Author: E. DeWayne Swann

 Children Go Where I Send You

There’s and old Christian song by this title, and the question is “Will you go?”

“Go Where I Send Thee”
The Kingston Trio Lyrics

Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, I’m gonna send you one by one, one for the little bitty Baby
Was born, born, born in Bethlehem
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, I’m gonna send you two by two, two for Paul and Silas
One for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, now, I’m gonna send you three by three, three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, I’m gonna send you six by six, well, six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, I’m gonna send you eight by eight, eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven and six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, now, I’m gonna send you ten by ten, ten for the ten commandments
Nine for the nine all dressed so fine, eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven who never got to heaven and six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem, He was born, born, born in Bethlehem

 

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Well, will you? Will you go? There was a saying that said, “if not you, then who, and if not now, then when?” so if you are reading this, you are the one that God is saying to GO! I cannot find anywhere in the proper content that the Word of God says to go to church, as far as that goes, there was not a Church as we know it at the time anyways. The Church as we know it did not start for a little over 300 years after Christ walked the earth. (So, now some have stopped reading and are going after ammo to counter what I just wrote instead of reading on and hearing me out) but it does say to go INTO THE WORLD (all the nations). What I want you to see is we all have a different world that we need to go into. The point is to get to the ones in need.

I am big time pro CHURCH; We need the Church as a place to collectively Worship and Praise a living, Savior. We need the Church to educate and to comfort other believers. We need the Church to do its job and to take care of the people in their communities. We need the Church for a safe haven, to get out of the world and to regroup with fellow believers. We need the Church to help the orphans and the widows. We need the Church reach a lost and dyeing world that is hell bound. And here you go, we need to do all the above regularly. SO DON’T SAY I AM ANTI CHURCH.

But because we sit up in our pulpits looking down on those not like us, they do not sing like us, they don’t read the same translation as we do, they don’t dress like us, they don’t look like us, they are not the same race as us, then we judge them and wonder why, no one wants to come to “my church”. I can tell you why, and I think I did just a little.

I love what I heard Jase Robertson say in their podcast “Unashamed” just recently. He said something along the lines of “people worship the book more than they Worship the Author.”

I think that it can also be applied to the Church building rather than the architect of the Church or Assembly. To the preacher rather than the one he should be proclaiming. The singers rather than the songs to glorify Christ. The outside of a person rather than the heart of the individual. It can and does go on and on.

But we need to GO into the world. (All the nations).

Mark 16:15 (HCSB)
¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

For some their world is to go into is their work, if it is an office, a factory, assembly line, on a sales floor, or even working outdoors, cutting pulp wood, pouring concrete or building a house, being a doctor or nurse, EMT wherever you are, that’s your world. For some their world to go into is a school, either as a teacher, student, or in the administration, all the way to the people cleaning, that school, college, or university, this is your world. For some that are retired you have a great big world of stores and parks to go into, your children, grandchildren, or even great grandchildren. When anyone of us goes into a restaurant or store that is a great world to go into and “preach the gospel”.

But I am not a preacher you may say, the word preach in the Greek is Kēryssō and its definition is; to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel) and the English Words used in KJV: is preach 51 publish 5 proclaim 2 preached 2 preacher 1 [Total Count: 61times in the KJV Bible] from the Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

So, you and every believer are to proclaim or tell the gospel so what is the gospel? It is to (euaggelizo); a good message, or (aggelos); to announce good news (“evangelize”) declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, is to preach (the gospel). From Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

That make the verse say we are to herald as a public crier, especially divine truth of the word of God. That is a good message, and to announce good news by declaring, to bring and show glad or good tidings, that is to preach the gospel. So, you need to tell what God has done and according to the word of God and what He is going to do, that, is Preaching the Gospel.

I have a redneck Yankee friend, and he does something that I have tried to incorporate into my life. He will ask the blessing (Pray) over every meal when he is out eating. As we should, but he always asks the servers if they have a prayer request. He has Preached or proclaimed the Gospel or the good news of Jesus with a number of people, those who served him and the people around his table. He has brought several people to Christ just by showing compassion.

If there is a person to preach to then there is your opportunity to “GO” and share the Gospel. I do not mean in any way for you to go get in their face and yell “you’re going to hell” which is probably true, but no one want to hear that or would respond to well to that. What you must do is live it in front of them in such a way to let your life preach the Word.

I once had a company and worked with a quite a few different people, I had one man that was only there a few months. I though because I was a preacher and he knew it, if there was a spiritual example in the room it would be me. Boy was I wrong, don’t get me wrong I showed kindness and respect, I spoke of Christ and tried to share the Gospel as much as possible. I would tell of a great sermon I heard just for a chance to preach. But it was not working.

We found out that one man working with us was really down on his luck, and words were not helping him much then. It reminded me of a story in the Bible about loving our neighbor, we call it the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus was asked how to have eternal life? His answer is recorded in the book of Luke:

Luke 10:25-37 (NKJV)
²⁵ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
²⁷ So he answered and said, “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ “
²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹ Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
³² Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
³⁵ On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
³⁶ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
³⁷ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

The question is not what kind of a neighbor I have, but what kind of neighbor does my neighbor have, namely YOU! Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”

My business partner which is a Christian found out and informed me that our worker and now great friend did not even have enough money for food. So, for lunch I would hear a song on the radio that I knew and was pretty sure he knew the title too. I would say name that tune, and I will buy lunch, boom! Just like that he would call out the title and we were off to lunch. He chalked it up to my bad luck and his knowledge of pop songs. I was trying to help the needy and let them keep their dignity. He was slowly seeing compassion in us. I love what I heard a preacher say once that “compassion is man’s way of showing God’s Grace.” Grace is what he was getting.

My business partner would have his wife make a little extra food when preparing their dinner, and he would take what was left to him and say “we had to much left over would you like it? Again, compassion with dignity. Our new worker and now friend saw God’s hand in supplying his need,

Matthew 10:29-31 (NKJV)
²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Our friend later told me that he heard about Christians and how they were supposed to act but this was the first time that he actually saw it.  He ended up rededicating his life to Christ and is as of the time of this writing serving in a Church playing his guitar in their youth church.

As Major Ian Thomas said in one of his great sermons. If we do as instructed then we are PUT.

1 Timothy 1:12-13 (NKJV)
¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Major Ian Thomas then said if you are Sent, and if you Went, then you are Put. If you could ask Jesus Christ while he was on the cross why He was there He would simply say He was PUT. Put? “Yes, I was Sent and I went.”

John 20:19-21 (NKJV)
¹⁹ Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
So, Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Are you waiting on a call? Well, there it is, I was Sent and I went. “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

As the song said that started this;

Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?
Well, I’m gonna send you one by one, one for the little bitty Baby
Was born, born, born in Bethlehem. As the Christmas Season has begun, now is a great time to GO!

And now the question is “Will you go?”

Making the Most of the Time We Have

Psalm 90

Psalm 90:1-17 (HCSB)
¹ Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation.
² Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.
³ You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”
⁴ For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.
⁵ You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning—
⁶ in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.
⁷ For we are consumed by Your anger; we are terrified by Your wrath.
⁸ You have set our unjust ways before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
⁹ For all our days ebb away under Your wrath; we end our years like a sigh.
¹⁰ Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.
¹¹ Who understands the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due You.
¹² Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
¹³ LORD—how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants.
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.
¹⁶ Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children.
¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands!

This is the oldest Psalm, and it was the only one written by Moses. Psalm 90

is Moses’ prayer to God asking for wisdom to make the most of his time on earth. A key verse might be verse 12. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

 

Moses lived to be 120 years old. It wasn’t until he was 80 years old, that God called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses knew the value of making the most of his time left on earth. Moses valued God more than the riches of Egypt.

 

Hebrews 11:24-26

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: …. Moses prays this prayer….” Lord, teach us to number our days…value our days…value the time we have left….”

 

Someone has illustrated time in this way. Suppose every day there was deposited in your bank account the amount of $86,400. There is this catch to it, what you don’t use during the day, you lose. There is no forwarding balance carried to the next day. Each day you begin with $86,400. What would you do with it? Go on a spending spree every day?

 

We are given 86,400 seconds each day. Once the day is up, it’s history. You can’t save it, it’s forever gone. It’s foolish to squander and waste $86,400, and it is much more foolish to squander and waste 86,400 seconds. Not everyone would agree. Many people would say, money is more important than time. Many would say wasting money is foolish, but wasting time doesn’t matter. How about if you were given just a few months to live? What amount of money would a person give to have more time to live?

 

The Bible says, “For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36-37

 

When the twin towers were engulfed in flames on September the 11th, money was not a major issue, the stock market was not a major issue. The major issue was time. Time meant everything. Time to get out of the building. Time to rescue as many as possible. When many were trapped and death was inevitable, then time to use a cell phone to say final words to loved ones.

 

Moses’ prayer is “God, teach us to make the most of our time remaining. Give us a heart of wisdom to do the right thing.”

 

We have a certain amount of time, so let us make the most of the time we have. How can we do that? How can we make the most of time when it seems we don’t have enough time? How can we make the most of time when it seems useless because our time is taken up by other things beyond our control?

 

To help us learn how to make the most of our time…. I want to give you 3 things that we must remember, and then there are 2 ways to make the most of your time.

1. Remember God is God, and We are Not. (vv. 1-2)

He is our sanctuary. God has been that for all generations. People foolishly waste their time seeking for security, when God alone is our security. He is our protection and stability. Mountains are a favorite vacation spot for a lot of folks. They are really impressive. Mountains give an impression of strength, stability and something that will last for a long time. In the Bible we know there will be a day when all the mountains will be removed from their place. In the last days men will run from the face of the Lord. They will run into the caves of mountains looking for protection.

 

In Psalm 90:2

2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 

We read that God was before the mountains. He created the mountains. True security is in God. God is more stable than a mountain. He will never change.

One evening I saw on the news about a man in Sparta, TN who was cutting the grass with a riding mower. Suddenly, he along with the mower took about a 15-foot drop. A sink hole suddenly appeared. There was water up to his head. He screamed for help, and thankfully neighbors helped to get him out of the hole. The ground we stand on is not that stable. We would be wise to find a place where the ground never shakes and gives way. God is our sanctuary. He is our dwelling place. To make most of our time here on earth, we would be wise to find God to be our dwelling place. Jesus is our Rock. And upon that rock even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it.

2. Remember God is ETERNAL, and We are Not. (vv.3-6)

We will be turned to dust. (KJV “destruction”) Our bodies will be destroyed by decay. Our bodies are not eternal. Our earthly bodies have been decreed by God to return. Return to the ground from which it came. A thousand years is but yesterday in God’s mind. A thousand years is like a few hours in the night. A “watch in the night” is 4 hours. Night begins at 6pm. And morning begins at 6am. A total of 3 watches during the night.

 

2Peter 3:8 “But beloved be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

 

God is not confined to time. He supersedes time. God is eternal.

According to v.5 we eventually are swept away like a flood. It reminds me of the recent tsunami. In a matter of seconds people were swept away out to sea. Our days are like a dream. We sleep and the dream is over. We are like grass that grows but soon it withers and is cut down.

APPLICATION: We can make the most of our days on earth, if we will keep in mind that we are not eternal. We are not here forever. We have an expiration date. When that time comes, there’s nothing you can do to prolong it. You can’t dodge it. You can’t escape it. One day we will be cut down. One day we will wither away. The Bible says, It’s appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment…” The old gospel songs says,

 

Life’s sinking sun, is sinking low…. A few more days, and I must go…God is ETERNAL, AND WE’RE NOT…. MAKE THE MOST OF THE DAYS WE HAVE.

3. Remember God is Holy, and We are not. (vv.7-12)

V.7 speaks of the judgment on all humanity because of sin. God’s anger and wrath on sin is the reason we die. God told Adam “in the day that you eat of the forbidden fruit…will be the day you will die” Adam began to die physically. The Bible says in Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

the wages of sin is death…. The Bible says be sure of this, your sins will find you out…..finds us in death…
V.8 There is no sin hidden from God. We are sinful opposed to God’s holiness.
V.9 NIV “All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.”
V.10 it doesn’t matter how strong you are, how positive you are, how determined you are…. because of sin we will die. God may give us 70 yrs. And if He gives more strength, we may reach beyond 80. There are more and more people living today to see even 100yrs old. Yet our days is of labor, and sorrow and soon we are cut off….we fly away.
V.11 We would make most of our time, if we would see that sin is the reason for all the sorrow, suffering, and death in the world. We are wasting our time if we try to explain away all of life’s curses. To make the most of our time, we should recognize that God is a Holy God. Our response should be to fear Him, that is reverence Him, Respect Him, Give Him the Respect and honor that Only He Deserves. Our days our spent foolishly if we ignore His Holiness.

V.12 We ask God to teach us to number our days. Teach us God to make the most of our days since we are only here for a brief time.

 

4. Since God is God, God is Eternal, and God is Holy, we must make the most of our Time for the rest of our lives….

 

(1) It must begin with a personal relationship with our Lord. (vv. 13-15)

V.13-14 we pray for His mercy. Where do you find God’s mercy? There’s one place. Jesus is our merciful, High Priest. In Christ we come to know the God of mercy. We come to know the God of all grace. Oh satisfy us early…that we may be glad all our days Time spent in this world will only bring grief and utter disappointment. People spend frivolous time on things that will perish. Time spent with Jesus will bring true satisfaction and gladness into our souls. In Christ we find mercy, grace, and true satisfaction.

Vv.15 God can make us glad. Chorus…He has made me glad, yes, he has made me glad…. Even though we will have days of sorrow…there will be sad days, there will be troublesome days, there will be discouraging days, but our God will give gladness to those who know His mercy. Where do you find mercy? At the foot of the Cross! In Jesus we find mercy! You say, it is too late for me…. I’ve spent up all my days…. I’ve nothing to give to God… Rememberthe thief on the cross…. “Remember me, Lord, when you come in your kingdom…” Jesus said, “today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” A man was dying…and Jesus gave Him mercy. Jesus gave Him eternal life beyond the grave. A bad man dying for the wicked deeds. Yet, he found mercy, he found forgiveness. God gave him gladness down in his soul.

5. To make the most of our Time for the rest of our lives….

(1) We must have a personal relationship with our Lord.

(2) We must live for something big…something that will count for eternity.

Look at v.16 Thy work There is nothing bigger, or greater than God’s work!
Live for God’s Work! And also look at v.16 thy glory. Live for God’s glory!
Many people are living only for their own glory. What a waste! There is nothing bigger, nothing greater than God’s glory!
· Nothing bigger than God’s work
· Nothing bigger than God’s glory
· Nothing bigger than God’s approval. (See v.17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us) beauty of the Lord = God’s approval, delight, favor You might get a favorable approval from people, but that comes and goes. The main thing…is your life approved of God. Live for HIS APPROVAL.

Live for something big! There is nothing bigger than God’s Work……

If we will line up with God’s work…. get on with what God is doing…. then His work…will also be our work. (See v.17 establish the work of our hands upon us….)

Life is so meaningless…when we live only for our work, or for our glory, seeking the approval of others….

To make the most of your time………. Live for God! For God’s glory…for God’s approval…. let His work become your work!!!!

Luke 12:16-21

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

What about you? Are you making the most of your time for the Lord?

GIVE THANKS

Part 2

F F Bruce – Ingratitude is one of the features of pagan depravity in Ro 1:21;

Romans 1:21 (HCSB) ²¹ For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.

the children of God are expected (and enabled by the Spirit) to “abound in thanksgiving” (Col 2:7; Col 3:15, 17, 4:2; Eph 5:4,20)

Colossians 2:7 (HCSB) ⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.

Colossians 3:15 (HCSB) ¹⁵ And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.

Colossians 3:17 (HCSB) ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 4:2 (HCSB) ² Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:4 (HCSB) ⁴ Coarse and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks.

Ephesians 5:20 (HCSB) ²⁰ giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

C. Ryle – Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well excepting upon a root of deep humility.

 

Hiebert – When we realize that God works all things out for good to those who love Him and are yielded to His will (Ro 8:28, Ge 50:20),

Romans 8:28 (HCSB) ²⁸ We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Genesis 50:20 (HCSB) ²⁰ You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.

Thanksgiving under all circumstances becomes a glorious possibility “He who can say `AMEN’ to the will of God in his heart will be able to say ‘HALLELUJAH’ also.”‘

Consider what the Lord has done

For you and those you love;

Then give Him thanks with hearts of praise

For blessings from above. –Sper

 

God grant us the Spirit wrought grace to emulate Matthew Henry’s high standard who wrote in his diary the day he was mugged “Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” Beloved, one of the best marks of spiritual maturity is the ability to give thanks when it is difficult!

 

K. Chesterton was once asked what was the greatest lesson, he had ever learned to which he replied “The greatest lesson I have learned is to take things with GRATITUDE and not take them for GRANTED.” Chesterton added that “You say grace before meals. All right But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, walking, playing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” Thanksgiving is faith in action.

 

Thanksgiving to God comes (super) naturally when we count our blessings. We would much less apt to protest the command to give thanks in EVERYTHING if it were our habit to give thanks in ANYTHING. Empowered by the Spirit, we need to focus on our “haves,” not our “have-nots.” As the psalmist says “Bless (praise) the LORD, O my soul, and FORGET NONE of His benefits; ” (Psalm 103:2). Indeed, praise to God comes naturally when we count our blessings.

 

M B Babcock encourages us “Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them we will see. Blessings brighten when we count them. Out of the determination of the heart, the eyes see. If you want to be gloomy, there’s gloom enough to keep you glum; if you want to be happy, there’s gleam enough to keep you glad. Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings by counting your troubles.”

 

David Cooper writes that “Thanksgiving delivers us from a victim mentality and gives us a victor’s mentality. I once read that nothing can help the person with the wrong mental attitude, and nothing can stop a person with the right mental attitude. And the right mental attitude to overcome our obstacles and win our battles is thanksgiving.”

 

Missionary Benjamin Weir was held hostage in Lebanon and imprisoned under miserable conditions for 16 months. In his first interview after his release, he was asked how he spent his time and how he dealt with boredom and despair. His answer stunned the reporters. He simply said, “Counting my blessings.” “Blessings?” they responded. “Yes,” he explained. “Some days I got to take a shower. Sometimes there were some vegetables in my food. And I could always be thankful for the love of my family.”

 

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by. —Oatman

 

Thankfulness seems to be a lost art today. A ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois was part of a life-saving squad. In 1860, when a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan. Edward Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue 17 passengers. In the process and his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.

 

“In Everything Give Thanks!”

Mid sunshine, cloud, or stormy days,

When hope abounds or care dismays,

When trials press and toils increase

Let not thy faith in God decrease—

‘In everything give thanks.’

“All things we know shall work for good,

Nor would we change them if we could;

‘Tis well if only He command;

His promises will ever stand—

‘In everything give thanks.’

“He satisfies the longing heart,

He thwarts the tempter’s cruel dart,

With goodness fills the hungry soul,

And helps us sing when billows roll.

‘In everything give thanks.'” –Author Unknown

 

As David a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22) said “I will GIVE THANKS to the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High… I will GIVE THANKS to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Thy wonders… Therefore I will GIVE THANKS to Thee among the nations, O LORD, And I will sing praises to Thy name… The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall THANK Him… Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And GIVE THANKS to His holy name… I will GIVE THANKS to Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Thy name forever… With my mouth I will GIVE THANKS abundantly to the LORD; And in the midst of many I will praise Him… I will GIVE THANKS to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well.” (Ps 7:17, 9:1. 18:49, 28:7, 30:4, 86:12, 109:30, 139:14)

Psalm 7:17 (HCSB) ¹⁷ I will thank the LORD for His righteousness; I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High.

Psalm 9:1 (HCSB) ¹ I will thank Yahweh with all my heart; I will declare all Your wonderful works.

Psalm 18:49 (HCSB) ⁴⁹ Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations; I will sing about Your name.

Psalm 28:7 (HCSB) ⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.

Psalm 30:4 (HCSB) ⁴ Sing to Yahweh, you His faithful ones, and praise His holy name.

Psalm 86:12 (HCSB) ¹² I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor Your name forever.

Psalm 109:30 (HCSB) ³⁰ I will fervently thank the LORD with my mouth; I will praise Him in the presence of many.

Psalm 139:14 (HCSB) ¹⁴ I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know ⌊this⌋ very well.

Hebrews 6:12 (HCSB) ¹² so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

Father grant by Your Spirit through Christ Jesus that we might be enabled to be “imitators of those (like David who continually gave thanks to You and) who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb 6:12) Amen

We don’t need more to be thankful for,

we need to be more thankful.

 

GIVE THANKS

Part 1

If you pause to THINK, you will have cause to THANK.

 

A woman had a parrot who always complained about everything. It was Thanksgiving Eve, and she was preparing the Thanksgiving meal. The parrot complained about everything as she worked. Finally, she had heard enough. She took him out of his cage and opened the refrigerator to put him in to punish him, “You’ll stay in the refrigerator until you cool off and get control on your tongue,” she said as she put him and closed the door. The parrot was stunned. Shivering, he caught a glimpse of the Thanksgiving turkey, skinned, legs pointing upward from the pan. The parrot said to the turkey, “Good heavens, man! What did you say?”

 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (HCSB) ¹⁸ Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

IN EVERYTHING – The Greek word for “everything” is “pas” which means no exceptions. There is a silver lining to every cloud. God is with us whatever befalls us (Heb 13:5). It is God’s will that we find joy in prayer in Christ Jesus in every condition of life.

 

As Ruth Bell Graham well said “We can’t always give thanks FOR everything, but we can always give thanks IN everything.”

 

Job is a prime OT illustration of the supernatural response of thanksgiving even in the face of overwhelming troubles (If you are experiencing trials and afflictions [and most of us are!] read Job 1:13-20). IN the midst of his manifold afflictions, Job declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) And in the end “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees Thee… And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning,” (Job 42:5, 12) “Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

James 5:11 (HCSB) ¹¹ See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Gratitude is always a God-honoring attitude.

For all the heartaches and the tears,

For gloomy days and fruitless years

I do give thanks, for now I know

These were the things that helped me grow! —Crandlemire

 

Ephesians 5:20 (HCSB) ²⁰ giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

“ALWAYS (all times) giving thanks for ALL THINGS in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” How is this possible? Certainly, it is not possible in my NATURAL inclination! But it is possible by God’s SUPERNATURAL provision. In other words, what is IM-possible, is HIM-possible! Paul had just commanded us to continually “BE FILLED with the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18). What “fills you” will “control you” and in this case He enables us to accomplish supernaturally what we cannot accomplish naturally.

 

As John Piper asks “How can we not be thankful when we owe everything to God?”

 

Indeed, he who thanks God for His mercies shall never want a mercy for which to thank, for “Every stream should lead us to the fountain.” (M. Henry)

 

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

— J Oatman

 

Ray Pritchard writes that “The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing. If one expects nothing then anything is bonus. If one expects more than he receives, then he is disappointed. We are so prone to complain because roses have thorns than to give thanks because thorns have roses! “In everything give thanks.” How do we do this in a practical sense?

First, thank him for your blessings.

Second, thank him for how he has helped you in your trials.

Third, thank him for his presence every day.

Fourth, thank him for his promises for the future.

As a Christian, our whole life is to be one great, “Thank you, Lord.” This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.””

 

We should be ready to give the Lord thanks

For blessing as well as for test;

Hearts that are thankful is all that He asks;

Let’s trust Him to give what is best. —Bierema

 

Colossians 3:17 (HCSB) ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Paul exhorts us “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, GIVING THANKS (present tense = continually, as our habitual practice) through Him (Christ Jesus) to God the Father.”

How is it possible to live a life of continual thanksgiving? As Jerry Bridges says we must “first renounce all confidence in our own power and then rely entirely on the power of the Holy Spirit. We must be ENABLED, not merely HELPED. What’s the difference? The word HELP implies we have some ability but not enough; we need someone else to supplement our partially adequate ability. By contrast, ENABLEMENT implies that we have no ability whatsoever. We’re entirely powerless. We can do nothing.

John 15:5 (HCSB) ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

But when by faith we renounce self-sufficiency and embrace reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive divine empowerment, enablement, and strength for personal transformation and ministry.” In short, the Holy Spirit enables us to continually manifest an attitude of gratitude.

Andrew Murray – A joyful, thankful life is what God has destined for us, is what He will work in us — what He desires, that He certainly does in those who do not withstand Him, but receive and suffer His will to work in them.

 

Notice that in 1Thes 5:16

1 Thessalonians 5:16 (HCSB) ¹⁶ Rejoice always!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (HCSB) ¹⁸ Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

(Rejoice always) and 1Thes 5:18 we see the combination of joy and giving thanks which Paul also links in Colossians 1:11-12 in the phrase “Joyously giving thanks to the Father.”

Colossians 1:11-14 (HCSB) ¹¹ May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

WHY? Because;
¹³ He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. ¹⁴ We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.

Paul’s association of thanksgiving (eucharisteo) and joy (chara) is not surprising as both words are related to the the same Greek root (charis) which is our word “grace.” Indeed, grace is the foundation for saints enabled by the Spirit to “joyously give thanks” when the circumstances are not very joy filled! And remember the lost world is watching. Will I respond naturally or supernaturally. The former draws attention to me, but the latter brings glory to the Father (Mt 5:16)!

Matthew 5:16 (HCSB) ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

The secret to abounding joy is a Spirit wrought, grace-based gratitude attitude. Remember, when you can’t change the wind, allow the Spirit to enable you to adjust your sails!

 

Warren Wiersbe – An attitude of gratitude is a wonderful weapon against unbelief, disobedience, a hard heart, and a bitter spirit. Instead of complaining about what we don’t have, let’s be thankful for what we do have, because God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him… We can’t control the circumstances of life, but we can control how we respond to them. That’s what faith is all about, daring to believe that God is working everything for our good even when we don’t feel like it or see it happening. “In everything give thanks” isn’t always easy to obey, but obeying this command is the best antidote against a bitter and critical spirit. The Scottish preacher George H. Morrison said, “Nine-tenths of our unhappiness is selfishness, and is an insult cast in the face of God.”

Thanksgiving is the vibration of the soul’s heart-strings under the soft touch of God’s benevolence.

 

God’s GIVING deserves our THANKSGIVING.

Friend

Friend, it’s a word that we throw around a lot, but the question is do you know what a friend is? My computer programs definition goes as follows:

Friend [frend] Noun plural noun: friends, plural noun: Friends

1. a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations. “she’s a friend of mine”

synonyms companion, bosom friend, best friend, close friend, intimate, confidante, confidant, familiar, soul mate, alter ego, second self, shadow, playmate, playfellow, classmate, schoolmate, workmate, ally, comrade, associate, sister, brother, pal, bosom pal, buddy, bosom buddy, chum, spar, sidekick, crony, main man…  antonyms enemy

2. a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Verb; third person present: friends, present participle: friending, past tense: friended, past participle: friended

1. add (someone) to a list of contacts associated with a social networking website.

“I am friended by 29 people who I have not friended back”

2. befriend (someone).

origin

Old English frēond, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriend and German Freund, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by free.

 

In the late 1990s I had the pleasure of being our Church sound coordinator, this also meant that I was responsible for running the sound for our choir. Running the sound for the choir also came the responsibility of going with them on singing appointments. I really enjoyed and loved mixing the sound for the Church and the choir as long as we were at our Church, or close to home where I could drive. The Church choir had gotten a pretty good reputation at that time for being anointed. God really seemed to use us a lot at that time.

The problem was we were invited to do the Smoky Mountain Jubilee in Gatlinburg Tennessee, which wasn’t too bad because I would ride up with the drummer which is dear friend and help him set up his kit. Tennessee wasn’t too bad of a ride and the Evangelist that ran the Jubilee also was a Pastor of a Church in Virginia, and he invited us to go to his annual Church Jubilee. So, now, we are going to go to Virginia and minister there.

There is one of many reasons that I don’t want to go, the main reason is the same reason I don’t like to fly, the same reason I don’t like to be in an elevator, the same reason that I don’t like being in the back of a large crowd. I am and have always been claustrophobic. I don’t like closed in places and I really don’t like being anywhere that I can’t control when and where I can stop and get out of the room or of the vehicle. With that known by our pastor Snyder, he came to me and asked me to go with them and that I could have any seat on the bus that they chartered. I asked any and he assured me any. So, I insisted that I drive, knowing that that wasn’t going to happen and knowing that I didn’t trust my little S 10 truck to make the trip, I thought that I would get out of going, I did not.

Now I am on a bus that I don’t want to be on and going somewhere that I didn’t want to go. As I have stated I love my Church and the choir and mixing the music and singers, I went not to please God but to please man, and that is never the reason to minister, but God had me where he wanted me for a reason.

I love good preaching and I truly love anointed preachers, such as Tony Evans, Ike Reighard, Dr. Charles Stanley, Andy Stanley, and on and on. A few weeks before we headed out on this outing, I had the chance to go to the Bailey Smith Real Evangelism Conference, in Marietta, Georgia at Roswell Street Baptist Church, Pastored by Nelson Price. After attending there for a week, I had an opportunity to purchase a number of cassette tapes. (I said that this was in the 90s didn’t I) There were some great sermons and testimonies on these tapes, and some would just break your heart.  So, I decided that I would bring all my tapes and my little tape player, some headphones and enough batteries to make the trip and back, with batteries to spare. Now I was hoping that I could just submerge myself in preaching and never contemplate on being on a bus full of people and having little to no control over the situation.

Now as I am set, hoping and praying that no one would bother me and remind me of my surrounding’s. I was setting alone, and I liked it that way, everyone else was talking and getting ready for a great time together, and as the bus was loading up to go. I made sure that I got a seat next to a window and not too far from the front so if I had a meltdown, I could be drugged off the bus rather easily. People already knew who they wanted to be with and where they wanted to sit. So, all was going just the way I wanted it to go, until (I have said in the past “until” is hardly ever a good word to hear in a story). She said may I sit with you? And everything inside me was screaming NO! But I tried to conjure up a smile and said sure.

I spent most of my time in that Church at that time either in the sound room or in the pulpit. I am sorry to say that I am not much of a social person, don’t get me wrong, I love people and I care deeply for their souls. But, because of certain circumstances I got to a point in my life where I was really careful who I let get close to me. Way too many people have come into my life, and I have gotten really close to them and now they are gone. I was not on that bus but for one reason and one reason only and that was to get to our destination and do my responsibility. Not to socialize and definitely not to make any new friends. But I believe that God had other plans.

As I recall I told her she could sit with me if she left me alone, her name is Dianne, she seemed to be okay with that because she had a book she wanted to read and acted as if she didn’t want to be bothered either. Boy, was I wrong about not wanting to talk with me. Her son is our drummer and a great friend of mine, so I thought she would be okay to be around because I always enjoy being around Mark.

As the trip progressed, she started asking me questions, and I thought why not talk maybe it will get my mind off the fact that I was still on a bus. It didn’t work, so to get her quite I offered for her to listen to some of my tapes, and she took me up on the offer. As she sat there listening, I saw her starting to tear up and then I remembered that I just gave her the tape of Ike Reighard testimony. It is a great sermon and testimony, and it broke her heart. After listening to it, she got yet another tape and then after completing it she said you sure listen to some tear jerkers. We then started talking about what she had been listening to. If you want a preacher to be your friend, just ask him a spiritual question about the Word of God and sit back and enjoy the ride.

That happened well over twenty years ago, and to this day I consider her as one of the few friends that I call close. She later came to work as my company office manager and was by far the best employee I ever had. She was encouraging when I need encouraging, and never worries about my feelings when it comes to setting me straight when I start to drift. We all need people like that in our life. She and her husband are now in the Journey Group that I have the honor of teaching and is someone I love dearly. You just never know who God is going to put in your life and for what reason.

 

Oswald Chambers said, “Friendship is rare on earth. It means identity in Thought and Heart and Spirit.”

 

1. S. Lewis said friendships are discovered when you say, “What, you too?! I thought I was the only one” (Four Loves, 248).

Very few people have met those criteria in my life, and I bet the same can be said for most of us. We claim hundreds or even thousands of friends on Facebook and other social media outlets, and having never met many of them, how can they be friends. I was recently removed from a post and blocked from adding anything to the page on Facebook. The post was my home Church that I have been a part of since I was five years old, I am now sixty-one. So, I was not happy, it wasn’t anything bad I posted it was just an old picture of the Church and I said I miss that, Church. After I put a rebuttal on my page and about 50 people commented on my post, I received a message apologizing and said the block was removed and ended by saying “God bless my friend.” I don’t know who misinformed the person writing me that we were friends, because we are not. I have never talked to the man that messaged me. We are not friends, not my definition of a friend

 

In the book of John, it says:

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” … and then Jesus continues “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  NKJV

 

As of the writing of this we as a nation just remembered the 75th anniversary of “D Day” and how these men of the greatest generation of Americans where these men laid down their lives for us.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, and only received full credit for it in the 1880s. The tune to the hymn was composed by Charles Crozat Converse in 1868. William Bolcom composed a setting of the hymn.

 

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged— Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden? Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior. Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear;

May we ever, Lord, be bringing All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright, unclouded. There will be no need for prayer—

Rapture, praise, and endless worship Will be our sweet portion there.

 

As Christians, we should know that Jesus is our friend, but we need to make sure that we introduce the surrounding people to Him also. In one of the talks in a Christian weekend retreat that I work with on occasion, says “make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.”

I have this penned in the back of my Bible

“If I just do my thing and you do yours, we stand in the danger of losing each other and ourselves, we are fully ourselves only in the relation to each other, the “I” detached from the “thou,” is disintegrating. I do not find you by chance, I find you by an active life of reaching out” by Walter Tubbs

Did Jesus not say in Mark 16:15 …” Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. NKJV

All the world and let everyone as you come in contact with them know about Jesus. As it’s been said “no one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care”.

 

I love the Randy Newman song for “Toy Story”:

“You’ve Got A Friend in Me”.

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me,

When the road looks rough ahead, And you’re miles and miles,

From your nice warm bed, You just remember what your old pal said,

Boy, you’ve got a friend in me, Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me.

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got troubles, I’ve got ’em too, There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,

We stick together and we see it through, Cause you’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got a friend in me.

Some other folks might be A little bit smarter than I am,

Bigger and stronger too, Maybe,

But none of them will ever love you, The way I do,

It’s me and you, boy.

And as the years go by, Our friendship will never die,

You’re gonna see it’s our destiny, You’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me.

 

The word friend is found some 58 times in the NKJV, 22 of those are in the New Testament. Jesus used the word 14 of those 22 times.

 

Why does one need a friend, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that two is better than one, and we need to make sure the one with our one is the one that God desires for us to have in our lives?

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV)

9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.

10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.

11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

 

We have to be very careful as to not only to whom you call friend and to whom you let in your life as a friend.

 

I like what a young preacher in our church once said in one of his first sermons, and that is if you take a white glove and put it on your hand and then submerge that hand in mud, the glove gets muddy. It is never said that the mud got glovie. (I know that glovie is not a word, but do you get the point.)

 

So, we need to be very careful who we accept as a real friend, if the person brings you down, takes you away from the ones that once lifted you up. If that person takes you places that you once wouldn’t go because it would hurt your testimony. If that person uses language that brings dishonor to God and make you look cheap. So, if that person has more influence on you and you start emulating them instead of representing Christ. There should be warning horns going off big time in your heart and mind. You should step back and look and see if you are getting muddy or if they are getting glovie. My bet is the mud is winning, if you step back from real friends and start following this kind of people you are not doing them any good, and you are really not doing you any good either.

 

Well Jesus hung out with sinners and bad people. Yes, He did, and he showed them love and brought them around to His way, by the example that He led. Not by acting like them. I am not saying you can’t have bad people in your life as friends, I am saying don’t let them lead you away from the witness that took you years to build up. Satan would have nothing better than to tare you down.

Remember “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.” Not make a friend, be a friend, let that friend take you from Jesus.

So, here is the question, are you getting muddy or the ones you are hanging with getting glovie? If you are a Christian and you allow someone to take you down the wrong road, and you are allowing them to tear down the witness that God had in you then I say it’s time to do as Joshua said in the book that carry’s his name:

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

You have to make a choice whether to follow God or follow the world! Sometimes the one that is leading you down the wrong road may be waiting for you to make a stand and say NO, I’m going to follow God. Just so they can see if this Christianity stuff is real in your life and if, so then they may want to follow Christ themselves.

 

James 4:4 (NKJV)

4 … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

As I have said in the past and am sure I will say again and again. When God is talking about neighbors and friends, I don’t think he is talking about what kind of friend you have but what kind of friend does your friend have namely, YOU.  Are you loving that friend enough to say for me, I will serve the LORD! Do you love them enough to let them leave, because Jesus did? He gives us a choice, to love them and live for Him and lead them out of hell. Or watch them go on their way while destroying your testimony and your witness.

I beg you to love them enough to bring them to Christ. “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.” That is real love.  They are worth your love, but not at the expense of taking away the love you once had for God and his word.

Let them see the Love of the Lord in you and they may just want it to. It’s been my experience that most people living a Godless life are looking for something and I promise you that something is God himself.

I heard a preacher say once that he could tell the ones not as close to God as they once were. They were in the Church down front, then about half-way back then in the back, then in the overflow, then they were gone. It’s always gradual. One small step at a time away from Christ and for every step you make away its one more step closer to Satan and his way of life, which leads to destruction.

I once had a great quiet time and now my time is quiet. I once went to church religiously (did you see what I did there?) now my religion is anything except Christ. I once went to Sunday School or Small Group and now I am in places that I know that God is heartbroken over. Does He stop loving you? NEVER!!! But there will come a time that someone that once watched how much you loved God and how you wouldn’t compromise your belief in Him. They are seeing something different, and they may say if that is Christianity, I want no part of it. Is your moment of enjoyment worthy of their soul?

As I stated at the beginning, I have a number of people that I know, but I only have a few people that I call Friend. God calls everyone his friend. Are you in need of a friend let me tell you where to get a friend?

 

Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV)

24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

 

Can we find a friend so faithful? Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; Are we weak and heavy-laden? Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge—Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there. Blessed Savior. Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear; May we ever, Lord, be bringing All to Thee in earnest prayer.

 

Can we find a friend so faithful? Yes, His name is Jesus!!

 

I hope and pray that the ones that call me friend that I live up to their expectation. I hope that when my name is spoken that that people can say he is my friend.

I hope that I follow the example set before me in Christ Jesus.

I hope if you ever have called me friend that you still can.

But I know me, I know that I have let people down, I know that I probably have said or done something that I shouldn’t have said or done. And hope and pray that my friends can forgive me and that I can forgive my friends that have let me down.

 

The example that is set before us is Jesus himself. He forgave us even before we let him down and keeps loving us anyways. Let’s try to live that way and remember:

 

“Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.”

And know this “You’ve Got A Friend in Me”

From my next Book “More to Ponder”

The Blessed Man

Part 2

 

 

The Amplified Bible

 

Psalms 1

2 But his delight and desire the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions. teachings of God) he habitually meditates (Ponders and studies) by day and by night.

 

1. The Godly Man’s Prosperity

    He Is Situated by the Waters (1:3)

 

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

 

In the symbolism of Scripture, water for cleansing customarily represents the Word of God; water for drinking symbolizes the Spirit of God.

 

Meditation in Scripture releases the river of God’s Spirit so that our lives are refreshed and revitalized.

 

The Psalmist notes seven things which mark the life of the man who is situated by the river.

   His Prominence. (standing) he is like “a tree.”

His Permanence: (stability) he is like a tree “planted.” Unlike the grass, which is mowed down in successive harvests, a tree sends its roots down deep into the soil. It has a deep, hidden life.

His Position: (place) he is planted “by the rivers of water. ” The droughts which bring bleakness and barrenness to others do not affect him. He has an unfailing source of life.

His Productivity:(output) he “brings forth fruit.” His branches run over the wall he is a blessing to everyone.

His Politeness (good behavior) he brings forth his fruit “in his season.” He is not a freak. There are times for fruit-bearing just as there are times for growth and times for rest. So long as we are abiding in the Spirit we need not worry about the fruit. It will come in its season.

His Perpetuity (forever) “his leaf also shall not wither.” There are two trees outside. One has leaves on it.  They look very pretty, but soon they will fall to the ground. The other tree has fresh, green pine needles. It is an evergreen. That’s what we are to be like–not affected by the winter or the weather–always the same.

His Prosperity: (success) whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Everything will prosper–his family life, his business life, his church life, his personal life. Such is the godly man, the happy, happy man. For God!  It’s not name it and claim it, blab it and grab it, It’s for Gods glory not your gain. You don’t give to get, if you do you give for the wrong reason.

 

This is not a way to riches is the way to God’s blessing on your life

Spiritually prosper

 

Heb 13:5

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

KJV

 

Heb 13:5

5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

NAS

 

The Amplified Bible

3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither and everything he does shall prosper [ and come to maturity]

 

1. THE GODLESS MAN (1:4-6)

This is the person who leaves God out of his life. The “ungodly”-that is the mildest description of the lost man in the Bible. By definition a man is either married or unmarried, he is either happy or unhappy, ht is either thankful or unthankful, he is either godly or ungodly. Everything about the ungodly man in this psalm sets him in complete contrast with the godly man. The ungodly man is driven, doomed, and damned.

 

*The Promise*

1. He Is Driven (l:4)

 

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

 

CHAFF

The fine, dry material, such as husks (seed coverings) and other debris, which is separated from the seed in the process of threshing grain. In the Bible, chaff symbolizes worthless, evil, or wicked persons (or things) that are about to be destroyed (Ps 1:4; Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17). It is a fitting figure of speech to describe complete destruction by judgment. “The ungodly,” said the psalmist, “are like the chaff which the wind drives away (Ps 1:4).

(From Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

 

Having described the godly man, the Holy Spirit, with studied and deliberate contrast, introduces the ungodly man: “The ungodly are not so.”

 

In the Septuagint version there is a much more pungent way of expressing the double negative of this verse:

 

“Not so the ungodly, not so.

 

In contrast with the towering tree, with its roots deep in the soil, nourished by a permanent stream, the ungodly is likened to the chaff which the wind drives away.

 

The unsaved man is at the mercy of forces he does not see what he cannot control. Here is a ship, its engines broken, its steering out of order, caught in the grip of a wind. It is being driven by wind and tide toward the jagged rocks that guard the coast. Gripped by forces beyond its control it is being driven straight to disaster.

 

Such are the forces at work in the life of the ungodly. They are satanic forces, wielded by the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,

 

The unsaved man does not believe in Satan or in evil spirits. His education has taught him to believe only in what he can test with his senses; but these are invisible forces and the pressure they exert is secret pressure.

 

The ungodly man is not the master of his own soul. the captain of his own destiny. He is being relentlessly driven. He is as powerless against these forces as the chaff is before the wind. That is how God describes the ungodly.

 

1. He Is Doomed (l:5)

 

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

 

The sinner has no standing in the day of judgment. He will be summoned to the great white throne there to find the heaven and the earth have fled away.

 

Everything familiar will be gone. Everything he has sought to build, everything in which he has invested his time and his talents-gone!

He has nowhere to stand. He has built his house upon the sand and the judgment has swept it all away.

 

 

1. He Is Damned (1:6)

 

6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

 

“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

 

There are only two ways. There is the way of the cross, the way that leads by Calvary to glory.

And there is the way of the curse, the broad and popular way that leads to a lost eternity.

 

Jesus said in John 14:6

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

By nature, and by practice our feet are set on the broad way.

 

“We have turned everyone to his own way,” the prophet declares.

 

But, by deliberate choice, we can make the change. We come to Jesus, “the way, the truth, the life,” the One who says, “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.

 

We take Him as Savior and become numbered with the godly We are no longer driven but directed. The lost man, on the other hand, can no more fight his end than the chaff can fight the wind. “The way of the ungodly shall perish.” That is the Holy Spirit’s sobering, closing word in this first great Hebrew hymn.

 

The central lesson in Psalm 1 is this: There is not the slightest similarity between the spiritually accelerating life of the righteous and the slowly eroding life of the wicked. Look at the contrasts:

 

Godly                                                      Ungodly

Godly Happiness many times over               Ungodly Not so!

Godly Uncompromised. purity                     Ungodly Driven by the wind

Godly Has a guide-Word of God                  Ungodly No guide mentioned

Godly Like a tree                                         Ungodly Like chaff

Godly Stands erect before God                     Ungodly Unable to stand                                                                                       at all

Godly Special object of God’s care               Ungodly No right to                                                                      stand, among righteous assembly

Godly Destiny secure, safe, prosperous         Ungodly Perish

 

Let’s bring this study of Psalm 1 to a close with an expanded paraphrase:

 

Oh, the happiness, many times over, of the man who does not temporarily or even casually imitate the plan of life of those living in the activity of sinful confusion, nor comes and takes his stand in the midst of those who miss the mark spiritually, nor settles down and dwells in the habitation of the blas­phemous crowd. But (in contrast to that kind of lifestyle) in God’s Word he takes great pleasure, thinking upon it and pon­dering it every waking moment, day, or night. The result: He will become treelike-firm, fruitful, unwithered, and fulfilling the goals in life that God has designed for him.

Not so, the ungodly! They are like worthless husks beaten about and battered by the winds of life (drifting and roaming without purpose). Therefore-on account of their inner worthlessness without the Lord-the ungodly are not able to stand erect on the day of judgment, nor do they possess any right to be numbered among the assembly of those declared righteous by God, because the Lord is inclined toward and bound to His righteous ones by special love and care; but the way of the one without the Lord will lead only to eternal ruin.

 

The Blessed Man

Part 1

 

THE HEBREW HYMNBOOK begins with two according to John Phillips “orphan” psalms, that is, with two psalms the authors of which are not given. During the entire Old Testament period, like its companion it stood fatherless on the sacred page. There it is, Psalms 1 without author or inscription, owning no stated author but God.

 

 

The book of Psalms is most blessed book the key verse the book of Psalms is found in Psalms 29:2

 

Ps 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.  KJV

The Psalms are quoted more often in the New Testament than any of the book in the Old Testament

Of the 150 Psalms one third or anonymous.

73 of the Psalms songs are attributed to David.

12 are of Asaph

11 to the sons of Korah

2 to Solomon and

1 to Moses in Psalms 90 and is the oldest of the Psalms

There are five division of the book of Psalms

The last song in each division closes with the blessing and glory to God.

The first division is in Psalms 1 through 41

The second is Psalms 42 through 72

The third 73 through 89

The fourth is 90 through 106 and

The fifth is 107 through 150

The promises that God knows the way of the righteous

Psalms 1

 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; (the word of God)  and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.   KJV

 

So, we start vs. 1

There are things we cannot do if we want to be blessed of God

1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

 

1. THE GODLY MAN (1:1-3)

God finds a high note and begins there the book of Psalms begins with the word “blessed,” or as it can be rendered, “happy.” In the original it is not in the singular but in the plural. We can render the first word of the Psalms: “Oh the blessednesses of the man, or even more Happy, happy is the man, or: Oh the happnesses of the man

 

Phil Robertson ” Happy Happy ”

BLESSED

‘ashre “835”, “blessed; happy.” All but 4 of the 44 biblical occurrences of this noun are in poetical passages, with 26 occurrences in the Psalms and 8 in Proverbs.

Basically, this word notes the state of “prosperity” or “happiness” that comes when a superior bestows his favor (blessing) on one. In most passages, the one bestowing favor is God Himself: “Happy art thou, 0 Israel: who is like unto thee, 0 people saved by the Lord” <Deut. 33:29>.

The state that the blessed one enjoys does not always appear to be “happy”: “Behold, blessed [KJV, “happy”] is the man whom God corrected: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he makes sore, and binds up…’ <Job 5:17-18>.

(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas ‘Nelson Publishers)

 

So,

“Happy, happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly who stands not in the way of sinners, who sit not in the seat of the scornful.

 

” Modem psychology tells us to emphasize the positive; God begins by emphasizing the negative.

 

The happy, happy man is marked by the things he does not do, the places to which he does not go, by the books he does not read, by me movies he does not watch, by the company he does not keep. Surely that’s a strange way to begin!

 

God begins this book not with the power of positive thinking, but with the power of negative thinking! In other words, a man who would be a happy, happy man begins by avoiding certain things in life, things which make it impossible for happiness to flourish because they are poisonous, destructive, and counterproductive.

 

*The Prohibitions*

1. The Godly Man’s Path

He Is Separated from the World (1:1)

 

The blessed man is not widely ungodly man there is a definite difference

1. He Does Not Listen to the Ungodly Man

“Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.”

 

Walk

Walk is a term that suggests passing by or “a casual movement along the way.”

With its entire phrase, it implies the idea of one who does not try to be like or go through the casual motions” of wickedness.

The word translated counsel comes from the He­brew term meaning hard, firm Here, it means a definite, firm, planned direction. Consider this paraphrase of verse

 

1:Oh, the happiness, many times over, of the one who does not even casually go through the motions or imitate the plan of life of those who live in ungodliness. . ..

 

It is not uncommon to flirt with the wicked life, periodically imitating the motions of one without Christ. We may, joke or, refer to the fun and excitement of ungodliness-or chuckle at our children’s questionable actions.

 

The psalmist warns us against that. He tells us that we will be abundantly more happy if we steer clear of anything that could give the erosion of spiritual compromise a head start.

 

2. He Does Not Linger with the Sinful Man

“Blessed is the man who.., standeth not in the way(or path) of sinners.”

 

Walk

Stand

The Hebrew word for “stand” has the idea of coming and tak­ing one’s stand.

 

The word path or way comes from the word meaning “a marked-out path, a certain and precise way of life.”

 

Can you see the progressive deterioration toward more involvement in sinful living? The casual passerby slows down and before you know it, he takes his stand.

 

On the other hand, by taking a firm stand for righteousness, we will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water  ­one that cannot be eroded by the winds of wickedness and un­righteousness.

 

“Blessed is the man who.., standeth not in the way of sinners.” There is nothing wrong with being friendly with lost men and women, of course. Jesus was.

He made friends with all kinds of people, but He did so in order to lead them to a higher, holier way of life. They called Him “a friend of publicans and sinners. If this verse teaches we are not to stand in the way of sinners; we are not to participate in their sinful activities.

 

Abraham stood in the way of sinners when he went down to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan, where he told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister, and lost his testimony.

 

Lot stood in the way of sinners when he listened to the king of Sodom instead of the king of Salem, went back to Sodom, and lost his family.

 

Peter stood in the way of sinners when he warmed himself at the world’s fire during the trial of Jesus and consequently denied his Lord with oaths and curses.

 

3, He Does Not Laugh at the Scornful Man

“Blessed is the man who… sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.”

 

Walk

Stand

Sit

The next word the psalmist emphasizes is sit. This suggests a permanent settling down, an abiding, even permanent dwelling.

It is made even clearer by the use of seat, meaning ‘habitation” or “permanent residence.” Don’t miss this:

His way of life is in the sphere of the scornful,” the one who continually makes light of that which is sacred.

 

Can you see the picture in the writer’s mind? We shall be happy many times over if we maintain a pure walk, free from, even the slightest flirtation with evil. If we begin to walk in the counsel of the wicked,” it is easy to slip slowly into the habitation of the scornful.

 

“Blessed is the man who… sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.” The ungodly man has his counsel; the sinner has his way; the scornful has his seat. Look at the progression in wickedness-the ungodly, the sinner, the scornful; and the corresponding progression in backsliding–walking, standing, sitting. As the company gets worse sin increases its hold.

 

What the Psalmist called the “seat” referred to what we would call the “chair” of the scornful. We speak, for instance, of the professor’s chair; the Hebrews would speak of their seat: “The scribes … sit in Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2), under the authority, that is, they were professors of the law.

 

The happy, happy man avoids the seat of the scornful. he avoids the classroom of the atheist and humanist who delight to shred the faith of the unlearned.

 

*The Peculiarities*

 

1. The Godly Man’s Pleasure

He Is Satisfied with the Word (1:2)

 

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; (the word of God)  and in his law (the word of God)  doth he meditate day and night.

 

Delight = pleasure; desire; a valuable thing;

 

1. The Word of God Has Captured His Full Affection

“His delight is in the law of the LORD.”

He has a different counselor than the ungodly man,

He finds different company than the sinful man,

He has a different cause than the scornful man.

His first love is for the Word of God.

 

2. The Word of God Has Claimed His Full Attention

 

“And in His law doth he meditate day and night.” He does not pore over the books of the scornful; he pores over the Scriptures.

 

MEDITATION The practice of reflection or contemplation. The word meditation or its verb form, to meditate, is found mainly in the Old Testament.

 

The Hebrew words behind this concept mean “to murmur, “a murmuring,” “sighing,” or “moaning.” This concept is reflected in Ps 1:2, where the “blessed man” meditates on God’s law day and night.

The psalmist also prayed that the meditation of his heart would be acceptable in God’s sight (Ps 19:14).

 

Joshua was instructed to meditate on the Book of the Law for the purpose of obeying all that was written in it (Josh 1:8).

 

The Greek word translated as meditate occurs only twice in the New Testament. In Luke 21:14 Jesus instructed His disciples not “to meditate beforehand” in answering their adversaries when the end of the age comes. The word may be understood in this passage as the idea of preparing a defense for a court appearance.

Paul, in 1 Tim 4:15, urged Timothy to meditate, or take pains with, the instructions he gives. The idea of meditation is also found in Phil 4:8 and Col 3:2.

Phil 4:8

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Col 3:2

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

 

The meditation the Psalmist advocates deliberately engages the conscious mind with the truths of God’s Word.

We come into God’s presence, open Bible in hand, and say, “Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.”

Then we read the Bible in a disciplined, meaningful, meditating way, seeking to understand and appropriate its truths.

 

We ask the following questions, for instance, when meditating the bible:

Is there any sin here for me to avoid?

Is there any promise for me to claim?

Is there any victory to gain?

Is there any blessing to enjoy?

Is there any truth I have never seen before about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, about man, sin?

What is the main thing I can learn here?

 

That’s meditation, especially keeping a note pad and pen handy and writing down what the Holy Spirit brings to mind as we thus ponder (meditate) God’s Word. For writing makes an exact man.

Bro Frank Holcomb said if it worth remembering it’s worth writing down. Nothing wrong with having notes. If we cannot verbalize it, we haven’t learned anything.

 

STAYING IN THE PEA PATCH

Part 3

1. It Was a Time of Great Conflict
2. It Was a Time of Great Courage

III. V. 12b IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT CONQUEST

1. The Lord Defeated The Enemy – This last part of verse 12 tells us that the:

One who really won the victory was God!

He gave Shammah the ability to stand.

He gave Shammah the power to fight.

He gave Shammah the skill to win.

He gave Shammah the victory over his enemies.

Shammah may have held the sword, but it was

God Who fought and WON the battle!

It was the same when David walked into the valley against Goliath, or when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood their ground, or when Daniel continued to pray in spite of what the kind commanded. Men take their stand because they are empowered by God! He gives the victory!

When we face the spiritual battles of life, we need to remember that those battles are the Lord’s, 2 Chron. 20:15; Psa. 35:1; 1 Sam. 17:47.

2 Chron 20:15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. NKJV

Ps 35:1 Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. NKJV

1 Sam 17:47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”  NKJV

 

Therefore, when you fight the battles, whether you win or lose, you have done what the Lord requires, you have been faithful! That is what he demands!)

1. The Lord Defended The Ground – Because God had one man who was willing to stand, the fields were protected and the people were saved from starvation and from slavery!

Think about this with me for a moment.

If we do not stand, Satan will certainly take everything from the church he can get his hands on.

If he takes away the Bible, what will the following generations eat?

If he takes away our desire to witness, who will tell the Good News?

If he takes away our will to pray, who will call on the Father and stand in the gap for this world.

If we do not fight, then we will certainly lose those things that give us power and make us great for the glory of God.

If we do not fight today, then people starve tomorrow.

If the field is not protected now, those who follow will have no harvest to enjoy.)

Conc: The enemy is still attacking the people of God just as he did through the Philistines. And, just like it was then, so people are still fleeing from the scene of the battle.

People are abandoning the harvest and are choosing to flee rather than fight.

Where do stand?

Are you willing to stand idly by while the enemy ransacks the church?

Or, like Shammah, are you willing to take your stand for God, regardless of the consequences and fight until the victory is won.

Will you stay in the pea patch while other are running away?

Why not come before the Lord today and tell Him that you know some things are worth dying for.

Tell Him that you will take your stand for Him and that you will be found in the battle, regardless of what others do.

Will you stay in the pea patch will you defend it.?

C.T. Studd ” Only one life twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

STAYING IN THE PEA PATCH

Part 2

 

1. It Was a Time of Great Conflict
2. V. 12a IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT COURAGE
3. Shammah’s Resolve – The Bible tells us that Shammah “stood”.

Eph 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, NKJV

He resolved in his heart that he would fight for that pea patch.

He made up his mind that he would not run away from the battle.

Maybe he had run before, but not this time!

Today, he would stand and he would fight, even if it cost him his life!

You see, Shammah knew that there are some things worth fighting for!

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.  NKJV

So it is in the church!

We could just stand back and watch the church go the way of the world.

We could just run away and hide while the enemy tramples everything we love under his feet.

Or we could decide today that we will take a stand!

We could make up our minds that we are tired of seeing the devil hinder the work of God.

We could resolve in our hearts today that there are some things that are worth fighting for!)

1. B. Shammah’s Reason – Why did Shammah fight? He knew that without food, the people would perish.

He knew the people had to eat and that if they were going to eat, the fields had to be defended!

I’ll say it again, Shammah knew that some things were worth fighting for!

Listen I said before about working at the Children’s Home, if it doesn’t matter it don’t matter.    Pick your battles.  Cause some things Do matter. 

Let me just suggest a few things today that are worth fighting for in this day and time.

The church,

the lost,

the Word of God,

old-fashioned praying,

preaching,

praising the Lord,

clean living,

the reputation of the church,

our families,

our young people, etc.

These things are so important that they are literally worth dying for! Where are the Shammah’s that will stand up and fight for things of God!

1. Shammah’s Reward – The Bible tells us that Shammah slew the enemies of the people of God! Because he fought, he enjoyed a great victory! If he had run away like all the others, he would have been a coward and he would have been defeated. The enemy would have prevailed!

Listen, we must take a stand for the things of the Lord!

We must take our stand for that which is right and for that which is important.

If we don’t, then who will?    

Haman going after the Jews. Not knowing the Queen was one. Cousin’s

Est 4:13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”   NKJV

 

If we, who claim to love the things of God, do not take our stand and fight for what we believe in, then when these things are lost, we must not complain.

When the enemy has secured the victory and the cause of Christ has been hindered, then we who refused to fight the “good fight of faith” have no one to blame but ourselves! If we want the reward of victory, then we must arm ourselves, stand our ground and fight for the glory of God.)

Take a Stand!

STAYING IN THE PEA PATCH

Part 1

2 Samuel 23:11-12

Today, I want to focus in on one of these three special men. This man’s name is Shammah. He is described for us a man who took a stand against overwhelming odds and won a great victory by the help of the Lord. He is a man from whom we could learn much this today.

The Bible tells us that the Philistines attacked the people of God. When they came, all the people ran away. All, that is, except one man named Shammah! He took his stand in a field of lentils, or peas and he won a great victory. I would like for us to take just a few minutes this to look at this man Shammah and what he did just a little closer. He teaches us a lesson that we need to learn. It is that lesson that I want to focus in on as we look at Staying in The Pea Patch.

There are three aspects of this story that help us see that there is a time to take a stand. There is a time to fight, even when others are running away.

1. V. 11 IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT CONFLICT

(Ill. The Bible is clear when it tells us that the Philistines were attacking the people of God. It was a time of great conflict for the children of Israel. Notice what the Bible reveals about this time.)

1. When The Enemy Came – These verses tell us that when the Philistines came, the people in the fields fled away. This lets us know that the enemy most likely came during the time of the harvest. It was the time when most of the people were occupied in the business of getting the crops in. They would be busy working and they would not be prepared for war.)

(Ill. This is still when the enemy comes! You see, harvest time is a time of great joy. People are working hard to get the crops in the barns so they can rest from their labors and enjoy the fruits of the harvest. Their attention is so focused on what they are doing that they are not prepared to go to battle. When the enemy comes, he catches them unprepared and easily defeated.)

When does the enemy come against us? Often, he will come in the midst of great blessing and great victory. Often, he will come when we are involved in doing wonderful things for the Lord. He will come when our minds are occupied with other things.) In a service it seems that’s at the invitation time.

What a lesson for the church! How many times do we find ourselves engaged in the busy work of our lives and in the busy work of the church when we come under attack from the enemy? I think that too often, we are like the church of Ephesus, Rev. 2:1-7,

Rev 2:1-7 Revelation 2

The Loveless Church

2:1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:  2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;  3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.  4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

I came into Calvary one morning and prayed and I realized that the honeymoon was over. I had lost that first Love.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent.  6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”‘  NKJV

they were busy for the Lord, but they did not even realize that the enemy had inflicted a mortal wound in their heart. They were so busy doing good things that they did not see the enemy when he attacked and wounded them.)

(Ill. God would have His people be prepared! He has not left us without warning – 1 Pet. 5:8.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. NKJV

Neither has He left us without an example – Neh. 4:16-18.

Nehemiah 4:16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. 17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. 18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.  NKJV

Let us learn to watch while we work lest the enemy find an inroad against us, even while we do that which is good.)

1. B. Why The Enemy Came – The enemy came against Israel for only two reasons:

1.) To inflict casualties and

2.) To destroy the crops. The Philistines knew that if they could wound their enemies and bring them to a place of hunger, they would be easily defeated and enslaved. So, those soldiers would march through the fields trampling down the crops and slaughtering all that stood in their way.

The same is true concerning our enemy the devil. He comes for those same two reasons: to inflict casualties and to destroy the crop. He attacks us so that he might weaken us so that we will be easier to enslave to his will.)

I want to let you in on a secret. The devil and the world don’t mind us having a church down here at all. They don’t mind us singing. They don’t mind us preaching. They don’t mind anything we do!

However, when we decide that we are going to get serious about serving God, then trouble will come.

The devil will attack us when we pray in a fervent spirit.

He will attack us when we reach out and begin to witness for the glory of God.

He will attack us when we start to praise the name of the Lord in this place.

He will attack us when we decide that we are not satisfied to be like all the other churches around us.

When we decide that we are going to take a stand for the Lord, look out! Trouble is on the way! As long as we are doing nothing, we are no threat to the devil at all! But, just let a few people down at the house of God get excited about Jesus and look out, the enemy will invade our pea patch and try to stomp down our crop!)

1. What The Enemy Found – This verse tells us that when the enemy came, all the people fled from before them. What the enemy found was no opposition! They would march into the fields and the people would flee in terror!

Sounds just like the church, doesn’t it? Things will be going along just fine and the devil will stir up trouble. He’ll use someone in the church to start a ruckus. When this happens, 99% of the people in the church flee from the scene of the battle. No one wants to take a stand. After all, we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings! I want you to know that this is the reason many churches are falling apart today!

No one has had the courage to stand up against the attack of the enemy, look them in the eye and say, “By the grace of God, you will not destroy this pea patch!”

Listen, we are engaged in the greatest struggle that the world has ever known! God is working to reach world for His Name’s sake and the devil is fighting Him every step of the way. All the while, God has placed His church in the world to be a light for God’s glory. And, many times, we won’t even take a stand to protect that which the Lord has given us. God give us some who will take a stand!)

Ill. This is exactly what the Philistines found when they came to Israel this time. Because it was not only a time of a great conflict, but also……

part 2 next week