Hearing the voice of God

Romans 1:7 (NLT) I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Paul is writing to the church, whom The Lord loves, differently. We who have placed our faith in Jesus, as Lord and Savior, are called the bride! You are in a relationship with the Creator of the universe He has the ability to love you in a unique way, different than any one ever before The one who loves you more than anyone ever has or ever could Once we begin to really see his great love for us, Falling in love with him, …

God has chosen and entrusted us to communicate His love and His Word to the world. 

Sharing biblical Truths is an essential part of our calling as followers of Christ. Matthew 28:19-20 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the …

God’s stuff! My stuff!

Philippians 4:15-19 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this.  Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once.  I don’t say this because …

Don’t be afraid

FEAR NOT! – A message by Pastor Mike Hough 2 Timothy 1:7-8a For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. Exodus 14:13-14  13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still …

IN CHRIST

WE ARE SAVED (NOT LOST)

Matthew 1:21 (NASB)
21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 18:11 (NASB)
11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10 (NASB)
10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
John 3:17 (NASB)
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
John 10:9 (NASB)
9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Acts 4:12 (NIV)
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Romans 5:10 (NIV)

10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Ephesians 2:5 (NIV)
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV)
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV)
9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!

WE ARE SIGNIFICANT (NOT INSIGNIFICANT)
Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13-14 (NIV)
13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Children of God
John 1:12 (NIV)
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…
1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[awe shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Branches/Chosen
John 15: 1 (NIV)

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener… (Keep reading…see verse 5)

John 15:5 (NIV)
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:16 (NIV)
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Witnesses

Acts 1:8 (NIV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
God’s Temple/Temple of God
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
A New Creation/Reconciled To Christ/Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a the old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
Co-Workers
2 Corinthians 6:1 (NIV)
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Holy People/Saints (KJV)/Faithful
Ephesians 1:1 (NIV)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Raised Up/Made To Sit Together In Heavenly Places

Ephesians 2:6 (KJV)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
His Workmanship
Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Our Citizenship Is In Heaven
Philippians 3:20 (NASB)
20 For our [acitizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!

WE ARE SECURE (NOT INSECURE)

John 1:12 (KJV)
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 8:28 (KJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:35-39(KJV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 (KJV)
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Colossians 1:13 (NASB)
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Colossians 3:3 (NASB)
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Hebrews 4:16 (KJV)
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!
WE ARE ACCEPTED (NOT REJECTED)

John 15:15 (NASB)
15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Romans 5:1 (NASB)
5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB)
17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB)
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 1:5 (NIV)
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 2:18 (NIV)
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)
12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Colossians 1:14 (NASB)
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:10 (NASB)
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!

WE ARE SAVED (NOT LOST)
WE ARE SIGNIFICANT (NOT INSIGNIFICANT)
WE ARE SECURE (NOT INSECURE)
WE ARE ACCEPTED (NOT REJECTED)

The 3 Great Pillars

The 3 Great Pillars

I Corinthians 13:13
“Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.”

We have become occupied with our spiritual buildings

Failed to examine our foundations

Satan has been slowly eating away at our foundations – eroding the underpinnings of our spiritual structure.

Haggai 1:4
“Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?  This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says; Look what is happening to you!  You have planted much but harvest little, You eat but are not satisfied.  You drink but are still thirsty.  You put on clothes but cannot keep warm.  Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!”

The time has come to strengthen the faults and defects in our foundations and build on the solid rock – Jesus Christ!

Matthew 16:18
“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘Rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

If our spiritual structures are to survive this storm,  we must fortify the three great pillars – Faith, Hope, and Love, which are the “Foundation” for all things in Christ.

The Pillar of Faith

How strong is your faith?

Matthew 17:20
“You don’t have enough faith, Jesus told them, I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it would move.  Nothing would be impossible.”

There is no alternative for a simple, deep rooted faith that is anchored to Almighty God!

I Thessalonians 1:3
“As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Don’t place your faith in a substitute!

Where does faith begin?

Romans 10:14
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them.

Faith begins when you hear the message of Christ

Jeremiah 33:3
Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

The Pillar of Hope

Hope is not the result of self-produced wishing or dreaming.  It is anchored in God himself.

Psalm 62:5
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him
Psalm 42:11

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my savior and my God!

He is not here!

Matthew 28:2
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.

Matthew 28:6,7
He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.  Come see where his body was lying.  And now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee.  You will see him there.  Remember what I have told you.

Romans 5:5
And this hope will not lead to disappointment, for we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

The Pillar of Love

The world seems to talk endlessly about love, but we see very little demonstrated

Why are our children violent?

Luke 6:27-29
But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who hurt you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also.  If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.

We must STOP separating ourselves into segments of society.

Empty Words

Here is one of the most startling revelations in Scripture

We know that the great revival at the end time will ride on the wings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 13:1
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

The key to showing God’s love is found in these words of Jesus:

Matthew 25:40
And the king will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!

Remember:

If you have faith and hope without love, you have no lasting relationship

If you have love and hope without faith, you have criticism, skepticism and defeat

If you have faith and love without hope, you have despair

But, when the pillars of your life are built on faith, hope and love, the rains may descend and the floods can rise, but the foundation on which our lives are built will forever stand!