All posts by Athol Barnes

Athol Barnes is the Senior Pastor at Grace Point Baptist church in Kansas City, Missouri. Born in South Africa, as a son of a pastor, Athol became a follower of Jesus at an early age. He studied and worked as a mechanical engineer for almost 14 years before being called into fulltime Christian mission work. Emigrating to the USA in 2000 with his wife Debbie, Athol has served as the Director of Project Management at Adventures in Missions between 2004 and 2009, and a Discipleship training school leader with Youth with a Mission and Call2all from 2009 till 2014. In 2014 Athol graduated with a MATS degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In the same year, Grace Point called Athol to be their Senior Pastor. Athol has a heart for missions and seeing the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. He is passionate about seeing the church on mission, being and doing what Jesus called the church to do. Athol and Debbie were married in 1996 in South Africa and have two adopted Children, Christine and Joshua.
Sermons

Joshua Part 1 – His Preparation 8/9/15

 

Text:  Exodus 33:7-11

From www.untilallarereached.com

As we begin this series, and we look at the way in which God prepared Joshua, I want to ask you and challenge you; what are you being prepared for? Joshua we are told is the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua is a type of Christ, not only in name, but also in his calling and life.

We see Joshua mentioned in several occasions prior to the crossing of the Jordan, and each one of these has a lesson for us today. The first time we read about Joshua is in Exodus 17; in this fascinating account we read that as the Children of Israel were camping at Rephidim, the Amalekites attacked them. Moses called on a young man named Joshua. He told Joshua to take some men and go out and fight the Amalekites. As the battle ensued, Moses went and stood on top of a hill with the staff of God in his hands, as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites won were winning. As Moses grew tired, Aaron and Hur held up his hands and they also put a rock under him to sit on. The battle raged until sunset and in verse 13 we read that; “Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword”. But in v14 we read something interesting; “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it.” God used the battle, so that he could teach the people and Joshua an important lesson. Joshua learned by this battle that the Lord is the one who fights for him and not himself. Joshua needed to learn this lesson before he would be able to take the Israelites across the Jordan and begin fighting for the Promised Land, because God would fight for them. Notice also that Joshua didn’t complain or try to defer to someone else he did as he was told, and he was obedient.

That is the first character trait we need to learn from Joshua, he was obedient.

The next reference to Joshua is in Numbers 11. The Spirit of God had come on 70 elders, who prophesied, and then there were two elders who stayed back in the camp, who prophesied, and we read about a young man- Joshua; verse 28 says ; “Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” He was zealous for the things of the Lord and didn’t want to see Moses lose control or respect. Joshua was committed, he served without consideration for his own ambitions.

What about us today as Christians, do we serve Jesus because of our own ambitions or plans of making a name for ourselves? We need to serve with one ambition in mind, to make the name of Jesus known.

Then we see Joshua in Exodus 24, Moses is called by God up to the top of Mount Sinai to receive instructions and the Law. We read in verse 13; “Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God…” Evidently Joshua did not go the whole way with Moses, but waited on the slopes of the mountain for his master. Joshua patiently waited on his own for 40 days and nights. What a test of his faith and character. We know too that the Israelites were also waiting, and after some time, they began to think Moses had died, so they asked Aaron to make gods for them to worship. We read this in chapter 32. This is when the people gave Aaron all their jewelry and he fashioned a golden calf for them to worship, things quickly got out of hand. But Joshua passed the test – he remained faithful and did not doubt God.

How well do you do when God is silent? Do you look for ways to solve the problem yourself? Do you doubt God? Joshua – the man God uses, is one who trusts in spite of the circumstances and surrounding uncertainty.

Then in the following chapter of Exodus, chapter 33, we see that Moses set up a tent and it became a prayer room, people could come to the tent and ask the Lord when they had situations or concerns in their lives. When Moses came to the tent of meeting, the pillar of cloud would come down and God would speak to Moses. In the 11th verse we read a key note on Joshua; “Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. “Joshua spent time with the Lord in prayer, he stayed in the tent of meeting. He was being prepared by God. It is absolutely vital for us as Christians to develop our own habit of spending time with God. Find your own tent of meeting, spend time with God. It will revolutionize your life.

The next time we see Joshua mentioned is in Numbers 13, when the Lord told Moses to send 12 spies into Canaan to spy out the land that He was going to give to them. The 12 spies were leaders from each of the 12 tribes including a man by the name of Hoshea son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim. We go on to read in verse 16 of Numbers 13 that Hoshea’s name was changed to Joshua by Moses. This is significant. Hoshea means; “the one who saves” and Moses changed his name to Joshua meaning; “the Lord Saves” or the Lord our salvation – hence the name Jesus which is the Greek form of Joshua. Moses changing his name was putting a new identity on him, making it clear to all who called him by this name that the strength of Joshua was not in himself, but in the Lord.

We know the story; the spies went out and came back after 40 days with news of a wonderful land filled with terrible giants. All but two of the spies came back with tales of an impossible task, but then we have Joshua and Caleb, men who agreed that there were giants, but with God’s help the land can be taken. That is Faith!

When you look to the future do you fear the giants? The giants of the unknown, the lack of finances, lack of resources. Sure they may all be there but if the Lord has given you the land, you dare not say that it is impossible.

Joshua displayed courage, here he was from a lesser tribe, standing against 10 other leaders and saying that they were wrong. Joshua was a man of courage.

So we see in this brief look at the preparation of Joshua, five characteristics of this great man of God.

  1. Obedience – as he took up the sword and defeated the Amalekites, he did not question or doubt.
  2. Selfless – as he served Moses and made sure that Moses was protected when the Elders began prophesying in the camp.
  3. Faith – when Moses was gone up the mountain for 40 days, Joshua waited in faith and did not sin.
  4. Prayer – Joshua was always in the tent of meeting – praying and developing a relationship with God.
  5. Courage – Joshua stood against the popular opinion of the other spies

But this is not just a story of a man who lived thousands of years ago the principles apply to us in the 21st century. What is God preparing you for? You are never too old or too young to be used by God. He is preparing you today for tomorrow.

The characteristics that Joshua displayed need to become the characteristics of our lives.

But these 5 characteristics are impossible to do in your own strength there is something that needs to take place first; you need a name change. Joshua had a name changed, before he was commissioned and put to work. You need to be born again. When you say yes to Jesus and make him the Lord of your life, you get a new name, a seal, a deposit – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables you to walk out these 5 characteristics that we see in the life of Joshua, and we see in the lives of many other people who have taken the words of Jesus Seriously.

So what is God calling you to do? What is he preparing you for tomorrow? The church, needs Joshua’s; people of courage and faith who will lead fellow Christians into the future.

 

Sermons

What Happens Next Part 3 The Judgment

 

Revelation 20:11-15

From www.untilallarereached.com

So we have two places, two eternal destinies. Everyone who is alive today and everyone who has ever lived will spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell.

I want to briefly look at the judgment day, the time assigned by God where everyone is judged and their eternal destinies are assigned.

But you may say, well- that is a long way off, it doesn’t really apply to my day to day reality. I want to try to give you some thoughts on why the final judgment does affect the way in which you live today and how you will plan to live tomorrow.

Revelation 20:11 is also called the Great White Throne Judgment.  In this chapter we read about Jesus coming again and ruling for a thousand years while Satan is locked away. After that time, Satan is released for a short time before the final and great battle between God and Satan along with his armies of people who he deceived.

God decisively defeats Satan in this Battle and after that the final judgment follows, where Jesus himself sits on the throne and judges everyone both believers and unbelievers. (2 Timothy 4:1; Acts 10:42)

We read that unbelievers and believers will both be judged. Remember Matthew 25 and Jesus’ teaching on the sheep and the goats and that he would separate; one to eternal punishment and the sheep to eternal blessing of the presence of God. So the question is; why a judgment? Why not just send each person to where they are going to go? Why does Jesus need to judge both believers and unbelievers individually?

Judgment of sinners

So it is clear that unbelievers will stand before Christ. (Romans 2:5-6) It is also evident in the Scriptures that there will be degrees of punishment for unbelievers and likewise degrees of rewards for believers. (Rev 20:12; Luke 12:47&48 and Luke 20:47)

Jesus implies that there will be degrees of punishment and this appeals to our innate sense of Justice. Every thought, deed and word spoken will be brought to light, on the day of Judgment the secrets of people’s hearts will be made public (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

Judgment of saints

This makes sense to us that the unbelievers will be judged, but what about the believers? They will also be judged. (Romans 14:10 & 2 Corinthians 5:10);

This is the judgment of all who have made Jesus Christ Lord and savior of their lives; this is the judgment of all true believers. But here is the good news; it is not a judgment of condemnation or punishment, because we know that the blood of Jesus has washed away all our sins and as Paul wrote in Romans 8:1.

So what is this judgment about?

The Bible tells us that believers will receive rewards for their work and faithfulness here on the earth. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 6 to store up for themselves treasures in heaven. (Also see 1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

So it is clear that we will receive different rewards for how we live our lives as Christians here today.

We need to be aware of the fact that the Bible teaches that there will be different rewards in heaven not so that we will enter into some kind of competition with each other, but rather that we would encourage one another and spur one another on in our Christian walk. God has infinite capacity to reward us. There is not a limited amount of blessings to be given out, or a “salary cap” on the rewards from God. No my friends we should all be encouraging one another as the writer to the Hebrews states in Hebrews 10:24-25.

I want to make one thing absolutely clear; this is not a salvation by works. We are saved because of our faith in Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross. Rather, this is what it means to live the Christian life. We are all called to do certain things by God, whether big or small, our eternal reward is not based on the size or measurable success of our work, but rather on our faithfulness to do what God calls us to do.

I think we are going to be startled on the Day of Judgment; we simply cannot use the measures of man to understand the judgment of God.

The question remains, why is there going to be a judgment? Why not simply send the unbelievers to hell and the believers to Heaven? Because, the final judgment will be public for all to see, it will be a declaration of the Glory of God which, on the one hand we will see his holiness and righteousness and on the other hand we will see his grace and mercy.

The scriptures tell us that God is completely just and that no one will be able to complain his judgments. God does not show partiality, he will weigh up the thoughts and intents of every man, because God is all knowing. The Bible says that on that Day, every mouth will be stopped. Can you imagine a more perfect judge? He knows all things, knows all thought and is absolutely pure and holy in every respect. He will judge perfectly.

But as we look at the coming judgment there are also applications for us today.

Firstly – our desire for justice. We will see the end of God’s plan for mankind and the righting of the injustices that we see and hear all around us. We see in verse 12 of our text, that the books will be opened and all the deeds of all of humanity are recorded. This may be symbolic or literal, but the truth is that a record is being kept of every deed and ultimately all accounts will be settled and all wrongs made right.

Secondly – As we view the doctrine of a final judgment day it enables us to forgive others. We quickly realize that it is not up to us to take revenge, which is the realm of God. (Romans 12:19) My friends this is a wonderful promise that is incredibly freeing. We must be careful to let things go, not to harbor grudges and grievances. We can be assured that God will set things right on that day, and he will judge perfectly.

Thirdly – the doctrine of a final judgment should be a strong motivation for making good choices in life. It should serve as an incentive to strive for those eternal rewards. This is not selfish, Jesus told us to do this. (Matthew 6:20)

Finally the doctrine of a final judgment must produce in us a motive to tell others about Jesus Christ and the Gospel message. The decisions that we make today affects our eternal destiny. Jesus left us the commission to go and tell, we need to be motivated by the fact that so many people are going to a certain eternity in hell.

So as I wrap up this sermon and this series, where do we stand? The 21st century in the western culture has become a source of unending distractions and entertainment. We are so busy trying to make more money, or trying to get that promotion, or sadly – to make sure we don’t miss that episode of our favorite TV show. We focus on movies, food, sport, hobbies, while all the time our perspective of eternity is being whittled away and we seldom think of the fact that our lives are so very brief.

Let us wake up! Wake up those around us. Live your life in the light of eternity – but what does that mean?

Every pleasure you could have here on earth ultimately passes away, it is fleeting, but if we live for eternity, storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, we will experience pleasure that is lasting, eternally lasting and absolutely unshakeable.

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past.

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

C.T. Studd

Sermons

What Happens Next? Part 2 Hell

Matthew 25:31-46

From www.untilallarereached.comThe doctrine of hell seems to be outmoded in these days, we don’t like to talk about it , and contrary to a few decades ago where it was preached regularly and taught clearly, today it seems to be viewed as old fashioned and irrelevant. Part of the problem I believe, is that in the past 20 years or so the evangelical world has focused so much on the love of God, which is a primary characteristic of his nature, that we find tension when we wish to discuss the judgment of God and eternal consequence for sin.

But the doctrine of eternal punishment is clearly taught in scripture. In fact Jesus spoke more about Hell than he did about Heaven. Matthew 8:12; Matthew 25; Mark 9:48; Matthew 22:13; Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 13 are some examples of Jesus’ teachings on Hell.

This is not an easy subject and it is weighty, we need to grasp what the Bible says about hell, and if we do, it will change the way in which we view the world around us. Unfortunately we are in a church age where preachers are reluctant to talk about this, because it is going to offend someone or our own innate sense of justice, as flawed as that is, seems to go against the truths of the scriptures.

The descriptions that Jesus uses for Hell involve fire and a place of torment. Mark 9:48, Jesus calls it a fire that is not quenched. Revelation 20:15 calls hell a lake of fire. Some argue that the term “fire” may be symbolic, and even if we say that then it must represent something that is worse than we can imagine. Even if we try to take the lake of fire and the fiery furnace as symbolic we must be confronted with the terrible thought that these symbols are not overstatements, but rather understatements of a reality that we would otherwise not be able to grasp. Jesus did not choose these pictures to tell us that hell is easier than burning.

Jesus also taught that Hell is a place of conscious torment Luke 16 and in Matthew 22:13 he said it is a place of outer darkness. Hell is real; it is eternal as we read in Matthew 25:46. Not only is hell eternal it is also conscious, all the images that we read of hell in the Bible point to the fact that it is going to be an experiential eternity. This is the experiencing of the wrath of God – it is the reality of our sins before an infinitely holy God.

But the wonderful news that we have today is that Hell is escapable. No-one has to spend eternity in torment, anyone can be saved. Jesus took our punishment on the cross and as a result, those who place their trust in him as their personal Lord and savior will escape the fire of hell.

Jesus often taught in magnificent parables. But in those very same parables the theme is re-iterated that the kingdom of God means that some will be brought into the glory of the fellowship of God’s people and, on the other hand, there will be those who remain outside.

For example

  • The parable of the wheat and the tares, in which the tares in the parable are bound and burned (Matthew 13).
  • The parable of the net that catches the fish in which the bad fish are then cast away (Matthew 13).
  • In Matthew 25, the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, in which the foolish virgins are shut out and have no access to the place where the wise virgins rejoice and flourish;
  • Also in Matthew 25 we read the parable of the unprofitable servant, where the servant who did nothing with his bag of Gold is cast out into the outer darkness;
  • And we read of the story of the sheep and the goats in the same chapter, in which the great final division takes place among mankind. And over there on the left hand of the Savior is a place destined for the devil and his angels into which men are sent by Jesus himself because of the way they have responded to the message of the Gospel.

If we take all these word pictures from Jesus and the Apostles we see a common description of what hell includes;

  1. It involves separation from God, being cast away from His presence. This is the most awful part of hell, because we are made by God to experience his presence, it is part of our very nature
  2. It involves depravation of light. It will be a place of utter darkness.
  3. It will be a place of intense and pain.
  4. And it is eternal

Hell is the outpouring of the wrath of God on sinners. When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane when and asked that this cup be taken from him in Matthew 26:39, he was not simply asking for the occasion to be taken away.

He was looking to the prophetic revelation John received in Revelation 14: 10, in describing the punishment of those who worshipped the beast in the last days. Jesus experienced the cup of God’s wrath. The Beloved Son became sin for us and experienced the full amount of the wrath of God. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Jesus took the full punishment of the wrath of God, Jesus the eternal son of God, always in the presence of God, was separated from God as God had to turn away from him when he took on the sins of the world. That is the suffering of Jesus on the cross, the physical pain was real but the cup of the wrath of God was infinitely more painful and excruciating.

The future judgment of unbelievers will not only be final and irreversible, it will also be eternal. On the basis of Scripture we have to reject the doctrine of universalism which is so popular today, which says that all people will eventually be saved.

God designed mankind as eternal beings. We are destined to live forever, he wants to spend eternity with us in fellowship, so in order to do that we had to be designed and fashioned in such a way as to live for eternity. Thus if man decides to reject God’s offer of salvation we are in essence deciding to live for eternity apart from God. But the fact that we are eternal beings cannot be done away with.

It is important to note that God does not send anyone to hell (1 Peter 3:9). It is not God’s choice to have man spend eternity in hell, but the sin of the individual sends them there. As C.S. Lewis puts it; “The doors of hell are locked from the inside.” Ever since Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled against God mankind has been saying to God; “go away and leave me alone” Hell is God’s way of granting that wish.

Hell is not an easy subject to talk about, but we must, it is imperative that we are provoked to share the wonderful message of the Gospel with others because we are driven with compassion for them. The reason we are driven by compassion is that we know that we too are sinners saved only by the grace of God.

John Piper wrote; “When the heart not longer feels the truth of hell, the Gospel passes from good news to simply news.”

The saving Gospel is good news!

Sermons

What Happens Next part 1- Heaven 7/12/15

From www.untilallarereached.com

John 14:1-4

For many eternity is something we don’t often talk about or think about. The bottom line is that we are eternal beings created by God to live for eternity. And the future condition of every human being is determined by the decisions you make here on earth today. Moral decisions and ultimately the decision to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life or to reject his offer of salvation will determines our eternal destiny. Since heaven or hell are the eternal place for everyone on earth, it is surprising that so little is said about it from our pulpits.

Because of the fear of the unknown, we avoid talking about Heaven. This is also one of Satan’s primary goals, to make little of heaven and our eternal home with our Heavenly Father. Satan firstly wants to convince us that Heaven does not exist, then if he fails in that he will try to convince us that Heaven is a boring and unattractive place that we go to after our “real life” here on earth is done. The truth is that Satan hates the New Heaven and the New Earth that we read about in the Revelation to the apostle John.

“Grasping what the Bible teaches about Heaven shifts our center of gravity and radically alters our perspective on life”. Alcorn

In John 14 we see Jesus’ final remarks during the last supper as he was preparing his disciples for his death. Then Jesus made the statement; “Trust in God; trust also in me.”He was not suggesting that they should or could trust in him to make good on his promises. He was probably giving them a command to trust in him to have faith, because Jesus knows that he is faithful and that all the promises of God are true and trustworthy. God is able to make good on any promise he makes. We too can and must trust him.

Jesus goes on to tell his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them, his disciples must have had a hundred questions; What is this place? Where is it? What is it going to be like? How do we get there?

Today we also have many questions regarding Heaven. The first issue that is questioned about heaven is whether or not it is an actual place or a state. Since God is spirit and we are to be in close communion with him, some say Heaven is only a state of mind and not a real place. However, Jesus ascended to heaven in a resurrected body and we too will receive resurrected bodies to live in heaven (1 Corinthians 15). Thus it must be a place where we can live in a real existence. While it is probable that heaven is in another dimension, we still can be assured that heaven is both a place and a state.

So if heaven is a real place, can we look at anything here around us and say, that this is what heaven will be like? Just like it is impossible for us to describe God using our vocabulary and things we can identify with, so to it is impossible to fully describe heaven. We also want to understand heaven through the lens of what brings us pleasure here on earth, and we simply cannot do that, because we live in a world tainted by the effects of sin. Heaven will be filled with pleasures that are infinitely more real and lasting than anything we know here in this lifetime.

From www.untilallarereached.com

But the primary joy of heaven will not be the state of our being, or the weather or the experiences we will taste. Far superior to all of that will be the fact that we will be in the presence of God.

We were made to have communion with God, God created man in his own image way back in the book of Genesis to have fellowship with him. But when sin entered the world, that relationship was broken and there was a separation that took place. Inside every human being is a longing and an unfulfilled desire that can only be met by the perfect presence of God himself (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Being in the presence of God for eternity is heaven and being separated from God for eternity is hell. Our selfish and humanistic mindset cannot even begin to grasp what it will be like to be in the presence of God and to worship him, in his presence. My friends, it will not be boring, that is a lie from Satan. In our “what’s in it for me” culture, we have no idea of what it will be like to be in the presence of the creator of the universe. Heaven will be primarily a place filled with the glory of God (Revelation 21:23).

So heaven will be a place of rest, peace and worship of God, but heaven will also be a place of service and work. We will not be idly sitting on clouds playing harps. God is a creative God and he designed us to be creative beings along with him. We see in Genesis 1, that God created man to rule and take care of the creatures of the earth. God is still creating, he will continue to create and we will work in various capacities and roles of authority in the new heaven and the new earth (See the parable of the Bags of Gold in Matthew 25:14-30).

The final question we must face is how do we get there?

If heaven is real, and our lives here on earth are very temporary, we need to know how to get to Heaven, our eternal resting place, with God. Thomas asked the same question (John 14:5)

Jesus is the way, and the Bible is clear that he is the only way. I know that this is not politically correct in our modern society, but it is not a popular message. Only those who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior will enter into Heaven (Matthew 7:13 & 14).

Life on earth is temporary, but eternity is forever. You and I will all live forever somewhere.

Sermons

In God we Trust 7/5/15

From www.untilallarereached.com

Text: Psalm 25:1-15

In life there are many things we trust, we can trust in our position in life, our families, the power of the military and defense force of our nation, we can trust in our education and experience to get us through situations, many people also trust in money, in particular we trust in money for our ability to care for ourselves in retirement or ill health. To me the great irony is that on our currency it states; “in God we Trust” but most people trust in the dollar more than they trust in God.

From www.untilallarereached.com

I want to challenge you afresh to trust in God, to look at the situations in your life and see what you need to place in the hands of God. Maybe you face an insurmountable challenge and you are in fear today, not sure what the future looks like, today I want to encourage you that you can put your trust in God, He is able, and he is faithful.

As we focus on Psalm 25 we notice that the Psalm has three distinct features or sections.

As David cries out to God he asks the Lord for direction and guidance. Then as David enters into the presence of God, he is drawn to repentance. And then David asks the Lord for protection against his enemies.

So we have three aspects, Protection, Pardon and Guidance.

I want to focus on the guidance of God today as we look at what it means to trust in him. (see Proverbs 3:5 and 6)

As we look at verse 4 and 5 of the Psalm we see that David is acknowledging that he doesn’t have the ability to move forward, he is coming and pleading with the Lord for direction; how often do we cry out to God like this for our future? “For You I wait all the day.” Do we know what it is to wait on the Lord? Or do we offer a 30 second prayer and then rush out and make our own plans?

But as David goes on we read in verse 9; “ He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.”

At first this sounds good and right, we know that in order to trust God we need to humbly come before him and acknowledge our weakness, but as I was studying this verse I found that the Hebrew Language here for the term humble can also mean afflicted or broken. So in that respect we can read verse 9 as; “He leads the humbled in Justice and He teaches the humbled His way”. We tend to think of being humble as a posture that we present to God in the way of our attitude, but rather David here gives us a picture of being afflicted and humbled by God. We don’t like the sound of that. But remember verse 4 and 5; “Make me know your ways… and lead me in your truth” David was pleading with God to teach him and the humbling process was the way God taught David dependence on him. And by God’s grace he does that to all of us, when we are brought to the place where we realize we have nothing to offer and are humbled in the presence of the almighty God.

Looking at verses 12 and 14 we see the familiar theme of the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom as we read in Proverbs 111:10. A respect and acknowledgment for who God is, will bring us into a position us understanding and wisdom, which is knowledge given by God. Acknowledging who God is, must be first and foremost in our lives as we seek to know his will for our lives and begin to trust him for the future.

It is very simple, if we are able to grasp just a tiny fragment of the Glory and Majesty of God and then compare it to the problem that we face, we will see how insignificant our problem is in comparison. God is awesome, fear God.

What Jesus did on the cross 2000 years ago paid the penalty. God raised him from the dead and in that earth shattering event, the hold of sin on mankind was broken. We have a risen savior that rules today at the right hand of the Father. Our struggles today are temporary and fleeting in the light of eternity. We look around and we see a nation that is very different to the one we knew 20 years ago, but let me give you a wonderful piece of news. Nothing that is happening today or will happen tomorrow will ever shake God or catch him off guard. And along with that, the church, the body of Christ that is built on the foundation of the Word of God and with Jesus as the cornerstone will never be shaken. I pray that we at Grace Point will be a church that is so grounded in the word of God as our foundation that we will never be shaken. Isaiah 40 is a wonderful prophecy about Jesus which John the Baptist quoted in Matthew 3, but these words are still applicable and a wonderful promise to us today. (see Isaiah 40:5-8)

Note, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah wrote; “the word of our God stands forever”, we can trust in the Word of God. In order to put our trust in the word of God, we need to know the word of God and meditate on the word of God. Every one of us is to be a student of the Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal truths to us and allowing us to have a sure foundation that will not be shaken in an ever changing world.

When we see the changes taking place around us, we need to be drawn to our knees as we are to pray for our country. We weep and mourn as we see changes that seem to be out of our control, but we are not a people without hope. If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are part of another Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. This kingdom will endure forever. (see Psalm 145:13)

The Lord is Trustworthy! As children of the Kingdom of God we know two things for certain, it is an everlasting Kingdom and The Lord our God is trustworthy.

AW Tozer in his book “the dangers of a shallow faith” wrote; “Either God is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”

Is he Lord of all for your life today?

Sermons

Hearing God’s Voice Part 3 6/14/15

From www.untilallarereached.com

Text: Jeremiah 17:5-8

As we have seen for the past two weeks, God speaks to us today in order to give us instructions for our lives and we need to learn obedience to the voice of God. But for many it is so hard to know the will of God for their lives. My friends that is simply not true. You and I were saved for a purpose, saved to bring Glory to God, not to simply try in our own abilities to get by and hope for the best. That is a meaningless and fruitless existence. God has a plan for your life and he communicates that plan to you, as you position yourself to hear from him.

Jeremiah was a prophet who was born in 648 B.C.; he grew up in the time of King Josiah and lived about two miles outside Jerusalem. He actually came from a family of priests and was familiar with the inner workings of the political arena in Israel at the time.

At the age of 20, God called Jeremiah to be his spokesman to the people of Judah. But Jeremiah protested, saying that he was too young. Last week we saw how Moses argued with God, trying to explain to God that he was not equipped to handle the task and responsibility that God had for him. Remember, when God calls you, he knows exactly who he is calling, he calls weak and broken people to be his greatest warriors.

Jeremiah’s ministry spanned 40 years, and he was the prophet who declared and saw the final days of Judah’s existence as an independent nation. He is often called the weeping prophet because of the personal anguish he knew in his ministry.

The book of Jeremiah is a collection of short sermons delivered during the rule of various different kings’ of Judah. Chapter 17 is a short poem contrasting the way of the wicked and sinful and the way of the righteous.

Judah had been relying on false gods, the idols of the nations in and around their land. They had also become reliant on foreign alliances that they had made and felt secure in their own abilities. They trusted in man and not in God, the one true God. Jeremiah then contrasts this with the person who trusts in God as their only hope and confidence. This person will flourish like a tree planted by the water, who when trials and dangers come, they will prosper and bear fruit. This is much like the psalm of David, when preparing to go to battle; Psalm 20:7:” 7Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

But Jeremiah saw the connection between putting faith in foreign alliances and lack of faith in God. The Lord revealed to him that the Babylonian empire was coming from the north and would be used by God to punish the idolatry and sins of the people of Judah. Now, it is not wrong to make alliances with foreign nations, but for Judah it was a clear sign that they did not trust God to take care of them; it was a lack of faith. As a result of their lack of faith, God was going to turn the Promised Land into a wasteland and the city of Jerusalem into a heap of rubble.

God has done everything to make a way for you to be in a relationship with him by sending his son, Jesus Christ to be our savior. God wants us to know him, to grow in our relationship with him. In order to grow in our relationship with God we need to get into the habit of asking questions, and then be quiet and let God speak to you. Always remember that God wants a relationship with you more than you want one with him. But if you truly seek him, he will reveal himself to you (see Jeremiah 29:13). God wants you to seek him more than anything else.

As you begin the practice of regularly listening to the voice of God in prayer and meditating on scripture, it is important that when you feel that God has given you an instruction that you write it down. We so easily forget, writing it down not only solidifies it in our minds, but it enables us to refer back to it in days and years to come. After you have written down test it, make sure that what you feel God is saying to you is not in contradiction to scripture and the revealed character and nature of God.

But then the final and most crucial aspect of all, you must move in obedience and action. We must be obedient; Jesus said in John 14:23; “if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” and the writer to the Hebrews writes; “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7b).

You and I were saved for a purpose, if you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have a responsibility to Love God and to Love others. We are called to live lives that make a difference and make an impact in our communities and work places. In order to be fruitful and make a difference we need to receive our marching orders- our plan of action from God. Do you know the voice of God? Do you receive your orders from God or are you like the People that Jeremiah was dealing with who were listening to those around them and making their plans trusting in the strength of mortal man.

From www.untilallarereached.com

Today you can begin to live a life of fruitfulness and trusting in the Lord for the harvest. Be like the tree planted by the river, that never fails to produce fruit. You will know what God wants you to do; you will know the will of God for your life. This is not some unreal promise that seems too good to be true. It is available to all of us, not only that, it is required of us as followers of Jesus.

Sermons

Hearing God’s Voice Part 2 6/7/15

How does God speak?

 Text: Exodus 3:1-6

From www.untilallarereached.com

Exodus 3 describes the commissioning and call of Moses. Little did Moses know that morning when he took his sheep out to pasture, that he would have such a significant encounter, one that would not only change his life, but would also change the lives of millions and the entire nation of Israel. But he was ready, not that he was ready to lead the Children of Israel, but he was ready for the voice of God. He was paying attention to the signs; he noticed the bush that was burning, but not being consumed. He was going about his business, being diligent and alert. God is still today looking for people who are alert, seeing the signs and being ready to respond.

What follows in the next two chapters of Exodus is one of the longest and most significant dialogues between God and man that you will find anywhere in Scripture.

From www.untilallarereached.com

After 40 years of being trained in the courts of Pharaoh in Egypt, Moses goes into a self imposed exile after murdering an Egyptian, and now at the age of 80, he is leading his father in laws flock of sheep in the desert or wilderness searching for good grazing. As he roams around he comes to a place that is known as Horeb. The name Horeb means “dry and I am sure Moses was walking around this region, he wondered if he would ever again see the wealth and fertile lands of Egypt. He was in a dry place, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

But then God spoke!

God himself calls Moses out of the Fire. “Moses! Moses!” Moses must have been scared to death, he had never heard the audible voice of God before, and he was all alone on the mountain. But Moses responds the same way as his forefathers Abraham and Jacob did before him and also the same way in which Samuel responded.

He simply said; “Here I am”. Moses was available – God is looking for people who respond when he calls still today.

What follows is the long dialogue between God and Moses. During this discourse with God, Moses is doing his best to disqualify himself for the task that God was giving him; Moses goes to great lengths arguing with God about his calling. You see Moses had been in the wilderness for so long, that he had disqualified himself in his own eyes. But God knows who he is calling, God knew exactly who Moses was, and that is the reason why he called him. Moses was suffering from a false humility that so is not uncommon today.

When God calls you, he knows you better than you know yourself, no need to remind him of your faults. But as a child of the King, when God calls you, he sees the only redeeming quality you have, he sees Jesus in you the hope of glory. Let me assure you none of us have any quality in and of ourselves that can impress God. If God calls you, do not resort to false humility, it is offensive to God, he knows what you can do. In fact false humility is the ugliest form of pride.

God still speaks today. So how does God speak? For Moses it was a fire in a bush, but what about us?

God speaks in a variety of ways:

Just because he used them in the past it doesn’t mean that he will use them again, also, he may speak in ways that he has never used before. We cannot place the omniscient God in a box, be wary of the reason given – “God has never done that before!!”

God desires and wants to communicate with people. And will not be limited to how.

  • God speaks through scripture – This is our primary source for God to speak to us.

The bible is the starting point in our pursuit of a personal relationship with God, because it is His revelation of himself to mankind. God’s particular revelation of himself is in the Holy Spirit inspired word of God.

(See; Ephesians 6:17 & 2 timothy 3:16)

Having said that, God is not limited to speaking to us through the Bible, he is God after all and can speak in any way he wishes. After all God used a rooster crowing three times to speak to Peter at Jesus’ trial. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God has limited himself to speaking through scripture. As we study the scriptures we learn about God, we grow in our relationship with him.

  • God speaks through others: God will use other godly people in our lives to speak to us, we all need mentors and encouragers who will pray for us and then speak the truth in love. Isaiah 28:11.
  • God speaks through circumstances – Gen 50:20. Joseph saw how God used the seemingly impossible circumstances and redeem them to his glory.
  • God speaks through words of wisdom and knowledge – 1 Corinthians 12:7-9.
  • The audible voice of God – 1 Kings 19:11-12 we read how God spoke to Elijah the prophet.
  • God also speaks to us in that still small voice, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, Just as we discussed a few weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday. Knowing and being sensitive to that inner voice of God. That is living by the Spirit of God.
  • God still speaks in Dreams; the life of Daniel was one filled with dreams and interpretation. But today we are hearing stories of thousands of Muslims who are encountering Jesus in a dream and being converted.
  • Sermons- my prayer every week is that you don’t come here to hear the words of a somewhat educated man, but that you would be moved into action by the words of God as He speaks to you Sunday by Sunday.

But with all these and many more ways in which God speaks we must be very careful to test and make sure that it is the voice of God. Remember God will never contradict Scripture; the Word of God is still our standard. God will also not ask us to do anything that does not exalt the name of Jesus.

You may say, “well I don’t hear god speaking – he doesn’t speak to me – “

You are not alone in feeling this way, but the truth is that God does speak to you – you are just not listening – Remember PSALM 46:10:” Be still and know that I am God.” Just be quiet and let him speak!

But we find another piece of valuable guidance from Paul in Philippians 4:8. Think on these things – again as we meditate on scripture, and the things of the Lord, we are able to better hear his voice. The truth is that we tend to think about things that we focus on. Sometimes this is not always bad – but for example if you constantly listen to talk radio you will probably become depressed and make plans to move to Argentina. In our society we have an incredible access to information – not all bad – but not all edifying and up building. I am not saying that you need to become a monk – but rather limit your time dwelling on things that are not part of God’s plan and will for your life.

Proverbs 4:23 states; “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

If the goal of our lives is to become more like Christ we need to take this seriously. How do we know the will of God for our lives? Paul makes it very clear in Romans 12:2.

So I encourage you this morning to develop a lifestyle of listening to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you. Start a prayer journal and write down what you feel God is saying, test it and be obedient to God.

Sermons

Hearing God’s Voice Part 1 5/31/15

Why does God speak?

Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Sometime in their lives every Christian asks the question; “how can I know the will of God for my life?” or “does God speak to me?” The answer is yes!

From www.untilallarereached.com

So we begin the series with the question; why does God speak? And our text is the well known story of the calling of the prophet Samuel.

This is such a wonderful story of God revealing Himself to humanity. This story highlights a turning point in the nation of Israel and their history. The period of the Judges was coming to an end, roughly 350 years around 1000 years before Christ, and the Lord began speaking on a regular basis through prophets as the era of the kings was ushered in. Samuel is a wonderful example to us of someone who was attentive and waiting on the Lord. He responded quickly each time the Lord called him and ran to Eli. It reveals a lot about his character and his eagerness to serve.

According to the ancient Historian Josephus, Samuel was about 12 yrs old at the time and he had been in the temple for 9 or 10 years.

The first verse of our text says that the word of the Lord was rare in those days. During the period of the Judges we only have recorded 2 prophets and 5 revelations. But all that was to change with this young boy Samuel, a young man who was eager to serve the Lord.

The part of the account in Samuel that is left out when we tell children this story is the fact of the sin of eli’s sons, Phinehas and Hophni, they had abused the privilege and responsibility of serving in the house of the Lord, and the Lord had rejected them as we read in chapter 2. They did not recognize the word of the Lord and rejected the correction of their father. But the Lord chose to reveal himself to Samuel, this young 12 year old had the humility and perspective that God was looking for, someone who could be used by God in a mighty way.

There are two primary reasons why God spoke to Samuel and these same reasons apply to us today;

  1. God speaks so that we can develop a relationship with him and know him as our heavenly father. Up until this point in time, Samuel did not know God, he did not recognize the voice of God, but as he became aware of the voice of God he grew in his relationship with him. The same applies to us, as we begin to recognize the voice of God, we learn more about his character and nature and we grow in our relationship with him.
  1. To call people respond to him in obedience and to commit their lives to serving him” This account in the life of Samuel was his commissioning into the ministry of being a prophet, a spokesman for God to the people.

God is personally calling people today who are waiting on Him to proclaim His word. God is calling people from all walks of life and all spheres of society to be his spokesman in their area of influence.

Today we are blessed by what Jesus did on the cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit. God speaks to each one of us individually. We need to position ourselves to hear from the Lord, being attentive and willing to respond when He does speak to us. It is important to note that God does not speak to us for our benefit only, but rather it is usually in order to instruct us to do something that will have an eternal impact in the Kingdom of God.

So how do we hear the voice of God? Today God primarily speaks to us through His word; the inspired word of God. As we read the Bible and meditate on the message of the Bible, the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. God also speaks to us through His Spirit in what we often refer to as the “Still small voice”, as mentioned last week, as a believer you have the Holy Spirit in you and is the promised Parakletos, the Counselor, or Advocate, or Helper.

It is always so interesting to remember that we tell children that prayer is a conversation with God and then we somehow forget that somewhere along the way. Prayer is a conversation, and in order for a conversation to take place, you need to be silent as the Psalmist reminds us; “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

I always have a journal during my early morning times with the Lord and I write down what He says to me, this is the developing of the relationship with God, he speaks through his word and through the Holy Spirit. Other examples of God speaking to us are through circumstances, through other Christians, or through nature. God is not limited by our understanding of Him and we need to be constantly attentive to hear His voice.

Remember the two reasons why God speaks to us;

1) To reveal God, his character and nature.

2) To give council and instruct us to do something.

Jesus speaking to his disciples in John 15:26 and 27 said; “26When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

There we have it in the words of Jesus, “He will testify about me” and then “you will testify also” because you have been with me – we can know God, God is knowable because of what Jesus did on the cross. God reveals himself to us and as we learn about him, trust him and grow in our love for him, we then begin to testify about him and tell others of the wonderful privilege we have in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

What about you? Are you growing in your relationship with God? Or are you going about your life living a dead religion like Eli did, doing all the correct rituals, but have no relationship with God.

Sermons

The Gift of the Holy Spirit 5/26/15

Be filled with the Spirit – Our Counselor and Guide

From www.untilallarereached.com

Text: Acts 2:29-39

Life is made up of a series of decisions, in order to make the best decisions you need a guide, a counselor. What if I told you that you have available to you someone who knows you better than anyone else, someone who knows the future, someone who actually has a plan for your life, a plan to prosper you in all spheres of life and not to harm you.

I am talking about the Holy Spirit, our promised counselor and guide. When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure he promised them that he would send the Holy Spirit (John 16:7).

The departure of Jesus was necessary—though painful and difficult—for the disciples.

Before he ascended, Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem, to stay and wait for the gift that the Father has promised (Acts 1:4). Can you imagine the fear and uncertainty of this group? The only thing holding them together was the promise of Jesus that a Counselor and advocate would come to them, and that they must simply wait. What faith that must have taken.

The tenth day after the ascension was the celebration on the Jewish calendar called the day of Pentecost (Leviticus 23). But for the disciples and the followers of Jesus the day started out just like the other nine that had gone before it. It was not their normal Pentecost celebration.

As they were all gathered together in that place suddenly the sound of a mighty wind came from heaven and filled the whole house. Then what seemed to be tongues of fire came and rested on each of their heads. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. This is what Jesus had promised this is what John the Baptist had prophesied about. In an instant the church was born.

Suddenly they are filled with incredible boldness and began to declare the glories of God to those who were in the streets around them. They were so excited and filled with the presence of God that they worshipped God, told of his greatness, declared his praises. They were not preaching the Gospel, it was not a message of repentance rather it was a message declaring who God is to the people who had gathered in Jerusalem from all around the known world in order to celebrate the Pentecost festival. It is important to note that when the Holy Spirit came, he brought glory and honor to God the Father. Today when the Holy Spirit comes in a tangible and powerful way in meetings or a gathering of believers, it is not to bring glory to man or to emphasize the presence of the Holy Spirit, rather it is to bring Glory to God. The first indication of a true move of the Holy Spirit is the praise and worship of God.

From www.untilallarereached.com

But in Jerusalem on this day, there were people from 15 different regions as mentioned in Acts 2:9-11, and they each heard the praises of God in their own language. No doubt it created confusion and certainly some mocking as the Word says, but then Peter stands up and as he had already stood out as the group’s leader, he began to address the crowd. The account by Luke in the book of Acts goes on to say that the believers grew by about 3000 people that day. The church was born, the church of well over a billion people today and one that is still continuing to grow at an ever increasingly rapid rate as the day of our Lords return comes nearer. What a remarkable display of the power of God.

One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict people of their sins (Acts 2:37). In all the great revivals in history and the great moves of the Holy Spirit, it starts with worship and acknowledging who God is, in all his glory and power, but then the Holy Spirit begins to convict of sin, because the Holiness of God cannot be found in the presence of sin. Repentance is the natural and following step leading to revival.

The remarkable thing to notice about the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the unity of the believers. There was an unusual unity there that time, the church was founded on different nations, languages and cultures coming together in unity (see 1 Corinthians 12:13).

Today we like labels, it helps us understand the bias or viewpoint of others; Liberal, Conservative, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Charismatic, Reformed, Orthodox, protestant, Spirit filled, etc, the list goes on and unfortunately these classifications do not bring unity rather they have brought division and even incredibly bloody wars over the centuries.

The good news is that in heaven we won’t be known as Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostal or any other name we will simply be known as children of the living God. We as a church must become focused on the Word of God bringing unity in the greater body of Christ and getting about the task that Jesus gave us to do, that is to preach the Gospel to all the people groups of the world, starting with our community.

The Holy Spirit is a special gift from God. When you believe in Jesus Christ and you make him Lord of your life, you receive the Holy Spirit; a deposit and a seal of the promises of God (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit is a wonderful supernatural gift. In Matthew 13 Jesus speaking about the Kingdom, mentions a man who discovered a pearl of great price, he gave everything he had to buy this precious jewel. In the same way in order for us to gain the full benefit and blessing of the gift of the Holy Spirit, we need to give up everything in order to attain the prize. Every moment of our lives, every possession, every thought, the love of the world and the love of pleasure; we need to forsake all in order to allow the Holy Spirit to completely work in and through our lives.

In order to be completely led by the spirit as your counselor and guide, you need to release control of your life to God. Allowing him full access to your life, you will see and experience more of the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not simply invade your life and force you to become a super spiritual warrior who never sins. We will only feel and know the presence of the Holy Spirit as much as we submit to him in our lives.

The best life is one led by the Holy Spirit, abandoned to his will and plans for your life. You will find that as you live by the Holy Spirit, you will experience a life of adventure, peace and fulfillment unlike anything you could ever imagine.

 

Sermons

Raising up a fearless generation 5/17/15

From www.untilallarereached.com

 Text 2 Timothy 1:1-10

Timothy was a young man from Lystra which is in modern day Turkey. Timothy’s father was a Greek, but his mother was a Jewish Christian. It is likely that Paul led Timothy to faith in Jesus Christ when he visited Lystra on his missionary Journeys, and on his second visit to the town, he asked Timothy to join him on his missionary journeys. This is true discipleship; Paul takes Timothy along with him, showing him the good and the bad times. It is one thing to allow a young person into your life and say you will nurture them in their Christian walk, but it is a totally different scenario when you invite them to walk beside you and see how you respond in both the good and the bad times. Real Discipleship does not happen in the Sunday school class, it happens in the streets and in the community.

Paul was encouraging Timothy to endure hardship and not run away from it (verse 8). Paul was not asking Timothy to do something that he was not prepared to do himself. We need to be careful not to encourage younger believers to do things that we are not prepared to do ourselves.

Let us ensure that our lives are the testimony that others want to emulate as they follow our example.

Paul obviously knew Timothy really well and knew that he had a tendency to be timid and fearful. Paul had seen Timothy in ministry and knew that he had been given a pastoral gift by God; he was concerned that Timothy was not using and cultivating this gift.

When we become a true follower of Jesus Christ and make him Lord of our lives the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us, and gives us spiritual gifts, we each have them. But we need to put them into practice and exercise these gifts, cultivating them for the glory of God. We need to cultivate our spiritual gifts by serving and being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

How we need this today, not just in our own lives but this needs to be something that we intentionally speak about and cultivate in the next generation of believers. The Christian life is not easy; it is the narrow road and one that has many challenges. If we are telling people about Jesus and promising them that he will solve all their problems then we are being misleading. Jesus himself said in Matthew 16:24; “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

This is the life that Paul was speaking about when he was encouraging Timothy to not be timid or fearful.

There are many intimidating things in this world but do not have to be timid or fearful, because we know that Jesus Christ won the victory on the cross and as a result we don’t have to fear what man could do, we are even delivered from the very fear of death.

One of the most powerful and effective weapons that Satan has in his arsenal is the weapon of fear, but if we are secure in Jesus Christ as our foundation, fear does not have to have any hold on us.

Fear has prevented many Christians from experiencing all that God intends for you in your life. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of financial loss, fear of tomorrow – and the list goes on and on. Fear’s goal is to create a cowardly, joyless soul. He wants you to take your eyes off the mountain peak and settle for the dull existence of the flat lands. We need to live fearless as we live by faith. Satan has been overcome and Jesus won the victory on the cross (Hebrews 13:6).

Many of us have a wonderful heritage of faith that we have received from our parents and grandparents, much like Timothy who received his example from his mother and grandmother. But the role of parents is to shelter and protect, make sure that our children are not hurt or exposed to anything that might create pain.

But Paul here as the spiritual father of Timothy, sees things from a different perspective he sees things in the light of eternity, and the fact that risking it all now for the sake of the Gospel is the best way to spend our lives in order to receive an eternal reward.

A recent pew report showed that many of the younger generations are leaving the church. Why is this we ask ourselves? The truth is that young people today want to be challenged and want to have a cause worth dying for. They are bored with the neatly packaged professional church Christianity. That holds no appeal to them because they don’t see how it impacts and changes lives. They read about the great missionaries of the past, Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Adoniram Judson and others and they want that life, a cause worth dying for. The church needs to become a risk taking movement and relies on God for direction and power.

Who is your timothy? Who are you setting example for?

Remember two things;

Firstly: that the person you are training and encouraging, needs to see in your life the example of faith and reckless abandon. Not fearing man or anything that man could say or do. Then your “Timothy” will take to heart quickly everything you say and do.

Secondly: make sure that you do not become overprotective, trust the Lord for the development of that person; you cannot do what only God can do. Your role is to expose that person to the truth in word and deed and then allow them to go and try out their wings.

You may feel inadequate; you can quickly point to all your own failings and weaknesses. Well I have good news for you; “God only uses weak and broken people” He can use you to as long as you are willing.

Ask God to bring someone into your life that you can nurture and disciple.

Sermon notes and Devotional Studies