Good morning. Same as last week, to tired to post Sunday night. Wow .... the Holy Spirit can really work you over. I'm drained but what a positive message. Our scripture reading was Revelation 22:18-21 (my favorite book).
Tonight's sermon was about Christian Apologetic's. The reasonable defense of the Christian faith against objection. We are not apologizing for being Christians we are defending the Christian faith.
Why do we need to defend the Christian faith? Jesus commanded to love your God with all your mind (Mt. 22:37), Peter told Christians be prepared to give answers in (1 Pt. 3:15), and Paul said to demolish arguments in (2 Cor. 10:5). So, we are to know God, be prepared to answer questions about His Word, and be able to defend His Word.
How then, do we defend? Know God's Word. In your "Quiet Time" read God's Word .. everyday. Evidence is the same for a Christian as an evolutionist. Do not Presume (assume to be true without being able to prove it), examine the evidence. Know that your presupposition is based on God's word. Most arguements are about the presupposistions one starts with. We as Christians can put the "glasses" of an evolutionist on and understand how they look at evidence. For spiritual reasons (Acts 9:18) a non-believer can not understand how we look at the evidence because the scales have not been removed from their eyes.
Prepare for battle. Bring your sword (your Bible), if you do not, you have allowed the non-believer to set the grounds for debate. All facts are neutral and facts are interpreted. Remove the bible and a Christians presuppositions are gone and they can not effectively interpret the facts. A non-believer is not neutral (Mt. 12:30 and Jn. 3:19).
In summary, we examined our presuppositions, can we defend God's Word, do we carry our sword every day? Do not be intimidated by some one with a greater education than you. If you go to God's word it will not come back void and it convicts (Heb. 4:12 and Isa. 55:11).
I pray that everyone has a blessed week and that you carry your sword to battle every day. God Bless.....
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Full Armor of God
Greetings everyone. As you might have noticed my post is being posted on Monday. The reason, complete Spiritual exhaustion... What an amazing God I serve. The Spirit was moving all day and continued well into the night. Tonight's sermon was on the Full Armor of God. Our scripture reading was Ephesians 6:10-18. Once again, new faces were in the congregation and the Holy Spirit was present. Paul is telling us in this passage that we are involved in a Spiritual battle with Satan and the principalities of this world. It is not a battle of the flesh but rather the Spirit (Vs. 12). Conventional weapons can not stop Satan and his minions. How then are we to prepare ourselves for this battle?
By putting on the Full Armor of God. The Belt of Truth (Vs. 14) is suppose to be wrapped around us. Satan is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) and God considers a lying tongue an abomination (Pr. 6:16-17). The belt of Truth, through Jesus Christ, is for our sanctification and deliverance. It benefits us and those we witness to.
The Breastplate of Righteousness (Vs. 14). In day's of old, a breastplate was used to protect the vital organs of the soldier. Our breastplate is the Righteousness of Jesus Christ, not the works we do. It comes from Faith in Jesus and protects our hearts and inner most being from Satan's attacks.
The Shoes of Peace (Vs. 15) indicates that we will be moving forward into Satan's territory. Many times in war, obstacles are place in the way of advancing troops, mines, trip wires, I.E.D.'s etc. Satan is no different. Peace in Jesus through the gospel allows us to move forward into Satan's territory.
The Shield of Faith (Vs.16) protects us from Satan's "Flaming Arrows", a direct attack from Satan. He will try to convince us that God is not faithful. Our Faith in Jesus is like a shield to Satan's attacks (Heb. 12:2).
The Helmet of Salvation (Vs. 17). Protection for our minds. Our way of thinking needs protection. Salvation through Jesus Christ gives us discernment of truth (Acts 9:18). Spiritual deception occurs without the Helmet of Salvation.
The Sword of the Spirit (Vs. 17). God's Word, our Bible, our only offensive weapon in the full armor. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, Jesus went to scripture, God's Word, when answering him. Our sword.
Finally, verse 17 tells us to Pray in the Spirit on all occasions. After putting on your Full Armor of God we need to pray. When you pray do it with the mind of Christ, His heart, and His priorities in mind. We cannot neglect prayer, it is how we draw Spiritual strength from God. Without the Armor of God and prayer our attempts are fruitless. The Full Armor of God ... Truth, Righteousness, The Gospel, Faith, Salvation, The Word of God, and Prayer .... Everything we need to do battle in this Spiritual world. I pray that you will put on the Full Armor of God every day. When you are saying your morning prayers ask God to protect you with the Full Armor of God ....
Our service came to an end with an anointing. We gathered around a parishioner and laid hands on him asking the Lord to be with him and the doctors in an upcoming surgery. Phil, our prayers are with you and we know that our God is the great healer and will protect you. Be Blessed. Till next week, I wish everyone a blessed and peaceful week.
By putting on the Full Armor of God. The Belt of Truth (Vs. 14) is suppose to be wrapped around us. Satan is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) and God considers a lying tongue an abomination (Pr. 6:16-17). The belt of Truth, through Jesus Christ, is for our sanctification and deliverance. It benefits us and those we witness to.
The Breastplate of Righteousness (Vs. 14). In day's of old, a breastplate was used to protect the vital organs of the soldier. Our breastplate is the Righteousness of Jesus Christ, not the works we do. It comes from Faith in Jesus and protects our hearts and inner most being from Satan's attacks.
The Shoes of Peace (Vs. 15) indicates that we will be moving forward into Satan's territory. Many times in war, obstacles are place in the way of advancing troops, mines, trip wires, I.E.D.'s etc. Satan is no different. Peace in Jesus through the gospel allows us to move forward into Satan's territory.
The Shield of Faith (Vs.16) protects us from Satan's "Flaming Arrows", a direct attack from Satan. He will try to convince us that God is not faithful. Our Faith in Jesus is like a shield to Satan's attacks (Heb. 12:2).
The Helmet of Salvation (Vs. 17). Protection for our minds. Our way of thinking needs protection. Salvation through Jesus Christ gives us discernment of truth (Acts 9:18). Spiritual deception occurs without the Helmet of Salvation.
The Sword of the Spirit (Vs. 17). God's Word, our Bible, our only offensive weapon in the full armor. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, Jesus went to scripture, God's Word, when answering him. Our sword.
Finally, verse 17 tells us to Pray in the Spirit on all occasions. After putting on your Full Armor of God we need to pray. When you pray do it with the mind of Christ, His heart, and His priorities in mind. We cannot neglect prayer, it is how we draw Spiritual strength from God. Without the Armor of God and prayer our attempts are fruitless. The Full Armor of God ... Truth, Righteousness, The Gospel, Faith, Salvation, The Word of God, and Prayer .... Everything we need to do battle in this Spiritual world. I pray that you will put on the Full Armor of God every day. When you are saying your morning prayers ask God to protect you with the Full Armor of God ....
Our service came to an end with an anointing. We gathered around a parishioner and laid hands on him asking the Lord to be with him and the doctors in an upcoming surgery. Phil, our prayers are with you and we know that our God is the great healer and will protect you. Be Blessed. Till next week, I wish everyone a blessed and peaceful week.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Triune God
Tonight's scripture reading was Romans 11:33-34
I found it important to start here when trying to describe the "Trinity". God is infinitely greater than we are and we should not expect to fully understand him. The Trinity is one God exisiting in three persons. Not three gods. You will not find the word Trinity in scriptures, so I set out to see what God's word had to say about the three coexistent, co-eternal persons, who make up God.
It turned out to be another night of scripture jumping. I love when the Spirit reveals the glory of God through his word. There is one God. Deut. 6:4, 1 Cor. 8:4, Gal. 3:20 and 1 Tim 2:5 were the passages we read to affirm that there indeed is one God. This one God consists of three separate persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
In Isiah 48:16 and Isiah 61:1, we see the Son speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. We know the Son is speaking because we compared Isiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19.
Back to Matthew 3:16-17 to see the moment Jesus was baptized. In this we see the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus while the Father proclaims His pleasure with him.
The disciples are told to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Matthew 28:19, and Paul offers in his final greeting, the grace of Jesus, love of God , and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in 2 Cor. 13:14. All examples of a triune God, a Trinity.
Each member of the trinity is God. The Father is God (John 6:27, Rom. 1:7), the Son is God (John 1:1 & 14, Rom. 9:5, and Heb. 1:8) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Cor 3:16).
In summary I explained that an infinite God cannot fully be described by a finite illustration or mind. The Father is God, The Son is God, and The Holy Spirit is God but there is only One God. We should be focusing on the greatness of God and His willingness to Love us. Some things we will not understand and that is why we need faith.
We shared in communion and closed with praise and worship. Super Bowl did not keep eight people from hearing God's word and I am grateful that these people put the Lord their God before a football game. Thank you God for letting me be a vessel to minister your word and to touch the hearts of many.
Pat, we are praying for you my sister. God is the great physician and can heal any ailment. Pastor Ron you are also in our prayers for the strength so you can comfort your wife and lift her up. God Bless to all and have a pleasant week.....
I found it important to start here when trying to describe the "Trinity". God is infinitely greater than we are and we should not expect to fully understand him. The Trinity is one God exisiting in three persons. Not three gods. You will not find the word Trinity in scriptures, so I set out to see what God's word had to say about the three coexistent, co-eternal persons, who make up God.
It turned out to be another night of scripture jumping. I love when the Spirit reveals the glory of God through his word. There is one God. Deut. 6:4, 1 Cor. 8:4, Gal. 3:20 and 1 Tim 2:5 were the passages we read to affirm that there indeed is one God. This one God consists of three separate persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
In Isiah 48:16 and Isiah 61:1, we see the Son speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. We know the Son is speaking because we compared Isiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19.
Back to Matthew 3:16-17 to see the moment Jesus was baptized. In this we see the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus while the Father proclaims His pleasure with him.
The disciples are told to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Matthew 28:19, and Paul offers in his final greeting, the grace of Jesus, love of God , and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in 2 Cor. 13:14. All examples of a triune God, a Trinity.
Each member of the trinity is God. The Father is God (John 6:27, Rom. 1:7), the Son is God (John 1:1 & 14, Rom. 9:5, and Heb. 1:8) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Cor 3:16).
In summary I explained that an infinite God cannot fully be described by a finite illustration or mind. The Father is God, The Son is God, and The Holy Spirit is God but there is only One God. We should be focusing on the greatness of God and His willingness to Love us. Some things we will not understand and that is why we need faith.
We shared in communion and closed with praise and worship. Super Bowl did not keep eight people from hearing God's word and I am grateful that these people put the Lord their God before a football game. Thank you God for letting me be a vessel to minister your word and to touch the hearts of many.
Pat, we are praying for you my sister. God is the great physician and can heal any ailment. Pastor Ron you are also in our prayers for the strength so you can comfort your wife and lift her up. God Bless to all and have a pleasant week.....
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