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Soon return of Jesus?

I have talked about loving God with all of our heart mind soul and strength.

I have shared with you that according to Peter we are always to be ready to give a defense of the Gospel with gentleness and humility

I have talked with you about the various ways we can and should worship the Lord.

If you need a review of these things they are all on our website at www.christiancenter.us

All of these things and many more are about the establishing of God’s Kingdom on earth, in all our hearts,  prior to Christ return.

You have heard me say many times

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be lost, but wants everyone to repent.

Verse 10 says this

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

I have heard for my entire life that things are so bad surely it is time for the Lord to return…

Jesus taught us to pray…

“Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10

God’s Kingdom must be established in the hearts of people all over the world. They must hear the Gospel message everywhere before Christ will return.

Matthew 24:14

And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

I have established that with you many times. We also know that the Holy Spirit is already about the business of drawing people to God

The disciples were grieving and confused because Jesus was telling them He was going to leave them

John 16:7-11

7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate, the Helper, the Holy Spirit won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

The Holy Spirit’s job to the.. “not–yet believer” is to convict them of their sins, to show them how far away they are from God’s righteousness, and to reveal to them that apart from Christ they are condemned.

The Holy Spirit is already at work and it is obvious that the Gospel of the Kingdom being spread is to be our job, however all of this is contingent on God’s waiting on one thing….our maturity

Mark 4:26-29

Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

As in so many of Jesus’ parables we are the grain that the Good News has sprouted in our heart.

Here it is tomato season already but we will not pick the tomatoes until they are ready. The Father, the farmer in this parable, is waiting for the grain also to mature before He comes to harvest it.

The New American standard translation puts it this way

“But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The original Greek word here is “paradidomi” which means as soon that the crop itself determines it is ripe

In other words, you and I are the hold up for Christ return. He is waiting for us to mature before He will come and take up the harvest.

You see the Holy Spirit is already doing the job of convicting as I had mentioned earlier but we must be in a mature place.

What are the signs of a mature believer?

1) It is attitude – not age, it is not “extensity” of years but “intensity” of years and what we learn in the process. All people age, but not everyone matures. Our life experiences either cause us to grow and mature or fail and become embittered but it is our choices that determine whether we mature or not. 

Paul explains it this way to the church at Colossae

Colossians 1:24-28

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ Jesus.

Paul talks about his suffering his struggles and difficulties not as problems but as things to advance the kingdom and cause others to come to maturity. These by the way are also the things that lead him to understanding, wisdom and insight into all the things God has promised.

Our attitude is one of I trust God even if I don’t understand what I’m going through or I am in a suffering or difficult place because I know He has me regardless of what is happening

2) Spiritual maturity takes time. It is not instantaneous nor is it automatic.

Hebrews 6:1 says

“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.”

The phrase “let us go on instead and become mature” is most diligently translated “Let’s keep progressively moving toward maturity”

Growth toward spiritual maturity will, of necessity, involve moral effort, discipline, renunciation, and perseverance in pursuit of the goal. There are no shortcuts.

3) Spiritual gifts can be a sign of Spiritual maturity but not always.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 we have a list of how the Corinthian church is moving in all of the gifts. They flowed amazingly in the gifts but Paul says this about them.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

The same church that was flowing powerfully in all of the gifts was still a childish church lusting, quarreling, not listening to leadership, jealous, because they lack one of the true signs of a mature church…found in 1 Corinthians 14..

4 Maturity is truly being a reflection of Christ in all we say and do being “Christ-like”

Ephesians 4:11- 13

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Paul is saying here that maturity comes through submission, learning, growing, tearing down walls, building one another up, and we will see it reflected in ourselves because we are truly a reflection of Christ.

The supreme goal of God is not evangelism, as important as that ministry is but as Paul writes

Colossians 1:28

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete, mature in Christ.

God’s purpose is to produce disciples who reflect the perfect humanity of His Son so the whole world might easily see Jesus!

Why? Because as I started this teaching with the parable from Mark 4, He is waiting for the harvest to mature and then He will take it in

Once again I am pushing you all to maturity, as I am pushing myself everyday.

As long as we allow and I use the word “allow” because that is what we do, it is not the devil we need to worry about as much as it is our choices. As long as we allow sin, bad attitudes, past failures, unforgiveness, prejudice, fear to control us we will stifle our maturity.

Are you trusting that the Lord has your life in His hands and that everything coming your way…good or bad is simply and opportunity to grow?

Are you maturing everyday?

Are you allowing “love” to be the overarching control in your life?

Are you being a reflection of Christ in all you do?

If you are taking time to rest you should be starting on this journey.

Let’s work together to make it so Jesus might come soon but maturing, being ready for the harvest.

 

 

 

 

 

1 Peter 3:15,16

 

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

 

1. Is there a beginning?

 

Genesis 1:1

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

 

Nothing can not create something

 

 

This is an observable fact that the galaxies are moving at a steady rate of speed from a point of origin

 

‘Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

 

There are several problems with this statement first off it is not scientific in essence science is based on observable facts. There is not observable evidence to prove the dogmatic “can” and “can not” statements. The statement should say “As much as we have observed the amount of energy in the cosmos remains constant” this does not contradict the creation of the universe because we could say the amount of energy since the creation of the universe remains constant.

 

The second problem about an eternal universe is with the second law of thermo dynamics.

 

This law states that the universe is running out of usable energy

 

Science proves the first law of thermodynamics as I have stated it and proves the second law both are observable. Both of these theories only further the idea of a creation and thus a creator.

 

The idea of a creation is then proven scientifically sound and reasonable and if the idea of a creation is sound and reasonable then so must a Creator be sound and reasonable.

 

1800’s scientist were convinced chlamydia, the plague, and cholera were caused by “bad air”

 

Until the early 20^th century science was sure the continents did not move until continental drift was proven

Until the 1980’s peptic ulcers were the result of stress

 

No current scientific model can account for the origin of life from non-life

 

 

1. II) The Bible is God’s Word

 

– Unlike other holy books, the Bible alone has been supernaturally confirmed to be the Word of God. For only the Scriptures were written by prophets who were supernaturally confirmed by signs and wonders.

1)“When Moses questioned how his message would be accepted, God performed miracles through him “that [the Israelites] may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you” (Exodus 4:5).

 

2) Later, when Korah rose up to challenge Moses, God again miraculously intervened to vindicate his prophet (see Numbers 16)—

 

3) Elijah was confirmed to be a prophet of God by supernatural intervention on Mount Carmel (see 1 Kings 18).

 

4) In the Gospels, the Jewish teacher Nicodemus said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2 see Luke 7:22). Peter declared, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him” (Acts 2:22).

 

5) The writer of Hebrews affirms that “God also testified to [salvation through Jesus Christ] by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (Hebrews 2:4).

 

6) And the apostle Paul proved his apostleship by affirming, “The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12).

 

 

– No other book can claim the accurate prediction that the Bible does there are over 200 predictions hundreds of years before the birth of Christ about him, here is a sampling..

 

– of a woman Genesis 3:15.

– of the line of Abraham Genesis 12:1–3; 22:18.

– through the tribe of Judah Genesis 49:10.

– as a son of David 2 Samuel 7:12–13.

– in the city of Bethlehem Micah 5:2.

– of a virgin Isaiah 7:14.

– suffer and die for our sins Isaiah 53

– at about A.D. 33 Daniel 9:24–26

– rise from the dead Psalm 16:11 see Psalm 2:7–8.

 

• Truth is truth

 

Jesus said in John 14:6

 

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

In our world today you will here the statement made “there is no universal truth?”

 

In itself that statement is a dichotomy because stating that, “there is no universal truth”…. is in itself a universal truth

 

 

Was Jesus a good man?

 

Statistics tell us that those that know the name well of 80% believe that He was good.

 

Did Jesus raise from the dead?

 

Then the question of truth comes to morality

 

.Do you believe? If not I have given you proof to consider today

 

 

Additional notes

 

The Five Possibilities of Who Jesus Was/Is

 

Based upon these claims of Jesus, there are only 5 logical possibilities for who Jesus, in actuality, was/is: Lunatic, Liar, Myth, Guru, or Lord.

 

• Lunatic (Jesus was crazy)

 

• Actually, this was a charge in Jesus own day (Mk 3:21-22), in the same way as it was for St. Paul (Acts 26:24)
  • But actual lunatics don’t refute the charge (Mk 3:23-30 for Jesus; Acts 26:25-26 for Paul)
• Lunatics are generally not believable and/or intellectually threatening.
• Jesus did not act like a mad man.
• Even atheists and non-Christians believe Jesus to be a “great moral teacher”.
• Lunatics are not moral teachers (see Hitler).
• Jesus had the wrong psychological profile.
• No (monotheistic, non-idolatrous) Jew could seriously think Jesus was God if He wasn’t.

 

• Liar (Jesus (or the Apostles) made it all up)

 

• Liars lie for personal motives/gain.  Jesus got the cross; the Apostles got martyrdom.  Nobody dies for a lie.
• Jesus backed up His claims with visible miracles, most notably the Resurrection.
• Lies die with the death of the liar.  Jesus’ words live on, just as He promised (Lk 21:33).
• “Great moral teachers” are not liars.
• “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 55-56).

 

• Myth (Jesus never actually existed; He was made up by the Apostles)

 

• By far the most popularly accepted answer to the question of who Jesus is by secularists today.
• Jesus as a historical figure has far more support from ancient texts than any other figure from antiquity.
  • Not only in the Gospels, but extra-biblical writings from Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus.
  • “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.” (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities3.3, c. 90 AD)
• No motive for the Apostles to perpetuate the myth: they were tortured and martyred.
• Not enough time for a myth to develop.  There were eyewitnesses.
• The Apostles portrayed themselves as idiots.  Not the best tactic for gaining adherents. (See the Gospel of Mark.)
• No one in the history of Christianity has ever said that they made up the Jesus story.
• The Gospels are not written in the same literary genre as other myths.  Did the Apostles invent “historical fiction”?
• Many people witnessed Jesus’ preaching and deeds.  The Apostles could not get away with perpetuating a myth if there were eyewitnesses to contradict them.
• The St. Paul problem.  Something dramatic happened to St. Paul to make him the best Christian evangelist ever and to lose his life for the faith.  The easiest/most logical explanation is that he had an encounter with the risen Christ.
• The existence of the Church problem.  There are no made-up founders of religions.

 

• Guru (Jesus was actually a guru, having incorporated the pantheism of eastern religions into His teachings)

 

• Jesus was as Jewish as they come. (Mt 5:17-20)
• Jesus did not promote the “losing of the self” but rather that “those who lose their lives for my sake will save them” (Mt 16:25).  He claimed to be the center of existence.  The emptying of oneself led not to nothingness, but rather to communion with Christ.
• There is nothing but straw-grasping to suggest that Jesus ever traveled to the east to learn eastern mysticism.  On the contrary, people who heard Jesus spoke as though they’ve known Him from youth and would have known if He had gone somewhere to study (Mk 6:1-4).

• Lord (Jesus was/is God, exactly who He said He was/is)

 

• If none of the other possibilities are rational/logical or fit the evidence we have, then this is what we are left with: Jesus is God.
• Is there anything Jesus said or did that invalidates His claim?  No.
• Still requires a “leap of faith”, but not an irrational one.

One Final Objection: Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels is not the actual “historical Jesus”

 

• That the “real” Jesus did not claim divinity, did not perform miracles, and basically didn’t say or do 99% of what is contained within the Gospels (Jesus Seminar).
• But the Gospels (and Acts) are very detail-oriented, and contain many distinct features, people, places, and events that could only have been related by eyewitnesses:
  • Jesus writing in the sand (Jn 8:6)
  • Healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mk 5:25-34)
  • The alabaster jar (Mk 14:3-9)
  • Mary’s Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55)
  • “And His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:19, 2:51)
  • Street called Straight (Acts 9:10-11)
  • Luke 3:1-4
  • John’s claim (Jn 21:24-25)

Peter’s claim (2 Pt 1:16-18)

 

 

 

 

 

Are you wearing your big boy/girl pants? Part 2

 

It is interesting in our spiritual lives, growth is somewhat the opposite of our natural growth.

 

Paul wrote this to the church at Ephesus

 

Ephesians 4:15,16

“…we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

 

BTW Ephesians 4:11-16 is part of our Vision statement as a church.

 

The writer of Hebrews challenges us with this

Hebrews 5:11-13

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

So what does it look like to be spiritually mature? What does it mean to be a healthy growing Christian?

 

We are called to grow up together to look more and more like Christ what does that look like?

 

6) You Find Yourself Wanting to Obey God

 

In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

 

One of the natural expectations of a growing Christian is faithfulness and obedience to the commands of God. Not out of duty, but out of love for Him.

Our obedience results from what Jesus has done for us and of our love for Him.

7) You’re Growing as a Person

The apostle Paul, in Colossians 1:10, talks about bearing fruit.

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

In Galatians 5:22-23, he lays out the fruit of the Spirit:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self- control. There is no law against these things

One of the best ways to measure growth is by looking at this fruit in our lives. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 7:16-20

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions

All of this fruit should be visible not just in our own self-assessment. Impartial outsiders should be able to observe this fruit growing in our lives. If other people don’t see evidence of this fruit in our lives, then perhaps our fruit is not growing as much as we think it is.

8) You’re Less Worried About Personal Preferences and More Concerned about Unity

Paul, in Ephesians 4:11-15, notes that unity of the faith and knowledge of Jesus are measures of fullness in Christ.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church

The war of personal preferences…. We have to learn to define the difference between personal preference and/or style and what God is doing.

9) You’re Willing to Speak the Truth in Love

Paul teaches us, in Ephesians 4:15-16, to speak the truth in love and to grow in Christ—which makes the whole body grow in love.

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

As you grow spiritually, you’ll learn not to avoid hard topics, but to speak into the lives of other believers—always with loving humility and grace.

 

10) You’re Engaged in Community

 

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to continue meeting together. In a culture moving further and further from regular church involvement, the Bible teaches that growing, mature Christians will continually and consistently meet together. We are created for community.

In review today’s ten signs of our maturing faith are

 

• Always learning more about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• Going in deeper with the Word
• Not waiting for others to feed you
• Learning and teaching others
• Grow in grace
• You find yourself wanting to obey God
• You are growing as a person
• You are less worried about personal preference and more worried about unity
• You’re willing to speak the truth in love
• You’re engaged in community

 

Where are you today? If you are doing this, rejoice, you are growing! If not take it as a challenge to see these signs of growth in your life.

 

 

 

Are you wearing your big boy/girl pants?

 

In human terms, as we mature we are striving to take what our parents did for us as a launching pad for our lives that we might surpass who they are and what they have accomplished because we started with a leg up because of their growth and sacrifice. We grow to become healthy mature adults by growing in independent.

It is interesting in our spiritual lives, that is somewhat the opposite. We start out in rebellion to God, at war with His plan for our lives and then we spend our lives focusing in on becoming more like Him more and more dependent on Him.

Paul wrote this to the church at Ephesus

 

Ephesians 4:15,16

“…we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

 

The writer of Hebrews challenges us with this

 

Hebrews 5:11-13

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

So what does it look like to be spiritually mature? What does it mean to be a healthy growing Christian?

 

 

• You are learning more about the one you love

 

John 14:23

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them

 

 

Love is based on relationship and if the relationship is not growing it shows dysfunction

 

• You are digging into the deeper things of God

 

We read earlier in Hebrews 5:13,14

13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

 

• You are not waiting for others to feed you

 

Maturity is shown but the disciple of being in the word being hungry for more practical experiences being “Jesus” to the world

 

Philippians 1:9,10

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return”

 

Which leads me to our last qualifier of maturity for today

 

• Constantly learning and teaching

 

2 Timothy 2:1

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

 

All of us are called to share what we know with others so they might find the hope we have.

 

• You’re Growing in Grace

 

2 Peter 3:18

“…you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, all glory to him, both now and forever! Amen”

 

Our default response should not be anger or bitterness but forgiveness and grace, even when people don’t deserve it. That’s what grace is.

 

 

In review today’s five signs of our maturing faith are

 

• Always learning more about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• Going in deeper with the Word
• Not waiting for others to feed you
• Learning and teaching others
• Grow in grace

 

Where are you today? If you are doing this rejoice, you are growing if not take it as a challenge to see these signs of growth in your life.

 

Next week I have five more challenges for you

 

 

Let’s change America today!

 

Matthew 6:33

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

What do we/you need?

I know there are many of you that have needs this morning

Some of you are in need of a physical miracle

Some a relationship miracle

Some a financial miracle

Some an emotional miracle

 

According to this scripture, how do we get our needs met?

 

Let’s read it again

Matthew 6:33

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

 

A few weeks ago we talked about loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength

Putting God above all else, our pride, our inadequacies, our fears, our needs and wants, our families, our entertainment, our opinions, our strength and simply everything

 

Let’s look at this scripture

 

2 Chronicles 7:11-16

So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. 12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart

God is speaking to Solomon and very well known passage of scripture

 

He says church…

If there is a time when because of sin I stop my blessings

If there is a time that I need to get your attention by attacking your livelihood

If there is a time where the only way I can get your attention is to put you on your back

 

Then because I love you…I will do it

 

BUT

All you have to do is come to me..realize there is nothing you can do about it and you have to trust me, if you recognize that I am all that you need and you repent of your self-reliance, or your fearfulness and woeful inadequacy, or pride, selfishness, and you remember me, THEN I will hear, heal, and restore…As you keep your heart soft I will always keep my heart open to you

For too long the church has not thought right of themselves and the power and authority God has invested in us.

Allow me a little latitude today to make a comparison…the church is a butterfly that lives like a caterpillar.

 

In North America there are at least 8 different types of caterpillars that turn into butterflies the, Papilio glaucus becomes the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail one of the more common butterflies. (I have pictures of both of these)

We are called to be strong, beautiful, and full of life to go beyond the boundaries of earth but we exist day to day as caterpillars. You see an interesting thing about these caterpillars is that they have a butterfly in them from birth. So do you!

We are called to be giant killers, world changers, the only hope for our culture and nation and so much more.

What made Solomon into a man that God could speak to and use to build a great nation?

Solomon had gone to worship, he had given the Lord all of his best

 

– He put God first with his best of what God had given him

 

– He made the effort to seek God and want to know what God wanted he didn’t just rest on his power and position

 

-He humbled himself before God recognizing that everything he had, had become, and his future where all in the hands of an almighty God.

 

– He was not afraid to remind God of His promises which means He knew God’s word.

Let’s look at what had happened earlier in Solomon’s life that makes us aware of all of this.

 

1 Kings 3:4 – 14

The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” 6 Solomon replied, “You showed faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued your faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. 7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life

In seeking God first and what God wanted Solomon ended up with every blessing.

This was something that was in Solomon, not a give to get game, he truly wanted what God wanted. He knew God’s word, had God’s heart, pursued Him daily so it was natural for Him to be seeking the Lord for what God wanted.

His heart was right to receive everything, because God knew He could be trusted.

I know every person here loves the Lord dearly but we get confused some times as to what our priorities should be. We get caught in traps of manipulation, fear, and selfishness and in return we end up with the blessings and plans God has for us, stolen.

Solomon set the nation up to succeed and prosper because of his seeking God and wanting God with all of His heart, soul, mind and strength not just for himself but for his nation.

Because of that….God gave Solomon all that he asked for plus brought down his enemies, blessed him with great prosperity, strength and length of days

Once again I ask you “What do you need (want)?”

God has got your back! He has got your needs under control.

Here is my challenge today

America needs to be great again, from God’s eyes stand point. We are the key to that and not only are we key to that, but also key to receiving all of the blessing God has for us.

Remember Matthew 6:33

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

I also want you to remember..

2 Chronicles 7:14,15

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place.

What do you need????

Let’s take time today, in unity, as a body of believers, to seek Him, to humble ourselves, to repent on behalf of our country.

You are welcome to kneel, to sit, to come to the altar but I want us a body, in each service to truly seek him for a few minutes.

I will lead off, then I am looking for people to pray for our nation, our state, and our communities…we will pray for just a few minutes

The key is there is power in agreement…we have several intercessors groups through our the week and month praying but I think it is important today because I felt this was direct guidance from the Lord that this week we would pray together as family or our nation, state, and communities

At the appropriate time, I will close us in prayer and we will all be dismissed.

Daniel’s Prayer 9:8-19 adapted for our present situation in America

 

O Lord, we and our leaders and all the people are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.  But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. All of our nation has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.  “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in your Word, have been poured down on us because of our sin. You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened  Every curse written against us in your Word has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.  “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness.  In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your people, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock us, and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.  “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your people.  “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your nation—the nation that is dedicated to you—is broken. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.  “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name

 

Ezekiel 22:30,31

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one. 31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.

 

MAY THAT NEVER BE LORD,WE WILL STAND IN THE GAP!!!