God.<br />
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If we Remember, Rejoice and Give thanks, THEN the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.<br />
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So the first thing I can do to combat worry in my life is to change my focus from my problems to His Promises.<br />
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Then Jesus tells me a 2nd thing I can do:<br />
Right in the middle of his discourse on doubt and faith, Jesus says this<br />
”But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33<br />
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What does it mean to SEEK something?<br />
It means to hunt for it, search diligently.<br />
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Those of you who wear <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you ever misplaced the You knew <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>roughly where they were – they were in your house somewhere, and you <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>knew that because you can’t drive without them. You searched everywhere for those glasses… which was fairly difficult since YOU CAN’T SEE MUCH WITHOUT THEM.<br />
You eventually found them, but the process of searching for them was a little unnerving. You desperately wanted to find them.<br />
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In the same way, Jesus is saying we need to desperately want to find God’s Kingdom and His righteousness in our lives. It needs to be THE highest priority in our lives. And Jesus says that when we do that – He’ll reward us. <br />
That’s a common theme for things that important to God.<br />
We seek, He rewards.<br />
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Hebrews 11:6 says “... without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that HE REWARDS those who earnestly seek him.”<br />
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In order to please God I must believe not only that He’s out there somewhere. That He exists and I can’t see Him. In order to please God I have to have a faith that says He’s there and He’s willing to reward me if I earnestly seek Him.<br />
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So how can I seek Him and His Kingdom and His righteousness?<br />
Well, one way is to tithe<br />
In tithing I am seeking first - not MY kingdom – but His.<br />
In tithing I’m putting my money where my faith is... and I expect God to reward me.<br />
In tithing I am investing in the things that are important to God.<br />
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And that’s exactly what God says in Malachi 3:10 said would happen if I tithe: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not THROW OPEN THE FLOODGATES OF HEAVEN and POUR OUT SO MUCH BLESSING that you will not have room enough for it.”<br />
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We seek, He rewards.<br />
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Another way of seeking God and His kingdom and righteousness is in giving to others. Proverbs19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”<br />
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When I help the poor and the needy with my time and resources I have invested in God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness. And notice what God says he’ll do? <br />
We seek – He’ll reward.<br />
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And that’s just a couple of ways you can SEEK first His Kingdom and His righteousness.<br />
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One last thing: In Matthew 6:32 Jesus said “... your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”<br />
1. He knows what you need<br />
2. He knows whether you need food, or clothing... or something else.<br />
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Sometimes, food and clothing isn’t really what we need. Sometimes what we need is something else entirely.<br />
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A young man who wasn’t very religious once lost his job, and he grew more and more desperate about his situation, until at last he went to see an old preacher that he knew. <br />
He stood by the door and poured out his heart to the preacher... and then he angrily shouted "I’ve begged and begged God to say something to help me, preacher. Why doesn’t God answer?"<br />
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The old preacher, who was sitting across the room, spoke a reply so quiet the young man was unable to make it out. The young man stepped across the room. <br />
"What did you say?" he asked. <br />
The preacher repeated himself, again in a soft tone. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair.<br />
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"Sorry," he said. "I still didn’t hear you." <br />
With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. <br />
"God sometimes whispers," he said, "so we will move closer to hear him." <br />
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</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-11715266220628668172011-12-18T14:57:00.000-08:002011-12-18T14:57:55.151-08:00Some Christmas Facts?<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Christmas In The Old Testament</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">(The life of Jesus as told through the Old Testament. Written roughly 700 years before His birth) <br />
God spoke and said, "O Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2)<br />
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A Star shall come out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17). <br />
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Behold! The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)"<br />
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And the world rejoiced and cried out, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace! (Isaiah 9:6) <br />
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Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).<br />
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Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied." <br />
Then God declared, "By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 10-12)."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Why a Virgin Birth?</b></span><br />
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Every Christmas season our thoughts turn to the birth of Christ and to his mother, Mary. To some extent, we all take the nativity for granted. But why was Jesus born of a virgin? One answer, of course, is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: "Behold the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."<br />
But that's more descriptive than causal: why was it necessary in the first place? There are, of course, many profound theological issues inherent in the virgin birth. One way to view this issue is to address one of the problems it solves.<br />
The Problem<br />
God announced very early that His plan for redemption involved the Messiah being brought forth from the tribe of Judah1, and specifically from the line of David2. The succession of subsequent kings proved to be, with only a few exceptions, a dismal chain. As the succeeding kings of Judah went from bad to worse, we eventually encounter Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin), upon whom God pronounces a " blood curse" : "Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah."(Jeremiah 22:30)<br />
This curse created a rather grim and perplexing paradox: the Messiah had to come from the royal line, yet now there was a "blood curse" on that very line of descent! (I always visualize a celebration in the councils of Satan on that day. But then I imagine God turning to His angels, saying, "Watch this one!")<br />
The Solution<br />
The answer emerges in the differing genealogies of Jesus Christ recorded in the gospels. Matthew, as a Levi, focuses his gospel on the Messiahship of Jesus and presents Him as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Thus, Matthew traces the legal line from Abraham (as any Jew would) through David, then through Solomon (the . royal. line) to Joseph, the legal father of Jesus3.<br />
On the other hand, Luke, as a physician, focuses on the humanity of Jesus and presents Him as the Son of Man. Luke traces the blood line from Adam (the first Man) through to David -- and his genealogy from Abraham through David is identical to Matthew's. But then after David, Luke departs from the path taken by Matthew and traces the family tree through another son of David (the second surviving son of Bathsheba), Nathan, down through Heli, the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus4.<br />
Zelophehad<br />
One should also note the exception to the law which permitted inheritance through the daughter if no sons were available and she married within her tribe5.<br />
The daughters of Zelophehad had petitioned Moses for a special exception, which was granted when they entered the land under Joshua.<br />
I believe it was C.I. Scofield who first noted that the claims of Christ rely upon this peculiar exception granted to the family of Zelo-phehad in the Torah. Heli, Mary's father, apparently had no sons, and Mary married within the tribe of Judah. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, of the house and lineage of David and carrying legal title to the line, but without the blood curse of Jeconiah. [I believe that every detail in the Torah -- and the entire Bible -- has a direct link to Jesus Christ. "The volume of the book is written of me." (Psalm 40:7) [For a more detailed discussion, watch for our new book, Cosmic Codes -- Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity, presently in publication.]<br />
Earlier Glimpse<br />
This was no afterthought or post facto remedy, of course. It was first announced in the Garden of Eden when God declared war on Satan: " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."(Genesis 3:15)<br />
The "Seed of the Woman" thus becomes one of the prophetic titles of the Messiah. This biological contradiction is the first hint -- in the early chapters of Genesis -- of the virgin birth.<br />
John also presents a genealogy, of sorts, of the Pre-Existent One in the first three verses of his gospel6. The Prophet Micah also highlights this: " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."(Micah 5:2)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Christmas Questions & Answers</b></span><br />
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<b>WAS JESUS REALLY BORN DECEMBER 25th? </b><br />
Probably not. In Luke 2:1-5 we learn that Joseph and Mary were traveling to Bethlehem to register for a census (Rome wanted to know how many people there were so they would know how much was owed to them in taxes). It would be foolish to have so many people travel in the wintertime. The widely held belief is that Jesus was born in the spring, summer or early fall at the latest because the shepherds were more likely to be out in the fields that time of year. <br />
So why is Christmas on December 25th? In 336 AD the church decided to celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25th to offset the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. <br />
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<b>WHY WAS JESUS BORN IN BETHLEHEM? </b><br />
In Micah 5:2, we find a prophecy that tells us the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. If we go to the book of Ruth we find the connection between Jesus and Bethlehem. We discover that the Messianic line (Jesus' earthly family tree) began in Bethlehem. Ruth and her husband Boaz began the line when they had a child named Obed who was David's grandfather. <br />
There is a very old tradition that says that Ruth and Boaz began their family in the exact same location that Jesus was born some 1100 years later and the fields of Ruth 2 are the same fields the angels visited the shepherds in Luke 2. Another interesting connection is found in the meaning of Bethlehem. Bethlehem means "house of bread". An appropriate name for Jesus' birthplace because He referred to Himself as "the bread of life" (John 6:35). <br />
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<b>WHO WERE THE MAGI? </b><br />
The Magi (or Wise Men) were a priesthood of the Medes (known today as the Kurds). They were said to have great religious knowledge and held much political power. But how did they know Jesus was born? In Daniel 5:11 we read that Daniel was made Chief of the Magi. Daniel, no stranger to prophecy, must have taught about the coming of the Messiah. <br />
Because of their high standing and the fact they were traveling into Roman occupied territory, they were certain to have been escorted by many armed guards. This is why Matthew 2:3 says that Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled when they heard the Magi were looking for the true King of the Jews. Herod held that title and it was feared that this was an attempt to overthrow Roman rule! (Matthew 2:1-12). <br />
Their visit led to Herod ordering all male children two years old and under killed (Matt. 2:16-18). He had hoped that Jesus would be among the dead. The Magi presented Jesus with three gifts. Gold, which represented His Kingship, frankincense was a spice used in priestly duties and points to Jesus as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), and myrrh, an embalming ointment which anticipated His death. Together these gifts present a picture of the Savior: The King (gold) who is Holy (frankincense) and who came to be a Sacrifice for our sins (myrrh). <br />
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<b>WHAT WAS THE STAR THE MAGI FOLLOWED? </b><br />
There are all sorts of ideas about what the star the Magi saw really was in Matthew 2:2. Some have said it was a comet, others have said it was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. <br />
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<b>WHY WERE THE SHEPHERDS SO IMPORTANT? </b><br />
Luke 2:8-15 tells the beautiful story of the angels telling the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. Shepherds were not very high up on the social scale. But while they were not well thought of by men, in the eyes of God they were very special. So special that He sent a multitude of angels to invite them to come and worship His Son. The shepherds were important because they showed that Jesus was a gift to all of us, regardless of who we are.<br />
As we read the accounts of the birth of Jesus we find the Magi -- powerful and respected standing beside the shepherds -- weak and lowly and all were bowing down worshiping the newborn King. All were equal in His sight. And good tidings of great joy were -- and still are today -- for all people.revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-60567888232960894032011-12-09T12:17:00.000-08:002011-12-09T12:17:46.740-08:00Following Christ Is More Than Just A Feeling. Following Christ is more than feeling. It is more than an exciting time at church. It is more than feeling better when you say amen. Its is more than having chills, thrills, and spiritual spills. Following Christ is more than having our names on a roll and even knowing that we're going to heaven.<br />
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Following Christ is more than doing spiritual things. It is more than what we say. It is more than what we do. Following Christ is not just an event. It is a journey, a relationship, it is a process, it is purposeful, productive, and provocative. It is a life filled with problems, promises, people, and potential. B ut it's definitely more than a feeling!<br />
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In the past few years I have been processing some things, walking in new places, developing new relationships and learning some things. I must admit it hasn't been the easiest process I've been through. There are days when God is silent. Moments when I am complacent without meaning to be. Days when my feeler doesn't feel anything, but my knower knows that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. I know that I will do exactly what God intends me to do. It just might take some time for me to get there.<br />
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Perhaps it's an age thing with me. I consider myself a passionate, progressive, aggressive person. I am rock solid on my convictions and my dreams. Only I will choose the hill I die on. I will fight to the death or at least the enabling of those things I know are right. But as I age I'm not so interested in the short race. I'm looking toward the marathon. I'm hoping to create and develop things that last Something that will leave a legacy. So I'm learning to push past the pain, the lack of feeling at times, and move in faith toward the things and places I know I'm supposed to go.<br />
Just thinking out loud!revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-38372001357874096752011-11-26T22:31:00.000-08:002011-11-26T22:40:52.451-08:00A GOOD BATTERY, BUT A BAD CONNECTION<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">”For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.” </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">1 CORINTHIANS 1:18</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvo__uvkbOwDk7nFzPSXqLf_gyFBiz1h36vfywCqVFYiIW4MYKextbgMwmB7PL6yJbpLytDi7jYf2qp0yKrWIC8Dv7d7ssgu_bReogbePTI40XCX7FEvmiERSm1w_YV7LTAKdRNQ/s1600/duracell+bunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvo__uvkbOwDk7nFzPSXqLf_gyFBiz1h36vfywCqVFYiIW4MYKextbgMwmB7PL6yJbpLytDi7jYf2qp0yKrWIC8Dv7d7ssgu_bReogbePTI40XCX7FEvmiERSm1w_YV7LTAKdRNQ/s1600/duracell+bunny.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Have you ever seen the Energizer battery commercial on television? You know that is the one where the little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says" still going! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. Now, I want you to understand that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery.</span></span> <span class="link"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get it started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak battery just won’t do it. </span></span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-77vb5URxirLFQGPk0KWflCXCSOo34VI8_impQ-PGytDsuuMJGCCgbaz3XB6STeLLY71KfC5d1sS_kjfLyA9J6h4swq7dXFZtscielhG5efQ0vYv5o4wDDJAlaFlwm_OvV-TrwQ/s1600/Holy+Bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx4CteNsM4YytWOB1jS1v9BjG9o8Tdpw1khJtA8A6pjHWItJseRF7NnHGWMe0v7Ojb2pjV6R7bGq2JNcbkijMg_2tWqnC-VVArZEh4pxLXP_CMApsdvqHm8RUJFV7hozz8TYTKQ/s1600/Car+Battery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx4CteNsM4YytWOB1jS1v9BjG9o8Tdpw1khJtA8A6pjHWItJseRF7NnHGWMe0v7Ojb2pjV6R7bGq2JNcbkijMg_2tWqnC-VVArZEh4pxLXP_CMApsdvqHm8RUJFV7hozz8TYTKQ/s1600/Car+Battery.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-77vb5URxirLFQGPk0KWflCXCSOo34VI8_impQ-PGytDsuuMJGCCgbaz3XB6STeLLY71KfC5d1sS_kjfLyA9J6h4swq7dXFZtscielhG5efQ0vYv5o4wDDJAlaFlwm_OvV-TrwQ/s1600/Holy+Bible.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-77vb5URxirLFQGPk0KWflCXCSOo34VI8_impQ-PGytDsuuMJGCCgbaz3XB6STeLLY71KfC5d1sS_kjfLyA9J6h4swq7dXFZtscielhG5efQ0vYv5o4wDDJAlaFlwm_OvV-TrwQ/s1600/Holy+Bible.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">But even a good battery is only half the solution. There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to purchase a new battery. When he return he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds.<br />
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Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. My brothers and sisters, we too, as “born again” Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus.<br />
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Now, in our text, the Cross of Christ represents the power of God unto salvation. It also represents the power of God for every believer to live in the spirit. But like the battery, we must have clear contact to keep the power flowing. We must be in harmony with the will of God to benefit from the power that is available to us.<br />
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It is of little or no value at all to have the power of the Almighty God at our disposal, and let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggest that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound.<br />
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We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God.<br />
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In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the wisdom of preaching the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church seems to be involved in foolishness.<br />
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What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you. Maybe it’s your belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when men revile you and persecute you, and utter all manner of evil against you falsely.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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Now, notice in our text, it says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God”. And Romans 10:14 reminds us that the first step to releasing the power of God is by hearing the Word of God. Hear the Word of God: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> ”How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?” Now watch this; verse 17 says this: “So faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> <br />
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Singing, praying, testimonies and other forms of worship are inspiring to me, but it is the Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs me to the foot of the Cross.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he was not talking about the wooden stake or post in the ground that was used for capitol punishment. When Paul spoke of the cross as the power source for Christians, he referred to what the cross symbolizes…that symbolism includes the sacrifice of Christ, His blood shed on Calvary, His death, burial and resurrection.<br />
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The crucifixion of Christ transformed the cross from a symbol of shame and embarrassment to a symbol of the Mighty Power of God. The Cross embodies this symbol because Christ’s death on the cross blotted out all sin and man’s foolish laws from which there could be no redemption.<br />
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This is what Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians, Chapter Two, verse fourteen; “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, (Christ) took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” When Paul preached about Christ and His crucifixion, the Jews considered it a stumbling block. The Greeks said that it was foolishness. But I stopped by to tell you that those who perish are those who reject the power of the cross. They’ve heard the story, but they refuse to accept it’s truth. They view preaching as a waste of time…foolishness…. And they will perish. <br />
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But to those of us who are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Those of us who are believers know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power.<br />
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Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. What am I saying? I’m saying that too many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, and I wish that every one would get a degree from the college of their choice. But when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars.<br />
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Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required.<br />
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There are two types of current, A/C and D/C. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. What I’m trying to say is that they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to.<br />
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Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets.<br />
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Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post.<br />
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Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior. <br />
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And what can corrode your connection with God? Well, pride will corrode your cables and interfere with your connection. Hatred will keep you from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep you from having a good connection with God. Strife will keep you from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. Get rid of the things that are keeping you from having a good connection with your power source. <br />
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And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded?<br />
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You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing with seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution.<br />
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Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live, move and have our beings. When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead.<br />
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Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation and His name is Jesus. If you are looking for a good power source let me introduce you to God's original power source.<br />
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Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source….Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse…..Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source…..Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard.<br />
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Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare.<br />
They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hand… “Wonder working power”, “soul saving power”, “healing power” in His hand. Are you connected to His power?</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
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</span>PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!!!!! Also, don't forget to click a sponsor or two. It helps to support my ministry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Also if you get a chance, Check out <a href="http://www.fcwconline.com/">www.fcwconline.com</a><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-78168702773217601982011-11-25T16:52:00.000-08:002011-11-25T17:02:59.837-08:00What is Black Friday? Is it really worth it?I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving. I hope you wasn't overwhelmed by the Black Friday spirit. Today is considered the busiest shopping day of the year. Retailers hope to get a strong boost heading into the Christmas season. Crowds sack their favorite stores to try to rack up deals that may only appear once in a life time.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxQ89Hpx8jT8VTmRjcbbJrQ0hoFK-SYGpzCME9dcewxkkn_nJiMebRILQS7I2FwSSmFBwQcbX3F_is' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unfortunately, in some parts of the country, Black Friday was quite violent. People fighting over merchandise. Mobs trampling people to death as they rush through the doors to beat others to the bargains.<br />
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What is Black Friday? Where did it come from? When is Black Friday? I have found the answer to these questions by looking at about.com.<br />
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<b> </b>The history of <a href="http://useconomy.about.com/od/demand/f/Black_Friday.htm">Black Friday</a> began in 1966. This is when a story appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist. The Philadelphia Police Department used the name to describe the traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores. <br />
Black Friday has been the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season since the 1930s. In fact, President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week during the <a href="http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/1929_Depression.htm">Great Depression</a> because retailers wanted an extra week of shopping revenue. This pleased retailers, but irritated shoppers, who had to change plans.<br />
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Black Friday 2011 is the day after Thanksgiving, November 25 2011. It officially kicks off the holiday shopping season, as 195 million shoppers usually hit stores during the Black Friday weekend. This is important for the economy because nearly 20% of retail sales occur between Black Friday through Christmas. For some retailers, such as jewelers, it can be as high as 40%.<br />
For 2011, the <a href="http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=1130" target="_blank">National Retail Federation</a> said that shoppers usually spend about half of their total holiday gift shopping on Black Friday. The NRF forecast that shoppers are more optimistic in 2011 than they were last year. Holiday sales will be up 2.8% to $465.6 billion. This is higher than the 2.6% increase experienced in the last ten years, but lower than the norm (3.4% annual increase) for the decade before the <a href="http://useconomy.about.com/od/criticalssues/f/What-Is-the-Global-Financial-Crisis-of-2008.htm">2008 financial crisis</a>. It's unlikely growth will return to those levels anytime soon, since most of this spending was fueled with <a href="http://useconomy.about.com/od/glossary/g/credit_card_debt.htm">credit card debt</a>. This debt has been declining in the last three years. <br />
On average, each shoppers said they expect to spend $704 in 2011. However, it's possible they could spend more than their expectations, because that's just what happened during <a href="http://useconomy.about.com/od/demand/f/Black-Friday-2010.htm">Black Friday 2010</a>. They said they would spend $688 each, but they actually spent $719 each. Shoppers will spend less than the all-time high of $755 per person set in 2007. It's much better than the recessionary low of $682 per shopper set in 2009.<br />
That increase could be because shoppers have delayed big purchases during the year to take advantage of holiday sales. Nearly two-thirds (60%) said they would buy non-gift items for themselves and family. They said they would plan to spend $130.43 each to buy apparel, electronics,and household items on sales. This is up from $112.20 they spent on non-gift items last year.<br />
Most of the money ($403) will be spent on gifts for family members. The rest will be spent friends ($68), co-workers ($21), and others including pets ($23). In addition to playing Santa with presents, shoppers will celebrate the holidays by purchasing candy and food ($96.75), decorations ($46.73), greeting cards ($26.52), and flowers ($18.23.) <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzAtgOQ37HV8nOEBH7UAcrfg4lOnjYcgtqH9F8N7huNKJsozGdz_tlU9mq3JGzuzrHCeQFWeD-jFQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Ever since the recession, retail trends show a <a href="http://useconomy.about.com/b/2010/03/10/recession-drives-permanent-shift-to-thrift.htm">shift to thrift</a>. This is not just a search for the lowest price, but also an interest in finding the best value for the price. The 2011 Black Friday survey shows the same. Nearly half (41%) said sales and price discounts are the most important factor. However, 15% said quality of merchandise was most important, while 6% were most interested in superior customer service. <br />
Shoppers head toward the retailers that meet their need for discounts and bargains. For this reason, most of them will visit discount stores (66% vs 65% in 2010). Department stores, that have learn to provide more savings through private labels, will see an increase in the percentage of shoppers planning to visit them -- 57% vs. 55% last year. Shoppers plan to spend more time visiting a variety of retail outlets to find the best bargains. For that reason, more will visit clothing or accessory stores (35% vs. 34%), drug stores (21% vs. 19% last year), and grocery stores (49% vs. 47%). More of those looking to make their own gifts will visit crafts and fabric stores (18% vs. 16% in 2010). <br />
For recipients, gifts small and large are expected to make big impressions this year. For the fifth year in a row – and at the highest level in the survey’s history – 57.7 percent of shoppers say they’d like to receive a gift card this holiday season. What kinds of gifts do people want to receive? Well over half (58%) simply want a gift card, so they can be sure they won't be disappointed with their gift. Others trust their gift-givers' taste in clothing and accessories (50%), consumer electronics (35%), jewelry (23%), and personal care items (19%).<br />
Nearly 80% are getting a head start on their holiday shopping, with 40% starting before Halloween, and another 40% will beg starting before Black Friday. Another 17% will wait until the first two weeks in December, while 4% will procrastinate until right before Christmas.<br />
According to National Retail Federation, stores will hire between 480,000 and 500,000 seasonal workers this holiday season, about the same as the 495,000 workers they hired in 2010. In addition, retailers added 100,000 workers since August 2010. This is another important way the retail industry affects the U.S. economy. (Source: National Retail Federation 2011 Survey)<br />
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The above stats concern me. Too much of our economy depends on Black Friday and the Christmas season. The confidence or the lack of confidence over the first quarter or two of next year will depend on this period of time. We have materialized Christmas so much that the very health of our country depends on it.<br />
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I hope everyone got the things they got up early or camped out and stood in line for. Every year the Christmas season is pushed back to where Thanksgiving and Halloween are loosing their status of even being a holiday. Our materialism is causing us to forget the meaning of the holidays.<br />
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Like everyone else, I like the bargains. But I'm afraid that little by little I'm afraid we are losing the true meaning of the holiday seasons. What are we leaving for our kids and grand-kids?<br />
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Thank you for stopping by. Please take a moment a click on the ads. It helps to support ministry.revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-87514197394145839282011-08-08T08:55:00.001-07:002011-08-08T08:55:53.695-07:00<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-family:Verdana; font-size:14pt'>Jeremiah 29:11-29:13 Deut 2:1-3 KJ<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Verdana; font-size:14pt'><br/>In this scripture the Lord was referring to the children of Israel. They had been wondering in the desert for 40 yrs on the way to the promise land.<br/><br/>What God was saying to them was I have something better for you. Aren't you getting tired of the same old thing yet?<br/><br/>Haven't you been walking around this wilderness long enough? <br/><br/>Don't you want to experience the change in scenery that I have in store for you? <br/><br/>Don't you want to experience the promised land that's been waiting for you all this time?<br/><br/>You've circled this mountain long enough turn you northward.<br/><br/>Can you imagine, wondering around in circles, in the desert for 40 years?<br/><br/>As hard as it is to have imagined, that happening, it really did happen. <br/><br/>They never sought the change that was necessary for them to experience all that God had in store for them. <br/><br/>Instead of I am, I can, I will, it was more like I'm not, I cant, I won't.<br/><br/>Sad thing is, there are still people today, just like the children of Israel were.<br/><br/>People who are reluctant to make a change in the course of their lives, to experience all of the blessings God has in store for them. Blessings so close, that they could throw a stone and hit them.<br/><br/>Like a strong pot of coffee brewing they could smell it but not taste it.<br/><br/>The word of the Lord said: you've been in this place long enough.<br/><br/>God said it then, and it still holds true today. It's time to change your circumstances!<br/><br/>You can you know, because Gods word says it's possible.<br/><br/>Its time to set a new course, a new plan of action. It's time to realize that a change is going to do you good!<br/><br/>Do you need a victory today in your;<br/><br/>*finances<br/>*health<br/>*family<br/>*personal life<br/><br/>Jesus is ready to deliver whatever you have need , because He has already been victorious over every situation you have encountered, or will ever encounter <br/><br/> He already took care of it, at the cross. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Verdana; font-size:14pt'><br/>There is nothing that can stand up to what He did when He died on the cross for each and every one of us.<br/><br/>Are you ready to stand up and proclaim, I Am, I Can, I Will?<br/><br/>I Am ready to make the changes necessary in my life that the Lord wants me to make.<br/><br/>So that I can walk in and enjoy the abundant life and good things He has promised me.<br/><br/>Jeremiah 29:11-13 HCSB. <br/>11. For I know the plans I have for you" [this is] the LORD's declaration<br/>"plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. <br/>12. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. <br/>13. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.<br/><br/> I love what it says, I love talking about Gods plans for all of us.<br/><br/>The accuser may tell you, your not worthy of Gods Goodness and blessings.<br/><br/>But that's not what Gods word has to say about the situation.<br/><br/>Lets go a little bit farther, it says For I know the plans I have for you<br/><br/>Making a plan requires a lot of thought. <br/><br/>Especially when your making it for someone else and their benefit and their welfare.<br/><br/>But Gods word doesn't say plan, it says plans.<br/><br/>That means God has thought long and hard about multiple ways, using multiple streams of blessings, to provide you with a hope and a future!<br/>When God said, He wants you to have the abundant life He has promised, He meant it.<br/><br/>So many aren't willing to make the change in their way of thinking and just accept it at face value.<br/><br/>God said it, and that's more than enough reason to believe it can come to pass, in anyone's life.<br/><br/>Abundant life are Gods words not mans.<br/><br/>Don't be the one to cheat yourself out of what God wants to do in your life.<br/><br/>If you're not living the abundant life God promises, Don't blame it on God!<br/><br/>Get out of Gods way and let Him start giving you all that He has for you!!<br/><br/>I Am, I Can!<br/><br/>TBS. in Phil. 4:13 NKJ<br/>13. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.<br/><br/>MSG: Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.<br/><br/>People can do and are capable of a lot of things. <br/><br/>God made a marvelous creation, when he created mankind.<br/><br/>After all TBS.(the bible says) we are created in His image!<br/><br/>We can put a man on the moon, we can accept and are willing try new inventions and medicines on another mans report.<br/><br/>But when it comes to the things of God and what He wants to do for us, the word can, suddenly has a T tacked on to the end of it, and becomes can't with a capital C.<br/><br/>Are you tired of being trapped by the word can't?<br/><br/>Jesus never used the word can't, the word wasn't part of His vocabulary.<br/><br/>He was a can do type of guy, and we can be the same because God's word says we can.<br/><br/>We can accomplish because the word of God says we can.<br/><br/>Because when we depend on Jesus and His finished work instead of ourselves, that's when and only when it becomes possible. <br/><br/>These are truths that have the promise of God behind them, truths that the accuser has stolen for long enough from Gods people, truths that need to be reclaimed! <br/><br/>I Am, I Can and I Will!!!<br/><br/>I will be faithful to the calling that God has called me to. Everyone that is a Christian has a job to do.<br/><br/>1st Cor. 12:27-28 NKJ.<br/><br/>27. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. <br/>28. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. <br/><br/>There is so much to be done for the Kingdom of God and so few willing to get involved.<br/><br/>Isaiah 6:8 NKJ<br/>8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, <br/>And who will go for Us? <br/>Then I said, Here am I! Send me. <br/>God is looking for men and women today, who will stand up and say, I will <br/><br/>I will do whatever needs to be done to further the cause of Christ.<br/><br/>I will be what Jesus wants me to be. I will go where He wants me to go.<br/><br/>God is looking for someone willing to step out of the box of normalcy. <br/><br/>Someone that's ready for Him to do a new thing in their life.<br/><br/>Are you fed up with your present situation, and the way things have been going in your life?<br/><br/>Change It!<br/><br/>You say yes, but you don't understand what it would take to make the changes in my life that need to be made.<br/><br/>Maybe not, but I know someone who does. I know the master of all possibilities! <br/><br/>God said you've circled the mountain long enough, its time to go on through it.<br/><br/>The Bible is a book of amazing turnarounds. From Genesis to Revelations we see God turning things around for His people.<br/><br/>One of the best scenarios in the Bible is in the book of Ezekiel chapter 37 the Valley of dry bones.<br/><br/>It looked hopeless, impossible, beyond the point of no return.<br/><br/>Ezekiel 37:1-10 <br/><br/>We serve a God of endless possibilities. If He can breathe life into dry bones, He can take care of your situation if you ask Him to. Nothing is to hard for Him.<br/><br/>There is no situation that He can not turn around.<br/><br/><br/>What's your need, whatever it is, God has the capabilities to do it with ease.<br/><br/>Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJ<br/>18. Do not remember the former things, <br/>Nor consider the things of old. <br/>19. Behold, I will do a new thing, <br/>Now it shall spring forth; <br/>Shall you not know it? <br/>I will even make a road in the wilderness <br/>And rivers in the desert.<br/><br/>Can you imagine, a river in the desert?<br/>God can!<br/><br/>You see a lot of people believe God can turn any situation around for anyone. <br/><br/>But they have a problem when its their situation that needs turning around. <br/><br/>This Scripture tells us that God is doing something fresh and new. But the condition and requirement for receiving the new is to let go of the old.<br/><br/>Reminds me of the man at the Pool of Bethesda, the place of blessing.<br/><br/>No doubt, he had seen many people get their healing. I'm sure he had seen many people get their deliverance and get their breakthrough.<br/><br/>And repeatedly the devil taunted him and tormented him and told him, you're never going to get your miracle, its been 38 yrs. Give up already. Why bother even trying.<br/><br/>But one day the water didn't just stir. But the one who could make it stir, stood in front him, <br/><br/>Do you know what Jesus did?<br/><br/>He didn't bring up any of the negative garbage in his life or the lies the devil had spun.<br/><br/>He just ask him one question, do you want to be healed?<br/><br/>At that moment there wasn't enough disease in the world to keep him sick.<br/><br/>The only one who could keep him from his blessing was himself.<br/><br/>And I tell you the same thing here , the only one who can keep you from your blessing is you.<br/><br/>God stands ready to bless you, He wants to bless you, The bible says, He loves to bless His Children it gives Him great pleasure!<br/><br/>Jesus has already done everything that could be done, for us to receive His Fathers blessing.<br/><br/>He's already paid our ransom for our sins with His blood.<br/><br/>He's already provided for our healing with His body and He is willing to give us access to everything He has and has done for us.<br/><br/>The rest is up to us. We are the most blessed people on earth because of it.<br/><br/>That's why God's word says, we can be the head and not the tail!<br/><br/>There is nothing that we will ever come up against in this life that He has not provided for.<br/>He has abundantly provided. He is a God of more than enough, not a God of barely enough.<br/><br/>When you stop and think about it, He could not have made it any easier for us.<br/><br/>The solutions to all of lives problems have always been there waiting, just waiting for us to step into them and use them.<br/><br/>Why wait any longer? Start walking in all that God has given you, <br/><br/>Start enjoying everything that Jesus died for to make possible the abundant life that God has promised you. Soon you'll see God's Goodness and you'll be shouting from the rooftop, I Am able, I Can do all things, I Will be found faithful!<br/><br/></span></p></span>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-7182355676372947432011-04-02T20:31:00.000-07:002011-04-02T20:47:00.645-07:00What on Earth am I Here For?There are three questions we should ask ourselves daily. <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> 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Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What does God want me to do?<span style=""> </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> 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<![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Why should I do it?<span style=""> </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">I have challenged my church (Faith Community Worship Center) to do these three things in the next week. I believe that if we do these things, they will totally revolutionize our lives and bring the changes that are necessary to draw us to closer to God, as a congregation, than we have ever been before.<br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 57.75pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Set aside 15 minutes a day to read a daily devotional and the Bible.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 57.75pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Make a commitment to attend Bible study.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 57.75pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Memorize a weekly Bible verse. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Today we are going to look at life's three greatest questions:<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The question of existence:<span style=""> </span>Why am I alive?<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The question of significance:<span style=""> </span>Does my life matter?<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The question of intention:<span style=""> </span>What is my purpose?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>These questions are not exactly new questions.<span style=""> </span>In fact, thousands of years ago, Jeremiah, a man in the Old Testament of the Bible, asked God “<b style="">why am I here?”</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Jeremiah 20:18 (NLT)</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Most of us have felt this way before.<span style=""> </span>We have probably asked the “why” question multiple times. God, why do I have to put up with all of these problems?<span style=""> </span>Why do I have so much stress, heartache and grief? </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>For centuries, sages and philosophers have asked the “why” question:<span style=""> </span><i>“Why am I here</i>?” and the “what” question:<span style=""> </span>“What is the purpose of life?”<span style=""> </span>People continue to wrestle with these questions, they wonder what’s the purpose of life and is life worth living.<span style=""> </span>We see this in the fact that the suicide rate in our society has gone up.<span style=""> </span>It's now the No. 2 killer of teenage students.<span style=""> </span>You see, if you take God out of the equation, you don't really have very many alternatives.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Where do we find purpose?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Most pundits will tell you "look within and you will find your purpose."<span style=""> </span>You know if that really worked, all of us would know our purpose.<span style=""> </span>I’ve tried it and I bet you have too. It’s not there.<span style=""> </span>It takes more than looking within.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Others have sought to find purpose in power, pleasure, fame and fortune.<span style=""> </span>If this were the case, <b>Marilyn Monroe, Kurt Kobain</b>, and whole host of others would still be here. These people and so many of us here today are searching for meaning in things that cannot satisfy.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>So, where do we go to find meaning and purpose in life?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"> Most people end up in the <b>self-help</b> section at the book store. I’ve been there. Most self help books say the same thing: <b>"You've got to invent your purpose."</b><span style=""> </span>You've got to create your own purpose in life.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>They all give the same basic approach - discover your dreams, go after your goals, have some ambitions, aim high, believe you can achieve, have faith, figure out what you're good at, never give up, involve other people.<span style=""> </span>That’s all good advice.<span style=""> </span>If you do those things, you will be successful in<span style=""> </span>life.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>But being <b>a success</b> and<b> knowing your purpose in life</b> are not the same thing. <b>You can be a raving success in life and</b> <b>still never know</b>, <i>"What on earth am I here for?"</i><span style=""> </span>What did God put me on this earth for?<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: blue;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="EN">You see, the purpose of your life is far greater than your own <b>personal fulfillment.</b><span style=""> </span>It's far greater than your own happiness.<span style=""> </span>Even your own peace of mind.<span style=""> </span>You were made <b><i>by God</i></b> and you were made<b><i> for God</i></b> and <b><i><u>you were put here for His purposes</u></i></b>.<span style=""> </span>Until you understand that, life is not going to make sense.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: red;" lang="EN"></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Okay, why does God want us here?<span style=""> </span>Why are we alive?<span style=""> </span>Why are we on this planet?<span style=""> </span>Is there a reason?<span style=""> </span>This is what </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Proverbs 16.4 says:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Proverbs 16:4</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><br />The LORD has made everything for his own purposes ...</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Now God has never made anything without a purpose.<span style=""> </span>Every rock has a purpose, every plant has a purpose, every animal has a purpose and if you're alive, you have a purpose.<span style=""> </span>Over the next forty days, you will discover that God has five purposes for your life.<span style=""> </span>Over the next forty days, you will be reminded over and over that God loves you and you were created to be loved.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Yes that’s right. God wanted to create something to love and so He created you.<span style=""> </span>He didn't need you.<span style=""> </span>He wasn't lonely.<span style=""> </span>But He made you in order to love you.<span style=""> </span>He didn't need you, He wanted you.<span style=""> </span>And before we can talk about anything else, you have to understand this is what on earth you're here for - <b>to be loved by God.</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The Question of Significance</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The second key question of life is the question of significance.<span style=""> </span>Many of you have pondered the question, <b style="">“Does my life matter?”</b><span style=""> </span>Isaiah asked this question in chapter 49 verse 4.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Isaiah 49:4</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">.... my work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all.... </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>You were made for meaning, and if you don't have a meaning and purpose in your life and you don't know why God put you on this planet, life doesn't make sense.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Most people live on one of three levels.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The Three Levels People Live On</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Survival</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>The first level is the barely getting by.<span style=""> </span>People just exist from week to week.<span style=""> </span>They are not living.<span style=""> </span>They just put in their time for the weekend.<span style=""> </span>They are just surviving. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Success</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>There is another group of people who have taken a step forward and they are living at the success level.<span style=""> </span>This is where most Americans live.<span style=""> </span>By the world's standards, you've got it made.<span style=""> </span>You've got a comfortable living compared to the rest of the world.<span style=""> </span>You have possessions, you have freedom, you have good health and you may have prestige and you may be quite successful.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>But today there are a lot of books coming out that say things like, "If I'm so successful, how come I don't fill fulfilled?"<span style=""> </span>The reason is, <b><u>it takes more than success and it takes more than status to satisfy</u></b>.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Significance</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>There’s another level of living that is called the<b> Significance</b> level.<span style=""> </span>To live on this level, you must go through three things: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Know the meaning of life,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Know that you matter to God,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Know God's purposes for your life and you're living them out.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Look at these verses from the Bible: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Isaiah 44:2</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><br />GOD who made you has something to say to you; the God who formed you in the womb wants to help you. Don't be afraid.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>God made you and He wants to help you.<span style=""> </span>Stop living in fear, but trust him with your life. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Is God playing games with us?<span style=""> </span>Is God intentionally trying to confuse us?<span style=""> </span>Does He keep us in the dark so we don't know why we are here? No, not at all.<span style=""> </span>God wants you to know how much you matter to Him.<span style=""> </span>God wants you to know the meaning of life.<span style=""> </span>He wants you to know His purposes.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>If you just stay with us the next 40 days, we're going to talk about that.<span style=""> </span>Unlike the fruit fly, which does only live 24 hours, God has extremely long-range plans for you.<span style=""> </span>What we will talk about over the next forty days will not only impact your life now, but it will influence you into eternity. God's purposes are eternal. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>This life is the warm-up act, this is the dress rehearsal. There is another life just beyond the bend. One day your heart will stop beating and that will be the end of your body, but that's not the end of you.<span style=""> </span>You're far more than a body.<span style=""> </span>You were made to last forever.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Psalm 33:11 </span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>This life is not all there is.<span style=""> </span>You are going to spend far more time on the other side of death, than you do on this side<b><u>. <span style=""> </span>Life is preparation for eternity</u></b>.<span style=""> </span>Over the next 40 days, we are going to talk to you about how you prepare for the future. You will find the key to the meaning of life, and that is, <b>when you realize that life is preparation for eternity</b>. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">2 Corinthians 5:1</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>So the question of existence -<b> why am I alive?</b><span style=""> </span>God answers it by saying, "I made you to love you, that's why you're alive."<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>In the question of significance - <b>does my life matter</b>?<span style=""> </span>God says,<span style=""> </span>you matter.<span style=""> </span>You matter so much that I intend on keeping you alive for the rest of eternity.<span style=""> </span>You're no 24-hour fruit fly.<span style=""> </span>You're going to be around for a long, long time.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The Question of Intention</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>So then comes the third question: the question of intention. <b style="">What’s my purpose? What on earth am I here for? </b><span style=""> </span>And that's what we're going to spend the next couple of weeks looking at.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>God made you for a reason, and He made you for a purpose.<span style=""> </span>The only way you're going to know your purpose is<span style=""> </span>first looking to Him.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">If you don't know something's purpose, it is likely to be misused or abused</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">.<span style=""> </span>Do you want to know why there are so many abused people today?<span style=""> </span>Because we don't know our purpose.<span style=""> </span>When you don't know the purpose of something, it is likely to be misused, or abused.<span style=""> </span>That's the first point.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Now here's the second point, the only way you're going to know what some things are is either<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">You talk to the inventor of it or the creator of it, or<span style=""> </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">You read the owner's manual.<span style=""> </span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>You will never discover the meaning of life by listening to philosophers, because even the best ones are just guessing.<span style=""> </span>You've got to talk to the creator and look in the owner's manual.<span style=""> </span>It's the only way you will ever know your purpose in life.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Genesis 1:1</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><br />In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>In the beginning God created.<span style=""> </span>It all begins with God.<span style=""> </span>It all starts with God, it continues with God, it ends with God.<span style=""> </span>"In the beginning, God created."<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Proverbs 9:10 </span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to understand your purpose of life?<span style=""> </span>You find your purpose by getting to know God.<span style=""> </span>It all starts with God.<span style=""> </span>The more you get to know God, the more you're going to understand the ways and the wisdom of God and the more you're going to understand the meaning and purpose of life.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>You're not going to learn it on some <b>talk show.</b><span style=""> </span>You're not going to learn it in some <b>séance</b>.<span style=""> </span>You're not going to learn it reading <b>tea leaves, your horoscope will not tell you .</b><span style=""> </span>You're not going to learn it going to a <b>seminar</b>.<span style=""> </span>The only way you're going to learn the meaning of life and your purpose in life is to get to know God.<span style=""> </span><b>It all starts with God</b>, because it's all about God.<span style=""> </span>"In the beginning, God."<span style=""> </span>It's all about God. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Understanding God's purposes for your life does take time.<span style=""> </span>It's not just give it to me quick, and it's over.<span style=""> </span>That's why we're going to take the next few weeks actually 40 days. <span style=""> </span>to look at God's purposes for you.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>You may be asking, <b>why 40 Days</b>?<span style=""> </span>Well, the Bible is very clear that God considers "40 days" to be a spiritually significant time period.<span style=""> </span>In fact, in the Bible, any time God wanted to prepare people for His purposes, He took 40 days.<span style=""> </span>For instance:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Noah's life was transformed by 40 days of rain</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Moses' life was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The spies were transformed by 40 days in the Promise Land</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">David was transformed by Goliath's 40-day challenge</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">The city of Nineveh was transformed in 40 days</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Jesus was empowered for ministry by spending 40 days in the desert and the disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after the resurrection.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>The next 40 days are going to transform your life.<span style=""> </span>Today, I want you to make a commitment with me to embark on a journey that will change our lives.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>We are all at different stages in our spiritual journey. Some of you are seekers, and you're saying, "I'm not even sure I buy this, but I'm intellectually honest enough to check it out."<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Some of you are brand new believers.<span style=""> </span>The next forty days are going to help you start your Christian journey off right. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Some of you are what I call "stumblers."<span style=""> </span>You say, "I call myself a Christian, but I'm not really very close to God.<span style=""> </span>And I've been really, honestly, living for my plans and not God's."<span style=""> </span>Well this 40 days is the time to come home.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""> </span>Some of you are strong believers, and you're going to go deeper with God than you've ever gone before and you're going to bring others along, too.<span style=""> </span>Regardless of where you are in your spiritual journey, look at this last verse.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">Acts 10:35</span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.4in 0.0001pt 1in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;" lang="EN">It makes no difference who you are or where you're from -- if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. </span></p><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;" lang="EN"><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""><br /></span></span></b></p>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-32209105306213641862008-04-26T18:56:00.000-07:002008-04-26T19:10:07.647-07:00Becoming A Live ChurchBecoming a Live Church Revelation 2:1-2:7<br /> I read about a preacher who wanted to impact South Korea for Jesus Christ. And so he started a church in his friend’s living room. One of the parishioners was paralyzed. And so one Sunday, the pastor went over to her. Laid hands on her. And prayed fervently. And she was healed! This got people in the community excited. And they started flocking to the new church in droves. Pretty soon, they outgrew the living room. So they put up a tent in the front lawn. And had services out there. But soon enough, that got too crowded. And they built a church. By the mid 1960s, they had 3000 people.<br /><br /> But one day, as the pastor was baptizing several hundred people, he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. He was rushed to the hospital. Where he had major surgery. And while he was sitting in bed reading the Bible, he came across a verse in Exodus 18:18 that moved his heart: It said this: "The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. You will only wear yourself out."The next day, the pastor called the elders and deacons. And put each one in charge of a certain number of people. After the pastor did this, the church exploded with growth! <br /> Thousands of people gave their lives to Christ. By 1972, there were 10,000 members. By 1979, there were 100,000. By 1984, 400,000. And today, there are almost 800,000 members of the Yoido Full Gospel Church. Making it the largest congregation on planet earth. They support 85 missionaries from their own church. And they have planted new churches in 39 countries.<br /> This is truly one of the most incredible stories in church history.Something equally incredible happened 2000 years ago. On the day of Pentecost. A small group gathered for prayer. The power of the Holy Spirit was present. They praised the Lord. Peter preached the word. Thousands got saved. And the church was born.<br /><br /> You ever wonder why some churches are so vibrant? And get larger almost every week? While other churches are barely able to keep going? In Revelation 3:1, Jesus tells the church in Sardis, "you have a reputation for being alive, but I know for a fact that you’re dead! You’re not preaching the word! You’re compromising your moral standards. You’re playing with fire! Now cut it out! Or I’ll come when you least expect it and shut your church down forever!"I’d hate to be the pastor of that church! So let me ask you this: "Are we as devoted to Christ as we ought to be? Do you think we can experience the power of Pentecost here at F.C.W.C.?”I believe that we can.<br /><br /> The first thing our church needs is a <strong>proper purpose.</strong> In Acts 2:1, we’re told that on the day of Pentecost, all the Christians were together in one place. To wait for the blessing of God. The promised arrival of the Holy Spirit.<br /> I was reading about a Christian speaker. Who was giving a message on Saturday night. And he said to the crowd, "On Thursday, I met with the President of the United States in the oval office. On Friday, I met with the Vice President. But that’s nothing. Because tomorrow morning at 9am at Church, I’m going to meet with the Lord Almighty!"<br /> That’s why we go to church. Not to check out the preacher. Or to see what sister Mildred is wearing. But to meet face to face with Almighty God.<br /> There’s a famous story about Henry Ward Beecher. He was one of the great preachers of the 19th Century. He was sick one Sunday, so a substitute preacher walked up to the pulpit as the worship service began. Seeing that Dr. Beecher would not be speaking that day, a number of people got up and headed for the door. The substitute preacher said, "All those who came to worship Dr. Beecher this morning may leave. All those who came to worship the Lord, may stay in their seats." You can guess what happened next. Everyone sat back down. The congregation learned a valuable lesson that morning:<br /> We’re here to worship God. Matthew 4:10 says "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only!" That’s the proper purpose of the church.<br /><br /> In addition to a proper purpose, the second thing we need is <strong>powerful praise and worship.</strong> I love how everyone in Acts 2 was filled with the Spirit. And they spoke in tongues. And they praised the Lord.I don’t want to go to church. And hear some long, windy, repetitive, theological discourse that has no bearing on life today. I want to connect with God. I want to feel God. I want to experience God. I want to worship God. And then when I leave, I want to go out and serve God.<br /><br /> One of my favorite images from the Old Testament is in 2 Samuel chapter 6. An image of David. Dancing before the Lord. Worshiping God. Celebrating his goodness. With unbridled enthusiasm. That’s what I want for my life. I want to worship the Lord. With all of my love. With all of my might. No matter what anyone else might think of the way I do it.<br /><br /> A live church needs a proper purpose. Powerful praise and worship. But it also needs a <strong>powerful message.</strong> If you look closely at Acts 2, notice that the reason why 3000 people got saved wasn’t because of the speaking in tongues. It was because of the preaching! Peter delivered a heck of a sermon! "Jesus Christ is Lord! You’re lost without Him! Turn from your sin! Get baptized! Get right with God! Before it’s too late! Save yourselves from this corrupt generation!"<br /><br /> There was this article in a recent magazine, someone wrote the following letter to the editor: "It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years. I have probably heard 3,000 sermons. To my dismay, I discovered I cannot remember a single message. I wonder if a minister’s time might be better spent on something else?"For weeks a storm of editorial responses ensued. finally ended by this letter: "I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals-mostly my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I realize that without those meals, I would have starved to death long ago." A sermon is like a spiritual meal. And a vibrant church is like a cafeteria for the soul. A place where you can be fed and nourished by the Word of God. The sermons in a live church should be that same way. Meaty. Tasty. And satisfying. Psalm 34:8 says "Taste and see that the Lord is good. Jeremiah 15:16 says "When your words came, I ate them! They were my joy and my heart’s delight!" And in John 6:53, Jesus talks about eating the flesh of the Son of Man. Feasting on the Lord and his word. <br /><br /> Why do I quote so many verses in my messages? And the best answer I can come up with is that I need meat in my diet. I need substance in my life. Something to chew on.<br /><br /> Being a live church means having a powerful purpose. Powerful praise and worship. And a powerful message. <strong>But we also need the power of the Holy Spirit.</strong> Acts 2:38 says "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Our plans may be noble. Our intentions may be good. But there will be no blessing and no success without a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit on our lives. The Holy Spirit is not just for Pentecostals and holy rollers. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is given to everyone who turns to Christ.revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-6003958270311692122008-04-06T11:57:00.000-07:002008-04-06T12:06:26.871-07:00God's Presence On the Battlefield of Life<strong>1. EVERY OBSTICLE WE FACE IS SUBJECT TO THE POWER OF GOD.</strong> Jer 32:1717"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. Luke 1:3737 For nothing is impossible with God."The problem we have many times is we take the opportunity away from God by fighting our own battles. When we fail to seek God and go about things our own way and totally disregard our relationship with God and His leadership we are failing to allow God the opportunity to work for us. When we take matters into our own hands we are in affect taking them out of God’s hands. Now don’t misunderstand me I know we need to couple prayer with action. I’m not saying lets just pray when faced with difficultly and do nothing. What I am saying is we need to first pray about our issues, bring them before God and seek His leadership and will allowing Him access to lead us.<br /><br /> <strong>2. WHY DO WE GET DOWN IN THE DUMPS WHEN WE FACE OBSTICLES?</strong>a). Because we focus too much on the obstacle and not enough on God. This lesson the Israelites learned the first time they came to the Jordan River and sent the 12 spies in to spy out the land. b). We look at obstacles in light of our own power. There was no way, humanly speaking, that Joshua and his followers were going to break through the walls of Jericho and overcome its inhabitants. This great city was the first formidable foe that stood between the people of God and the promises of God. Many times we face problems and difficulties that we can’t overcome in our own power. This is where the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so important to us as believers. The fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in us makes it so very personal. Aren’t you glad it doesn’t dwell near you or over you but it dwells in you?1 Cor 6:1919Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? Phil 4:1313I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.So many times when we face impossible situations in our lives we say there is NO WAY. There is always a way when God is involved. If you would have been there at the crucifixion you would’ve thought their was no way Jesus would be walking around talking and teaching His disciples three days later. c). We fail to view our obstacles as an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power. God can turn our gloom into gladness. Let me stay with the analogy of the disciples and the crucifixion. What about when the disciples were making their way to the tomb on Sunday morning? Do you think they were filled with gloom? Of course they were. What happened on Saturday? The day between the crucifixion and the resurrection? What a gloomy day that must have been. But on Sunday morning God turned our gloom to gladness.<br /><br /><strong>3</strong>. <strong>GOD IS USUALLY AT WORK REMOVING OUR OBSTICLES BEFORE WE EVER REALIZE IT.</strong> In Joshua chapter two when Rahab hid the Hebrew spies she confessed that they were fearful of the Israelites. Joshua 2:8-128Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. God had sent news ahead of time to destroy the confidence of Jericho. They were filled with fear and had lost their fighting spirit. This is one of the blessings of following God’s leadership, if we follow Him; He is sure to go before us. The difficulty for us is trusting that He is working for us when we can’t see it. Did the Israelites know that God was spreading fear through the land concerning His people? Many times when God is going before us and working on our behalf, and we don’t even realize it.<br /><br /><strong> 4. GOD CONFERMS HIS PRESENCE AND LEADERSHIP TO JOSHUA.</strong> (Jos. 5:13-15)With Moses gone Joshua had everyone looking to him for leadership. Could you imagine the pressure he must have been under to fill the sandals of Moses? With this kind of pressure he really needed confirmation from the Lord. Notice how similarities of the call of Joshua and Moses. Both are commanded to take off their shoes because they were standing on holy ground. This is to confirm the call of Joshua, to give him courage and faith so he can trust God and know that he is God’s man for the job. The Angel told Joshua that he didn’t come to take sides but to take over. We shouldn’t ask, is God on our side? To be phrased properly, “are we on God’s side?”<br /><br /><strong>5. OFTEN TIMES WHAT GOD REQUIRES US TO DO TAKES COURAGE.</strong>Do you think somewhere in the process of marching around the city in silence someone might have questioned the purpose behind something so passive? This has nothing to do with common sense or military strategy. This is neither defensive nor offensive what possible good could marching around a city do? This makes about as much sense as Naaman the leper going and dipping seven times in the Jordan River. The rational behind the action is not important; the significance is in the obedience. Could you imagine being there on that day and Joshua stands before the people and says, “O.K. this is the battle plan we’re going to march around the city.” March around the city and do what? You might ask. That’s it, march around the city; that’s all God told me. Well I think you better go back to the Lord Joshua because you obviously missed something. But the cool thing about this story is, Joshua didn’t miss anything.<br /><br /><strong>6. WE CAN’T ADJUST GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS AND STILL BE VICTORIOUS.</strong> What if Joshua would’ve added to the Lord’s plans? What if he would’ve had the archers shot over the wall as they marched around the city? I mean at least they would have been doing something offensive, some sort of military force would be applied. Or maybe, he could let part of the people march around the city while the other part worked on braking down the gates, or climbing over the walls. We know that’s ridiculous don’t we? But don’t we do the same thing? We do things that we know are wrong and we justify our actions by saying “oh, that’s just the way I’m, or I can’t help myself.” We jump into sin and turn to others around us and tell them they just don’t understand. Have you ever thought about what would’ve happened if Noah would’ve modified the plans God made for the Ark? What if Noah tried to make the Ark a little more aerodynamic? Scientist have scaled down the measurements God gave to Noah and built a replica of the Ark. When they placed it in water and tested it to see if it would turn over they discovered it was nearly impossible to turn over.revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-69198826906769728942008-02-18T16:40:00.000-08:002008-02-18T16:41:51.174-08:00Disappointed with new Knight Rider Debut.The new Knight Rider debut last night. I kind of looked forward to it.But they had to ruin it. Within the first 10 minutes they introduced one of the main characters , a lady FBI agent, as a homosexual. It also showed the main character in bed with two women.Can't they stop trying to reprogram our society into accepting homosexuality. I'm getting sick of it. It is everywhere. My children have to grow up in a society that has gone crazy.revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-34360978447646853392007-10-21T20:39:00.000-07:002007-10-21T20:52:39.620-07:0010 Reasons Not To Be Afraid<strong>Text: Psalm 34</strong> 1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 <strong>I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><p><strong></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYf4CwMKFnYJSxBqWd59AgWRjxLE-8ye1dxF-G45DCTpWvamkPfQ7d-fb2lAnZDlD7ynSCTix3GzkAoZq0Gjf5UflQY9rR4f3Ce5TY5hx8wZaIb9uL7M2wdgQ8nt87V6wenv4zaQ/s1600-h/10+Reasons+Not+To+Be+Afraid+PPT.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124002001648658546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 389px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 294px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="300" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYf4CwMKFnYJSxBqWd59AgWRjxLE-8ye1dxF-G45DCTpWvamkPfQ7d-fb2lAnZDlD7ynSCTix3GzkAoZq0Gjf5UflQY9rR4f3Ce5TY5hx8wZaIb9uL7M2wdgQ8nt87V6wenv4zaQ/s400/10+Reasons+Not+To+Be+Afraid+PPT.jpg" width="543" border="0" /></a> If you are delivered from all your fears, how much fear do you have left. (none).<br />It is possible to live free from all fear of evil.<br />There was no sin in the world until man sinned. God asked Adam why are you hiding. He said it was because he was afraid. God did not intend for man to be afraid. He created us to have dominion and have fellowship with him. But through the influence of the enemy, men are paralyzed with fear. And so if we are not going to fear, we’ve got to have revelation of truth. The Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. </p><p><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><strong></strong>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553397.post-19107655341422025982007-02-17T18:27:00.000-08:002007-02-17T19:11:54.386-08:00JESUS IS THE ANSWER.I am convinced that there are no earthly answers to the problems facing our world today. Almost everyone believes that the future outlook for this world is bleak. I believe that the problem lies within the fact that people just simply don't know the "answer" to problems that we face.<br />I could spend a lot of time writing about the problems of this world (I'll do that some other time). But right now I want to talk about the answer to all of life's problems. Those in our past, present and future.<br /><br /><strong>Jesus said. " I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. " John 10:10</strong> The problem we have is that we fail to understand what true abundance and prosperity really is. Here is my perception:<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">*Money cannot define prosperity and abundance.</span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">*Abundance applies to every area of life- relationships, health, finances, etc.....</span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">*Real abundance is having everything you need to do what God has called you to do.</span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">*Abundance is an expression of God's love. When God told Adam he could have all the trees in the garden, it was an expression of God's love.</span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">*If you are not enjoying life, you are not fulfilling God's will for your life.</span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>EIGHT STEPS TO ABUNDANCE</strong></span><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>1. You must have the word of God.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>2. The Word of God determines your thinking.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>3. Your thinking determines your emotions.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>4. Your emotions determines your decisions.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>5. Your decisions will determine your actions.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>6. Your actions will determine your habits.</strong><br /><br /><strong>7. Your habits</strong> <strong>will determine your character.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>8. Then you will arrive at your destination of abundance.</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />The bottom line is that Jesus is the answer and the world needs more of Him. We need more of Him in our government, our homes, schools, and yes, even in our churches. With more of Him, we Christians can turn our world upside down. With more of Him, poverty has to go, desease has to flee, all of lifes problems are understood.<br /><br />Jesus is the Answer.<br /><br /><p><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span></p><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"></span>revjlt1http://www.blogger.com/profile/16646114774264297388noreply@blogger.com0