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The Apostle Paul was carrying on a discourse about the Holy Spirit, to the Church at Galatia, in chapter 5 of the Book of Galatians. During his discussion about Walking in the Spirit vs. Walking in the flesh, in chapter 5: 19-21, he reminds us of the grotesque sins of the flesh that often, easily, consume our lives or our walk. Then, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he tells us something that is key…key to the life of every Christian, key to Christian living, and key to the whole of the operation of the New Testament Church…that key is Love.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5: 22-23. Paul instructs us that “The fruit of the Spirit is love,” and the Holy Spirit does nothing fake! In fact, Paul tells the Church at Rome: “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Romans 12: 9. Dissimulation comes from just as fancy a Greek word anupokritos meaning: To pretend or simulate. We would say, in today’s vernacular: Fake. “Don’t let your love be fake.” And we certainly should not! The Holy Spirit is not fake and neither should we be…in anything…and in the demonstration and exercise of our love. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives is love! Joy is love’s music, Peace is love’s agreement, Longsuffering is love’s endurance, Kindness is love’s service, Goodness is love’s deportment, Faithfulness is love’s measure, Meekness is love’s demonstration, and Temperance is love’s control. We should be substantiating our Christian lives by showing real love. Here is a little anonymous poem that points out the direction our love should take: “Love is an attitude – love is a prayer, For a soul in sorrow, a heart in despair. Love is good wishes for the gain of another, Love suffers long with the fault of a brother.” Real love never quits, never lies, and never surrenders, and never forgets the target of that love. The Apostle John becomes even more direct when he says: “If a man say ‘I love God’ and hateth his brother, he is a liar…” I John 4: 20. Well…you can’t say it any plainer than that! Start showing real love and repent because you have not. Pastor Jerry Hillenburg John Peter Muhlenberg (1777) "Brethren, we came to this Country to practice our religious liberties, and if we don't get involved, we're going to lose them..."
Brothers and Sisters, if it was true in 1777, it is even more true in 2014! It is time for God's people to get involved! Idleness, and passiveness, have been our destroyers...those days are passed, we, the true children of the Living God, have been called to this Kingdom "For such a time as this!" Stand fast, Stand up, and Stand out! Preach, witness, pray publicly, and point out sin in the presence of the sinner...show them their error and show them the answer. All of this can be done in love, but still be done with authority. The only answer for America is a return to God...we are the only ones who can show America the right way, the correct, path, the only Person...Jesus. Time to get started...Today! Pastor Jerry Hillenburg Phil. 3: 10 Many times I believe that God is leading and guiding us but we are to busy with our own stuff to hear Him!
I also believe that to many times we are looking for the spectacular when God is speaking in that still small voice! As an example in I Kings 18 and 19 we have the story of Elijah and Ahab and Jezebel. In chapter 18 Elijah had just challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest up on mount carmel as to who was the real God. Of course God wins the challenge and Elijah kills all 450 of the false prophets of Baal. As we begin chapter 19 Jezebel sends a message to Elijah telling him that she was going to kill him and what does this great prophet do? He runs for his life! After running all day he stops and asked the Lord to just take his life. Instead of doing that the Lord sends an angel to give him food to strengthen him for the journey that was before him. And beginning with verse 8 of chapter 19 Elijah and god have this discussion: 1 Kings 19:8-18 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. [9] And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? [10] And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. [11] And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: [12] And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. [13] And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? [14] And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. [15] And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: [16] And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. [17] And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. [18] Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. So he runs to a cave on Mount Horeb and God puts on a spectacular display of His power, but each time He says that the Lord was not in them. But after all the spectacular God speaks in a still small voice. Immediately I believe that Elijah knew how foolish he had been, he was pouting because he thought that he was the only one who was left serving the Lord. On this day God shows Him otherwise and confirms that He is still God and is still watching over Elijah and that God will give him all he would need to carry out His will and plan for his life! How about us? Have we been so busy with our stuff that we can't hear that still small voice? Have we been lead astray by the spectacular only to realize that God was not in it? We must stop and get alone with the Lord and His word and allow Him to speak! We need to be like Samuel when the Lord called Him and say speak Lord for thy servant heareth! Won't you ask the Lord to forgive you for being to busy to hear and then get alone and allow Him to speak to you? Until next time, Roger Penny Once a flying kite had a special dream...a dream of being set free from the string that constrained it from soaring to the highest clouds. From its dream came its daily song: "Were I but free, I'd take my flight, And pierce the clouds beyond their sight, But, ah! like a poor pris'ner bound, My string confines me to the ground." And then one day, while singing its song, the kite string broke, the kite was loosed from its Master and set free from the ground. Soaring higher for a few seconds and then it came crashing to the ground. With nothing holding it to protect it from the wind, it was destroyed on the rocks below. So many Christians want freedom from God's constraining string...believing that they can soar remarkably higher on their own...only to find that the wind of the world causes them to come crashing down onto the rocks of sin. God's constaining string...His Holy Word...may hold us back from where we think we should soar...but He keeps us from ever crashing. And as John Newton's poem concludes: "Ah! foolish kite; thou hast no wing; How could thou fly without a string? My heart replied, 'O Lord I see How much the kite resembles me!' Forgetful that by Thee I stand, Impatient of Thy ruling hand; 'How oft I've wished to break the lines Thy wisdom for my lot assigns.' How oft indulged a vain desire For something more and something higher. And but for grace and love divine. A fall thus dreadful had been mine." Cling to God's string in your life...He is flying you in the center of His will! Pastor Jerry Phil. 3: 10 Today I would like to discuss this passage of scripture, Isaiah 6:1-13.
This passage of Scripture is a review of Isaiah's encounter with the Lord after the good king Uzziah died. After reading this chapter the thought that comes to my mind is this; am i available to be used by the Lord? So I entitled this blog just simply, "Are You Available?" The focus for the title is found in verse 8: Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. In this chapter I see 5 things that I want to share with you: 1. There's a Problem! Notice verse 8 again: Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. The problem is that the pool to draw from, for the Lord, is getting smaller and smaller. There are less and less Christians who are willing to make themselves available to be used! That is why so many churches are suffering today, people who could work and serve in the church are sitting on the sidelines doing nothing. If that is you today please reconsider and ask the Lord to burden your heart to get busy for Him! The second thing that I see is: 2. There's a Presentation! Notice verse 8 again: Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. So Isaiah hears and sees the problem and then he presents himself to be the answer to the problem! All of us are quick to point out problems in our church but very few are willing to present themselves to deal with the problem. Please consider making yourself available to your pastor to deal with problems in your church! The third thing that I see is: 3. There's a Plee! Notice verse 8 again: Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. The plee here didn't come from the Lord it came from isaiah, he said "Send Me." When I read this it is like Isaiah is saying, Please Send Me! It's like he is begging the Lord to send him. I've often pictured this verse as if Isaiah is that child in the classroom who when the teacher asks a question and if you know the answer to raise your hand, there's one child who is doing everything to get the teachers attention. That's how I picture Isaiah here in this setting! Are you someone who can't wait for the Lord to use you? Do you get excited when you think about the possibilities of being used? If not we need to ask ourselves why not! The next thin I see is: 4. There's a Prerequisite! Notice verse 9: Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. The prerequisite is that we can't go and do until the lord says so! here He says to Isaiah "Go." He may not always say that to you, and I can guarantee you that if you go and He doesn't want you to then you will regret it. In the book of Exodus when God is instructing Moses on bringing Israel out of Egypt Moses says to God, "If you don't go with me I am not going!" And there are plenty of stories in the bible where people and nations are told not to do something because the Lord wouldn't be with them and they did it any way. And we find that those people suffered because of their decisions. If you are ready to go and work for the Lord please wait till He gives you His approval! Now notice the last thing that I see: 5. There's a Plan! Notice verse 9 again: Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. The Lord will never send you out without a plan and keep in mind that His plan always revolves around evangelization! He tells Isaiah Go and tell this people. This is one area where we don't need for the Lord to tell us individually to go, because He has already spelled His desire for us to Go into all the world. Are you following the plan he has given you? What about the plan He has given all of us? Having looked at these verses let me ask you again, "Are You Available?" That's my question for today! Until next week, God bless you! Roger Penny Here in the Midwest we have experienced a very different summer so far, it has been cool and wet instead of hot and dry.
I got to thinking about the church and the fact that this is exactly what we need in our churches, the showers of blessings. There was a time when the church was enjoying the power of God and the blessings of God, those days have long since passed. I don't have the time nor the space to explore why I believe this has happened to the church, what I would like to do is just think about some of the benefits of having these showers in our churches today. Let's begin with a verse and then go from there: Ezekiel 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. The reference here is to the land and the fact that rain was a precious commodity and God was saying through Ezekiel that He was going to bless them with not just rain but showers and that the rain would be a blessing. So when the blessings of the showers of His presence begins to fall on our churches what will be the byproduct? The first byproduct will be: 1. The Rain will Refresh us! After everyone of these showers we have experienced recently there is always a refreshing that accompanies it. Consider this verse: Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; When the showers of souls being saved begin to fall in the church then it always brings a refreshing among-st the church body. My prayer is, Dear lord please send the showers of souls to our church's once again! The second byproduct is: 2. The Rain will Renew us! Just like the recent rains we have had renews the greenness back to the grass and the flowers back to the plants these showers of blessings will cause us to renew our devotion and commitment to the Lord! Consider this verse from the pen of Isaiah: Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. When these showers of blessings fall upon our church there will be a renewal of strength, and that strength will cause us to be more devoted and committed to the Lord! When the showers of strength start to fall there will be a renewal of strength to every believer involved! Dear Lord please send the showers of strength to our churches once again! The third byproduct is: 3. The Rain will Remind us! The recent rains remind us how important it is to have the rain for things to grow and be green and vibrant. When the rains begin to fall in the church there is a new awareness of how dry and dead we have become, and we are reminded that we need the Lord to flourish! Consider this Psalm: Psalm 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. When these showers of blessings began to fall on the church again there will be a reminder of our spiritual condition! When these showers begin to fall there will be a reminder of our need! Oh Lord please send the showers to remind us that we need you to grow and to stay on fire! The fourth byproduct is: 4. The Rain will Replenish us! During these recent rains I watched as the grass and plants were replenished by each shower! When the rain begins to fall on the church it will replenish our resources, it will replenish our joy and our excitement. Consider this verse written by Paul: Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. When the showers of blessings begin to fall on the church again there will be a replenishing of those things that have been lost as we began to give out of our love for the Lord! Lord please send the showers to replenish us with a new supply of your love mercy and grace! The fifth byproduct is: 5. The Rain will Revive us! Before these recent rains I watched as my newly planted grass seed died because of the lack of water, now because of the rain they have been brought back to life so to speak. When the showers of blessings begin to flow in the church once again we will watch as Christians will seemingly come back to life, we will watch as dead outreaches and ministries come back to life! Again listen to the Psalmist: Psalm 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? When the showers of blessings begin to fall on the church once again there will definitely be a reviving. Lord please send the showers of revival once again that your people may rejoice and You be exalted! Oh how we need the rain! Until next week, Roger Penny Is "That Day" right around the corner?
Today I would like to discuss II Thessalonians 2:3 and answer the question given in my title! II Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for "that day" shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. With all of the recent events and the chaos in the political realm that we are see unfolded today we, as Christians, have to wonder if the Lord's return is near. There are many today who are being deceived, and I believe that this will only grow as time goes by! Even some Christians have started to have second thoughts about the Lord's return and some Preachers have abandoned preaching on it completely! Notice several things in this verse: 1. The Deception! (Let no man deceive you by any means) Paul warns us not to be deceived! We are well aware that the devil is the great deceiver! He wants to deceive lost people to believe that they are fine and he wants to deceive Christians to live a life of worldliness. So with that in mind the question is, Are you being deceived? If you are then wake up before it is to late! 2. The Delivery! (For that day shall not come except) Here the reference to that day is to the Rapture of the church. I believe that the devil is trying to deceive everyone to not focus on this great event. He doesn't know when it will happen but he knows if we get our focus off of the Lord we will probably not get it back, and if we do it may take a lifetime. Are you ready and looking forward to the Rapture? Does that day just scare you because you are not saved? 3. The Departure! (There come a falling away first) Here we see Paul discussing the fact that before the Rapture happens there will be a departure from the things of God, and boy are we seeing that today! I believe that this falling away is happening because we have gotten our focus off of the Lord! Have you lost your focus? 4. The Deceiver! (And that man of sin be revealed) The reference here is to the Antichrist. Christians are well aware that he is controlled by the chief deceiver, the devil! The Bible is plain that when the deceiver comes to power that the Rapture will take place shortly after and almost all of those who are left will be deceived! If the Rapture happened right now, would you be taken or left? Christian have you been deceived to the point that you have taken your focus off of the Lord? 5. The Destroyer! (The son of perdition) The word perdition just means ruin or loss. Paul reminds the church, and us that the deceiver, the devil, is only trying to do one thing, and that is to destroy us, ruin us, and cause us to lose everything. You see he can't take a Christian to hell with him so he will try to destroy their witness, destroy their testimony and anything else he can destroy so they won't be effective Christians for the Lord and so we will suffer loss when we stand before His throne. If you are lost he wants to take you to hell with him and destroy your life right now! Have you allowed the destroyer to work in your life? I believe that the answer to my question I posed is yes, that day is right around the corner, and the writer of Hebrews gives us in Hebrews 10:25 the answer, don't forsake our lifelines, don't forsake church, don't forsake fellowship, don't forsake prayer and Bible study. We ought to be more diligent in these things as we see what is happening in our world today, we ought to be more diligent in encouraging and exhorting one another. But if you are not a Christian then the answer for you is found in II Corinthians 6:2 today is the day for salvation. Don't put it off, don't be deceived because the Lord could return at any moment and you would not be taken but left behind. Please ask the Lord to save you today! Admit you are a sinner and that you need a Savior and ask Him to save you before it's to late! Roger Penny Churches have become worldly, fleshly, carnal, Spiritless places...where Christians have become cold, callus, indifferent, and passionless about the things of God. Oh, they can find tons of things to keep them coming to the church building: Duty, guilt, fear, or a feeling of well being when they do. They can even claim that they are coming "For the Children" but, they have little use for true Biblical Christianity. It is far too confrontational and unwanted in our current anti-christian, anti-Bible culture.
Something is wrong in our Churches, something is wrong in our Church, something must take place. The people of God must return to the place of passionate surrender, we must return to the moving of the Holy Spirit upon our lives and our total submission to that movement...that is called Revival! Vance Havner put it best when he said "We need a heart warming...The early Christians did not need a shot in the arm every Sunday to keep them going. They knew Jesus and they upset the world, worried the devil, and gave wicked rulers insomnia, and started something the jails could not lock up, fire could not burn, water couldn't drown, swords couldn't kill. You may belittle experience and speak of the dangers of emotion, but we are suffering today from a species of Christianity as dry as dust, as cold as ice, as pale as a corpse, and as dead as King Tut. We are suffering, not from a lack of correct heads, but of consumed hearts." We, Brothers and Sisters, need our hearts stirred again to Spiritual life...to have again the Breath of God, in the person of the Holy Ghost, blow upon our hearts and lives, stirring us to Spiritual life once more! There is an old Gospel Hymn that says it like this: "Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew. That I may love what You do love, And do what You would do. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Until my heart is pure. Until with You I am one will, To do and to endure. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Till I am wholly Thine. Till all this earthly part of me, Glows with Your fire divine." We need the glowing of that "Divine Fire" in our hearts and lives...right now...today! We need to be sensitive to the Spirit's movement, we need to be alert to the Spirit's call, we need to be ready for the Spirit's power, and we need to be patient for the Spirit's presence to expand in our lives. We must come to this awakening with hearts full of desire, but also with the cognizant awareness, that we fall short of His glory, and we must begin the process of emptying out the world and allowing the Spirit to fill in those carnal places in our heart. He wants to...now we must let Him. We need to get out of the world's rut and into the Spirt's presence and power....I want to; don't you? Pastor Jerry Phil. 3: 10 Have you noticed all of the stories recently about sinkholes opening up and swallowing people in them? I’m not sure the reason for it but I do know that this only proves that we need to be ready to meet the Lord because this could happen at any time, at any place to any of us! As I was thinking about this phenomenon I begin to think about the sinkholes of life and how there are so many people who get swallowed up by them.
All of us know at least one person and maybe many more who seemingly have everything going for them and all of a sudden their gone, their life is a mess and it’s as if they have disappeared from the real world. While I was think about this 2 verses came to mind. Let me share these with you for just a minute. Galatians 6:1: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. This first verse Paul is writing to the church at Galatia and he is giving them instructions has to how to help a fallen brother. The word fault just means an unexpected situation or a sin that has overtaken them. The first command that he gives is for the other Christians to reach out and try to restore them. But he goes a little deeper because he also tells us about the attitude that we should have while we are doing this restoring. Notice he says to do it in the spirit of meekness! That just means that we are to try and help them with an attitude of compassion and care and concern not condescension. Then the second command he gives is to consider yourself and how you would want others to treat you while dealing with this person. The second verse that comes to mind is this one, James 4:15: For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. In this verse James is telling us that we ought to include the lord in every area of our lives. I believe that if a Christian will consult the lord through prayer and study of His word that we could avoid the sinkholes of life. Let me conclude this blog today by asking you 2 questions. Have you reached out to help any brother or sister who has taken a fall? If not why not? Are you including the lord in all of your life today? If not today would be a good day to start! Until next week, Roger Penny Philippians 1:6 |
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