Heaven, Our Hope, Our Home
II Corinthians 5.1-5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Know= see, understand, experience
John 14.1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. “
Heaven...
What is it?
Where is it? It is a definite place spoken about here in the scripture.
Who is going there?
1. It is a place Jesus is preparing for those who believe in Him. John 14.1-3
Prepare= to make the necessary preparations, get everything ready
Bridegroom’s task after the Betrothal in the year before the wedding.
He would get the house prepared for his bride. Make all the preparations for her to live with him.
The bride would wait for him to come back and get her. He would come and announce it with trumpets. Then the wedding would take place. After the wedding feast the Bridegroom would take the Bride to the place he has prepared for her.
II Peter 3.13 But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
It is more wonderful than we can imagine!
We know this:
Revelation 21.1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Out of His great love for us Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and He rose again ascended back into heaven where He is preparing a place for us and one day He will come again and take us to be with Him forever that place is perfect another demonstration of the love of Jesus for the church.
Therefore
2. There is a longing and groaning in our hearts to be there with Him.
Philippians I.21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
Romans 8.22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
II Corinthians 5.7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Acts 21.13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the LORD Jesus.”
II Timothy 4.6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.
Desire to depart= desire, craving, longing to break up camp and move
Long for His Appearing/ Loved His Appearing= to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly
Many with lives to live do not sense this as acutely as those who are fully surrendered to the LORDship of Jesus Christ.
We see that not only we have that longing but Jesus desires for us to be with Him as well.
3. He wants us there with Him. John 17.24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
He loves us.
He showed the full extent of His Love.
In love... want to be with that One!
Now we are the Body of Christ
We are the Bride of Christ.
We long to be with Him. He wants us with Him.
Want= determined, resolved, intend, to take delight in, to be fond of
Revelation 21.2,9
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bridebeautifully dressed for her husband.
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plaguescame and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
II Corinthians 11.2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
Ephesians 5.25-26, 32
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b]her by the washing with water through the word,
32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
4. He will bring us there one day.
At the moment of death
When He Returns
5. The Holy Spirit is the Deposit Guaranteeing Us What Is To Come. v.5
Heaven has begun in our hearts.
Our living experience
Christ in us, the Hope of Glory
Our Joy
Deposit= pledge or security
Ephesians 1.13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.
I stand in awe and bow in worship of Him
He Who made the world and everything in it,
He Who came from heaven to earth as a baby,
He Who died on the cross to take my sins away,
He Who rose again on the third day,
He Who ascended into heaven,
He Who sent us His Spirit to be with us forever,
He Who is coming back one day for us.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
We Do Not Lose Heart
We Do Not Lose Heart
II Corinthians 4.16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Losing heart= to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted
It is a negative way of thinking, feeling and acting
It is destructive.
It means we are about to faint from emotional, spiritual and mental exhaustion, to collapse.
Renewed= fresh, make new, new strength, vigor, to be changed into a new kind of life
We do not lose heart
We are wasting away outwardly
We are being renewed day by day inwardly
Losing heart...
Elijah was like that after his victorious battle with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
I Kings 19.3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
Jacob expressed feelings of hopelessness when Simeon was kept in Egypt.
Genesis 42.36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”
Losing heart is possible when we are overwhelmed. Life in 2020 can be overwhelming.
Emotionally, Financially, with Family Issues and even spiritually.
How is it possible to avoid this? What if we feel we are close to losing heart?
This section of scripture gives us a number of reasons why we do not lose heart.
1. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Are Being Transformed By God’s Spirit. 3.16-17
II Corinthians 3.17 Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the LORD’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the LORD, Who is the Spirit.
We spoke about this last week.
Now in the context of all kinds of opposition and difficulty we keep looking to Jesus.
God’s Spirit is renewing you, transforming you.
Peter walked on water when he looked at Jesus. He began to sink when he looked at the wind.
Matthew 14.27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” He said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “LORD, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “LORD, save me!”
Jesus comes to us when we begin sink. There may be times when we don’t think we are going to make it. It’s all over. Then Jesus comes reaches out His Hand and catches us. We have followed Christ’s command. We have come to a place of being overwhelmed and even going down.
Jesus reaches out His Hand
Jesus catches us
Caught= to rescue from peril, to help
Note: Peter began to sink. He thought he was going to die. Elijah wished he would. Many times the rescue from the LORD comes when we are at the brink of going under. God works in the last hour, sometimes seconds! His Hand providing.
We do not lose heart because we are being transformed, even in life’s difficulties and challenges. He is with us!
2. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Proclaim The Truth. v.5
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I Corinthians 2.2
My Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We are His servants.
Depending upon Him we have His Promises. We stand on the Rock and we are upheld by His Arms.
The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
Psalm 145.14
When we build our lives upon God’s Word we have it in our hearts in times of trouble. We have it as a solid foundation all the time.
We understand His Blessings. In this time of challenge to the Truth we have it to stand firm. Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian Church is for us, (I Corinthians 15.58) Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
As I look back over my life, over my ministry, 40 years of preaching God’s Word each Sunday completed at conclusion of the service today! Now, as an elder, in the truest sense of the word, I cannot believe how quickly the time has past, but as I look back...
I am so thankful for the Word of God being central in my life and ministry. I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God... in small groups and from this place and now over the internet and around the world, we have gone through Genesis to Revelation over and over again.
My formative years had so much to do with this.
I thank God for my Sunday School Teachers (My Mom, Helen Matthews, Arnie Finch and my Dad) who taught me about God and His Word!
I thank God for my pastors (Mason, Matthews, Weller, Evans and Bond) who did the same.
I thank God for my parents and grandparents who lived it out in front of me and led me to believe.
It was this foundation that led me to the wonderful experiences with the LORD I have enjoyed all my life.
I stand as I did when I asked Jesus to come into my heart over 55 years ago on His Word. Praise His Dear Name.
Standing on the Word, having the Spirit transform us...
3. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Have The Right Perspective. vs.7-12
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
We are in a spiritual battle.
We may be knocked down but we are not knocked out.
The battle belongs to the LORD.
We do not lose heart when we hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down. These things will come. We are made stronger for them. We are following Jesus. We have “Americanized” Jesus. Just in the persecution issue alone.
Nigerian Eltoy, Helen’s nurse on Monday evening... praying with me. I thought of his country. 10 Christian men in a video released December 27th.
Suffering Churches around the world.
Haiti
Puerto Rico
Iran, where the church is getting stronger but facing opposition
Nigeria
China, new waves of persecution against the church
We need to read God’s Word, as we discussed in our Discipleship Class, with a proper Worldview.
Suffering is hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down.
4. We Do Not Lose Heart Because God Is Keeping Us As He Works Through Us.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the One Who raised the LORD Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
It is amazing how God works through our efforts...
Isabel Povey, a 16 year old from New Hampshire, who founded a non profit organization called “Seeds of Hope” sends seeds to developing nations to help them. She shipped seeds this week to help the people of Bellevue, Haiti. Her mom, Trish , helped set this up with us.
Please pray for this endeavor. It is a way the people can work and make money there. Seeds are very expensive but if they are given them that makes their profit margin 100%.
You can read Isabel’s story about Seeds of Hope at https://isabelpovey.wordpress.com
People have come to me and said you must be so disappointed you cannot go to Haiti. I miss the people but I am watching God continue to work in marvelous ways, in ways not initiated by us but by Him. Pastor Joes and Jhon had a meeting this week to talk about the future. I am having lunch with Pastor Art and Pastor Johnson today to talk about the future. God has some wonders in store for Bay Shore and our area... just this past week at Barnes and Noble at our Discipleship Group... Greg and Donna...
So when we see “the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”- v.15 we are greatly encouraged.
He works through our weaknesses!
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. II Corinthians 12.9
5. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Know How This Life Will End.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Next week we will look into this matter of heaven even more. That is what the next chapter is about. We have forgotten to a large degree in the church in America today about having a proper view of heaven. We used to hear a lot about it. We all are to have a longing and groaning to go there. Billy Graham video Friday Night, longing to go (67 years old)
In fact Paul’s was so great that he asked the LORD to take him. When Elijah asked the LORD to take his life he was in despair. We are not in despair. We may be going through all kinds of trials and see the wickedness in the world but we have hope. Our Hope is in being with Jesus one day!
II Corinthians 4.16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Losing heart= to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted
It is a negative way of thinking, feeling and acting
It is destructive.
It means we are about to faint from emotional, spiritual and mental exhaustion, to collapse.
Renewed= fresh, make new, new strength, vigor, to be changed into a new kind of life
We do not lose heart
We are wasting away outwardly
We are being renewed day by day inwardly
Losing heart...
Elijah was like that after his victorious battle with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
I Kings 19.3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
Jacob expressed feelings of hopelessness when Simeon was kept in Egypt.
Genesis 42.36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”
Losing heart is possible when we are overwhelmed. Life in 2020 can be overwhelming.
Emotionally, Financially, with Family Issues and even spiritually.
How is it possible to avoid this? What if we feel we are close to losing heart?
This section of scripture gives us a number of reasons why we do not lose heart.
1. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Are Being Transformed By God’s Spirit. 3.16-17
II Corinthians 3.17 Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the LORD’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the LORD, Who is the Spirit.
We spoke about this last week.
Now in the context of all kinds of opposition and difficulty we keep looking to Jesus.
God’s Spirit is renewing you, transforming you.
Peter walked on water when he looked at Jesus. He began to sink when he looked at the wind.
Matthew 14.27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” He said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “LORD, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “LORD, save me!”
Jesus comes to us when we begin sink. There may be times when we don’t think we are going to make it. It’s all over. Then Jesus comes reaches out His Hand and catches us. We have followed Christ’s command. We have come to a place of being overwhelmed and even going down.
Jesus reaches out His Hand
Jesus catches us
Caught= to rescue from peril, to help
Note: Peter began to sink. He thought he was going to die. Elijah wished he would. Many times the rescue from the LORD comes when we are at the brink of going under. God works in the last hour, sometimes seconds! His Hand providing.
We do not lose heart because we are being transformed, even in life’s difficulties and challenges. He is with us!
2. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Proclaim The Truth. v.5
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I Corinthians 2.2
My Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We are His servants.
Depending upon Him we have His Promises. We stand on the Rock and we are upheld by His Arms.
The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
Psalm 145.14
When we build our lives upon God’s Word we have it in our hearts in times of trouble. We have it as a solid foundation all the time.
We understand His Blessings. In this time of challenge to the Truth we have it to stand firm. Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian Church is for us, (I Corinthians 15.58) Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
As I look back over my life, over my ministry, 40 years of preaching God’s Word each Sunday completed at conclusion of the service today! Now, as an elder, in the truest sense of the word, I cannot believe how quickly the time has past, but as I look back...
I am so thankful for the Word of God being central in my life and ministry. I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God... in small groups and from this place and now over the internet and around the world, we have gone through Genesis to Revelation over and over again.
My formative years had so much to do with this.
I thank God for my Sunday School Teachers (My Mom, Helen Matthews, Arnie Finch and my Dad) who taught me about God and His Word!
I thank God for my pastors (Mason, Matthews, Weller, Evans and Bond) who did the same.
I thank God for my parents and grandparents who lived it out in front of me and led me to believe.
It was this foundation that led me to the wonderful experiences with the LORD I have enjoyed all my life.
I stand as I did when I asked Jesus to come into my heart over 55 years ago on His Word. Praise His Dear Name.
Standing on the Word, having the Spirit transform us...
3. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Have The Right Perspective. vs.7-12
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
We are in a spiritual battle.
We may be knocked down but we are not knocked out.
The battle belongs to the LORD.
We do not lose heart when we hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down. These things will come. We are made stronger for them. We are following Jesus. We have “Americanized” Jesus. Just in the persecution issue alone.
Nigerian Eltoy, Helen’s nurse on Monday evening... praying with me. I thought of his country. 10 Christian men in a video released December 27th.
Suffering Churches around the world.
Haiti
Puerto Rico
Iran, where the church is getting stronger but facing opposition
Nigeria
China, new waves of persecution against the church
We need to read God’s Word, as we discussed in our Discipleship Class, with a proper Worldview.
Suffering is hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down.
4. We Do Not Lose Heart Because God Is Keeping Us As He Works Through Us.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the One Who raised the LORD Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
It is amazing how God works through our efforts...
Isabel Povey, a 16 year old from New Hampshire, who founded a non profit organization called “Seeds of Hope” sends seeds to developing nations to help them. She shipped seeds this week to help the people of Bellevue, Haiti. Her mom, Trish , helped set this up with us.
Please pray for this endeavor. It is a way the people can work and make money there. Seeds are very expensive but if they are given them that makes their profit margin 100%.
You can read Isabel’s story about Seeds of Hope at https://isabelpovey.wordpress.com
People have come to me and said you must be so disappointed you cannot go to Haiti. I miss the people but I am watching God continue to work in marvelous ways, in ways not initiated by us but by Him. Pastor Joes and Jhon had a meeting this week to talk about the future. I am having lunch with Pastor Art and Pastor Johnson today to talk about the future. God has some wonders in store for Bay Shore and our area... just this past week at Barnes and Noble at our Discipleship Group... Greg and Donna...
So when we see “the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”- v.15 we are greatly encouraged.
He works through our weaknesses!
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. II Corinthians 12.9
5. We Do Not Lose Heart Because We Know How This Life Will End.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Next week we will look into this matter of heaven even more. That is what the next chapter is about. We have forgotten to a large degree in the church in America today about having a proper view of heaven. We used to hear a lot about it. We all are to have a longing and groaning to go there. Billy Graham video Friday Night, longing to go (67 years old)
In fact Paul’s was so great that he asked the LORD to take him. When Elijah asked the LORD to take his life he was in despair. We are not in despair. We may be going through all kinds of trials and see the wickedness in the world but we have hope. Our Hope is in being with Jesus one day!
Sunday, January 5, 2020
New Beginnings in the New Year
New Beginnings In The New Year
Joshua 1.1-9
Moses, my servant, is dead, now...
An new era, a new time, the end of one portion of Israel's history.
Crossing the wilderness is over, the Promised Land is before them.
Under the leadership of Moses the nation had journeyed to the border of the Promised Land. Due to unbelief what should have taken a month took 40 years.
I know the length of 40 years. In a few days I will have completed 40 years as a pastor.
The New Year offers a chance to start anew, an opportunity to reflect, a time for making changes and a time to worry about what lies ahead! Given the time we are in it can be a time of fear, anxiety and even dismay and discouragement or it can be a time of joyful anticipation of what God is going to do.
As always we need to hear what God's Word has to say. God's Word is for today. This verse speaks directly to us about things on the horizon in 2020.
Israel was in a transitional time. Moses' leadership came to an end. God had already prepared Joshua. He spoke through Moses to keep the people calm during this change of national leadership. His Word through His servant encouraged and challenged the people.
Joshua had been prepared for this moment. For 40 years, at age 40, he had assumed the role of Moses’ Aide. Moses had taken care of his father-in-law, Jethro’s sheep for 40 years. Forty years on the backside of the desert shepherding qualified him to become Israel’s leader or if you will the human representation of Israel’s Shepherd, the LORD to them.
The word, "Now" in verse 2, is power packed. It is part of this transition of leadership but also giving instructions and promises for the immediate future and the distant future. You see how the LORD transcends time? This was a culmination of years of Israel's history-v.6 Promises made to Abraham, Issac and Jacob were about to be fulfilled. Let's look at the truths for us here as we have begun this New Year.
Joshua 1 has been used by many pastors to encourage their congregations to lean on the LORD and trust Him for victory in life’s challenges when facing a New Year. I myself have used it many times.
The known and unknown had frightened Israel and turned them back from the portal of entry into the Land God promised them.
They have arrived at the place where the LORD wanted them and what a place it was and is!
The country into which Israel entered was of a very choice kind. The Land of Israel is the world condensed. Within that narrow strip of territory, you get plains and hills, frosts and snow of winter and heats of summer, with products both of the semi-tropical and temperate zones. Israel, is the whole earth in miniature, and all the advantages of all lands are gathered into it. It was, in Joshua's days, as today, a place of extreme fertility: "A land flowing with milk and honey." (Exodus 3.17) That is not all; while it was fertile on the surface, it was rich underneath. It was a land "whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass." (Deuteronomy 8.9)The useful metals were near at hand, and every other convenience. The minerals in the Dead sea are worth Trillions of Dollars, even the mud from there is valuable. You see the Israeli young people in the malls here selling it! Besides being fertile and wealthy, it was prepared for immediate habitation. The tribes had not to build houses, they inhabited what others had built; they had not to plant vineyards, but to eat the fruit of former labors. All things were waiting for the true heirs of the land.
Now it is time to move in.
1. Moses was Dead but God was Still Moving. v.1
Still is
End of an era.
Drove by the old church building this week with Pastor Art.
I thought of the past, our past.
I thought of God's Sovereign Hand.
I thought of the Good Hand of the LORD was upon Pastors Restrick, Cubie, Bedell and Pastor Utter and Arey and Pastor Rapalje (I don't feel worthy to be associated with this list at times).
I thought of how God got us here.
I thought of the incredible passage of time.
Only 5 of us were ever even in that building when it was the place of worship for our church.
Thank God for the vision of Pastor Bob Utter and the congregation to cross over Sunrise Highway and buy this land, to build the parsonage and then under Pastor Rapalje, the church we now sit in.
Beginnings here:
2nd Avenue Iglesia Del Nazareno Resurrection was organized in this building
As was Peniel, the Spanish Church
And Betel Primitive Church of the Nazarene Haitian Creole Church in Brentwood now.
The ChurchBuilding in Haiti was built in part because you guys sent me there, let me serve.
Now we are getting more requests to help rebuild or put roofs on churches there.
And now an El Savaldorian Church meeting in the basement on Sunday nights.
Moses and Joshua:
Often the with the death of a leader the movement he led dies.
*It could be that it was just for that time.
*It could be the movement get stuck in the past.
*It could be that the movement adapts and continues in new ways under new leadership.
Maybe there has been changes in your life recently. Maybe there is change on the horizon. Maybe today you are thinking of what 2020 will bring into your life.
Let's find where God is moving and join Him this year.
With all the change we face God is at work. He was working in bringing Israel into a new land, its land.
He was working through the changes in leadership.
He rides out His purposes on change.
The Gospel is going out like never before.
Radio to Internet...
The technology is amazing. You may not like it but God is using it... using it in powerful ways these days.
Livestream last Sunday: 85 souls viewed
We welcome readers of The Sunday Morning Message from Singapore, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, Holland, and Poland this week.
Italy, Russia, The United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, South America and Europe have had viewership in the past.
We are in time where, more than ever, it is difficult if not virtually impossible to see all that God is doing with the precious seed of His Word. There is an excitement about that.
2.Joshua was called to lead. v.2
A new day which would lead to a whole new life for the nation
A new segment of the population around our Jerusalem. Unreached.
A new leader or was it?.... God was still leading.
Different human instrument same God.
God has ways of working and things He wants to do we cannot even imagine.
Be yourself.
Let Him use your gifts and your pain. Joshua grieved but took it and led the nation, not casting aside Moses work at all but continuing on with it.
Words spoken to Joshua for Israel are for us this year!
5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
What is the Word for 2020?
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. v.9
Do Not Be
*Afraid
Of the present
Of the new things ahead
New Years offer a chance to start anew, an opportunity to reflect, a time for making changes and a time to worry about what lies ahead! Given the time we are in it can be a time of anxiety and even dismay. As always we need to hear what God's Word has to say. God's Word is for today. We need to decide what we are going to do with the time we have been given.
Do not be...
*Discouraged We must remember the past, in terms of God's great work on our behalf. We must forsake and forget the past, with all its discouragement and defeat, and move on to what God has for us in the future.
This was the situation of Israel when Isaiah prophesied. Exiled in Babylon due to their breaking of the Covenant with the LORD but about to be restored to the land because of God's kindness, mercy and grace. God was doing a new thing!
Often there is new thing God wants to do.
We must not hitch up to what He has done in the past, even the good things.
Times are changing and God is on the move and He wants us to move with Him through the times of change. He is the "The Great I AM." He transcends time.
Often, when God makes a promise, we worry about the details or the obstacles for the fulfillment of the promise. God replies to us, "Don't worry about it at all. I will even make a road in the wilderness. I have resources and plans you don't know about. Leave those problems to Me." The scaffolding in Bellevue, Haiti when we built that wall.
Do not be
*Doubting
John 20.26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Stop doubting and believe. You have seen Christ work. You have watched Him answer prayer. Stand firm then!
There are transitional times which come. Birthdays: When you are 16 you can learn to drive, at 18 you can vote and serve in the military., 35 you can run for president of the United States and at 62 you can begin to collect Social Security. But at any age God can use you. Esther Carson Wynas... Peru. 4 years old
Dr. McCoy, Pastor of Oyster Bay Baptist Church, called to the mission field upon his retirement, served for years all over Asia.
Brother Hazzard with me, last 6 years of his life... at age 94 went to be with the LORD on Good Friday 2001.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.”
Do Be
Courageous
Strong
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Daring
Believing
Adventuresome
Ready to move with God this year.
Last year we did not know we would have to postpone two trips to Haiti,
but while we were not able to go the roof is on the church and a pipeline has been laid bring water to a village in the northern part of the Island. We are packed and ready to go in February to build the house and stucco the walls! Please pray as we make a decision Tuesday.
3. The Promises made to and through Moses would be fulfilled v.3
To Abraham
Isaac's birth
Jacob's name change
Joseph's saving of many lives including Israel's present and future
He was going to work through Joshua in ways like Joshua never knew.
The Israelites were about to see God work in ways like they had never seen.
The LORD is faithful to all His Promises!
God will take of you!
Let's pray for our community, for this Island and for the whole Metro Area and our nation and this world.
Isaiah 43.18-19
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Oswald Chambers: This was from January 1st:
As we go forth into the coming year let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight nor with the quickness of impulse of thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us.
Our Yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future.
Let the past rest but let it rest in a sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken irreversible past in His hands and step out into the invincible future with Him.
-Oswald Chambers
Joshua 1.1-9
Moses, my servant, is dead, now...
An new era, a new time, the end of one portion of Israel's history.
Crossing the wilderness is over, the Promised Land is before them.
Under the leadership of Moses the nation had journeyed to the border of the Promised Land. Due to unbelief what should have taken a month took 40 years.
I know the length of 40 years. In a few days I will have completed 40 years as a pastor.
The New Year offers a chance to start anew, an opportunity to reflect, a time for making changes and a time to worry about what lies ahead! Given the time we are in it can be a time of fear, anxiety and even dismay and discouragement or it can be a time of joyful anticipation of what God is going to do.
As always we need to hear what God's Word has to say. God's Word is for today. This verse speaks directly to us about things on the horizon in 2020.
Israel was in a transitional time. Moses' leadership came to an end. God had already prepared Joshua. He spoke through Moses to keep the people calm during this change of national leadership. His Word through His servant encouraged and challenged the people.
Joshua had been prepared for this moment. For 40 years, at age 40, he had assumed the role of Moses’ Aide. Moses had taken care of his father-in-law, Jethro’s sheep for 40 years. Forty years on the backside of the desert shepherding qualified him to become Israel’s leader or if you will the human representation of Israel’s Shepherd, the LORD to them.
The word, "Now" in verse 2, is power packed. It is part of this transition of leadership but also giving instructions and promises for the immediate future and the distant future. You see how the LORD transcends time? This was a culmination of years of Israel's history-v.6 Promises made to Abraham, Issac and Jacob were about to be fulfilled. Let's look at the truths for us here as we have begun this New Year.
Joshua 1 has been used by many pastors to encourage their congregations to lean on the LORD and trust Him for victory in life’s challenges when facing a New Year. I myself have used it many times.
The known and unknown had frightened Israel and turned them back from the portal of entry into the Land God promised them.
They have arrived at the place where the LORD wanted them and what a place it was and is!
The country into which Israel entered was of a very choice kind. The Land of Israel is the world condensed. Within that narrow strip of territory, you get plains and hills, frosts and snow of winter and heats of summer, with products both of the semi-tropical and temperate zones. Israel, is the whole earth in miniature, and all the advantages of all lands are gathered into it. It was, in Joshua's days, as today, a place of extreme fertility: "A land flowing with milk and honey." (Exodus 3.17) That is not all; while it was fertile on the surface, it was rich underneath. It was a land "whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass." (Deuteronomy 8.9)The useful metals were near at hand, and every other convenience. The minerals in the Dead sea are worth Trillions of Dollars, even the mud from there is valuable. You see the Israeli young people in the malls here selling it! Besides being fertile and wealthy, it was prepared for immediate habitation. The tribes had not to build houses, they inhabited what others had built; they had not to plant vineyards, but to eat the fruit of former labors. All things were waiting for the true heirs of the land.
Now it is time to move in.
1. Moses was Dead but God was Still Moving. v.1
Still is
End of an era.
Drove by the old church building this week with Pastor Art.
I thought of the past, our past.
I thought of God's Sovereign Hand.
I thought of the Good Hand of the LORD was upon Pastors Restrick, Cubie, Bedell and Pastor Utter and Arey and Pastor Rapalje (I don't feel worthy to be associated with this list at times).
I thought of how God got us here.
I thought of the incredible passage of time.
Only 5 of us were ever even in that building when it was the place of worship for our church.
Thank God for the vision of Pastor Bob Utter and the congregation to cross over Sunrise Highway and buy this land, to build the parsonage and then under Pastor Rapalje, the church we now sit in.
Beginnings here:
2nd Avenue Iglesia Del Nazareno Resurrection was organized in this building
As was Peniel, the Spanish Church
And Betel Primitive Church of the Nazarene Haitian Creole Church in Brentwood now.
The ChurchBuilding in Haiti was built in part because you guys sent me there, let me serve.
Now we are getting more requests to help rebuild or put roofs on churches there.
And now an El Savaldorian Church meeting in the basement on Sunday nights.
Moses and Joshua:
Often the with the death of a leader the movement he led dies.
*It could be that it was just for that time.
*It could be the movement get stuck in the past.
*It could be that the movement adapts and continues in new ways under new leadership.
Maybe there has been changes in your life recently. Maybe there is change on the horizon. Maybe today you are thinking of what 2020 will bring into your life.
Let's find where God is moving and join Him this year.
With all the change we face God is at work. He was working in bringing Israel into a new land, its land.
He was working through the changes in leadership.
He rides out His purposes on change.
The Gospel is going out like never before.
Radio to Internet...
The technology is amazing. You may not like it but God is using it... using it in powerful ways these days.
Livestream last Sunday: 85 souls viewed
We welcome readers of The Sunday Morning Message from Singapore, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, Holland, and Poland this week.
Italy, Russia, The United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, South America and Europe have had viewership in the past.
We are in time where, more than ever, it is difficult if not virtually impossible to see all that God is doing with the precious seed of His Word. There is an excitement about that.
2.Joshua was called to lead. v.2
A new day which would lead to a whole new life for the nation
A new segment of the population around our Jerusalem. Unreached.
A new leader or was it?.... God was still leading.
Different human instrument same God.
God has ways of working and things He wants to do we cannot even imagine.
Be yourself.
Let Him use your gifts and your pain. Joshua grieved but took it and led the nation, not casting aside Moses work at all but continuing on with it.
Words spoken to Joshua for Israel are for us this year!
5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
What is the Word for 2020?
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. v.9
Do Not Be
*Afraid
Of the present
Of the new things ahead
New Years offer a chance to start anew, an opportunity to reflect, a time for making changes and a time to worry about what lies ahead! Given the time we are in it can be a time of anxiety and even dismay. As always we need to hear what God's Word has to say. God's Word is for today. We need to decide what we are going to do with the time we have been given.
Do not be...
*Discouraged We must remember the past, in terms of God's great work on our behalf. We must forsake and forget the past, with all its discouragement and defeat, and move on to what God has for us in the future.
This was the situation of Israel when Isaiah prophesied. Exiled in Babylon due to their breaking of the Covenant with the LORD but about to be restored to the land because of God's kindness, mercy and grace. God was doing a new thing!
Often there is new thing God wants to do.
We must not hitch up to what He has done in the past, even the good things.
Times are changing and God is on the move and He wants us to move with Him through the times of change. He is the "The Great I AM." He transcends time.
Often, when God makes a promise, we worry about the details or the obstacles for the fulfillment of the promise. God replies to us, "Don't worry about it at all. I will even make a road in the wilderness. I have resources and plans you don't know about. Leave those problems to Me." The scaffolding in Bellevue, Haiti when we built that wall.
Do not be
*Doubting
John 20.26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Stop doubting and believe. You have seen Christ work. You have watched Him answer prayer. Stand firm then!
There are transitional times which come. Birthdays: When you are 16 you can learn to drive, at 18 you can vote and serve in the military., 35 you can run for president of the United States and at 62 you can begin to collect Social Security. But at any age God can use you. Esther Carson Wynas... Peru. 4 years old
Dr. McCoy, Pastor of Oyster Bay Baptist Church, called to the mission field upon his retirement, served for years all over Asia.
Brother Hazzard with me, last 6 years of his life... at age 94 went to be with the LORD on Good Friday 2001.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.”
Do Be
Courageous
Strong
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Daring
Believing
Adventuresome
Ready to move with God this year.
Last year we did not know we would have to postpone two trips to Haiti,
but while we were not able to go the roof is on the church and a pipeline has been laid bring water to a village in the northern part of the Island. We are packed and ready to go in February to build the house and stucco the walls! Please pray as we make a decision Tuesday.
3. The Promises made to and through Moses would be fulfilled v.3
To Abraham
Isaac's birth
Jacob's name change
Joseph's saving of many lives including Israel's present and future
He was going to work through Joshua in ways like Joshua never knew.
The Israelites were about to see God work in ways like they had never seen.
The LORD is faithful to all His Promises!
God will take of you!
Let's pray for our community, for this Island and for the whole Metro Area and our nation and this world.
Isaiah 43.18-19
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Oswald Chambers: This was from January 1st:
As we go forth into the coming year let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight nor with the quickness of impulse of thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us.
Our Yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future.
Let the past rest but let it rest in a sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken irreversible past in His hands and step out into the invincible future with Him.
-Oswald Chambers
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