Category Archives: Sermons

Sermons

Be Thankful in all Circumstances

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Several years ago, I read a book that really challenged me regarding experiencing joy in life. According to the author, Andy Andrews, a grateful spirit is a powerful deterrent against self-pity, writing, “the seeds of depression cannot take root in a grateful heart.”

Often, we find ourselves complaining about seemingly mundane aspects of life when we should really be grateful. For instance, instead of complaining about a sink piled high with dishes, we should be thankful for the shared meal with dear friends. Likewise, household chores and the physical strain of a hard day’s work should be seen as reasons for gratitude, acknowledging the privilege of having a home and the ability to work.

When we really think about it, we have much to be thankful for.

This past summer we were able to go to South Africa. And once again I was challenged by the children. I have been to some of the poorest places in the world. Despite having nothing, the children in these places radiate unparalleled joy. It is humbling to see the depth of true joy and gratefulness.

In our society today, thanksgiving is treated as an interfaith holiday or perhaps even a faith-optional holiday. But looking back to the pages of History, we know that the original thanksgiving celebration was dedicated to thanking God for his provision and protection.

Thanksgiving is all about God, and recognizing who he is and all the blessings he has freely given us (see James 1:17)

“The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank”.

Dante Rossetti.

Psalm 105 begins with the line, “O Give thanks to the Lord…”

But true gratitude is more than simply thankfulness, it is acknowledging and praising God for His attributes. The Psalmist is not simply thankful for the blessings, he is thankful for the attributes of the Giver Himself. Spending time thanking God should always lead to worship.

Not only does thanksgiving lead to worship, it also leads to making the works of the Lord known as we read in the second parts of verse 1 and 2. If we are thankful to God for what He has done for us, we will be compelled to share the Good news of salvation with those around us. A heart for missions is driven by a heart of gratitude.

Verses 3 and 4 emphasize that thanksgiving will lead to worship and declaring the attributes of God. We as His children can become so wrapped up in what we need from God and we become so focused on the mighty hand of God that we seldom seek the face of God. James 4:3 is a clear reminder that we need to check our motives before coming to God in prayer.

As we seek the face of God, we see his attributes. To be truly thankful, we need to meditate on the nature and character of God.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to remember what the hand of God has provided for us and in so doing we begin to praise him and declare his attributes.

God has made a way through the death and resurrection of Jesus for us to know Him. To have a close relationship with Him. The Psalmist encourages us to seek the Lord.

The Psalm continues in verse 5, with a call to remember the works of God. This is not simply remembering the facts of what happened, but it is a call to meditate on the wonders that God has done. The Psalmist is saying to the people, slow down, stop what you are doing and hit the pause button and dwell on what God has done.

Then in verse 6 the Psalmist reminds the people of their identity, as the chosen people of God. And we are included in this reminder. We as followers of Jesus Christ, sometimes forget who’s we are. We have so much to be thankful for because the creator of the universe calls us his own special possession (see 1 Peter 2:9).  

Everything that we have on this earth, all the many material blessings will one day pass away. Only one blessing from God is infinitely more valuable than any other, the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross, in order that whoever believes in the risen Lord Jesus Christ will have eternal life. That is something we are grateful for today.

But what if you are suffering today? You might be enduring financial, emotional or physical trials.  How do we live with thanksgiving through hardship?

George Matheson was a well-known Scottish preacher in the mid to late 1800’s. He suffered terribly from poor eyesight and eventually total blindness at a young age. He once wrote the following in response to his suffering. “My God, I have never thanked thee for my thorn. I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross; teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.”

What thorn do you have in your life today?

To thank God for the thorn takes faith and an eternal perspective. He is making a rainbow out of your tears.

If we as believers are grateful for the suffering Jesus endured on the cross, then we must pray that we would be grateful for the suffering that God allows in our lives, that brings the beauty of the cross to those who watch us endure with thanksgiving.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Sermons

Healthy Church Leadership 1

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As the Apostle Paul came near to the end of his life, he traveled around to the churches he had planted on his missionary journeys to encourage them, telling them that they would not see him again (see Acts 20:36-37).

One of these churches was the church in Ephesus in a region that influenced most of Asia Minor. Paul had invested years in this region, and he had a deep love and passion for this church. He called the elders of the church together and gave them a farewell speech.

But who were these men and what was their role in the church in Ephesus?

The Calling of Elders

The early church grew rapidly and so did the need for godly men to lead the churches. They appointed elders to care for the spiritual health of the church. While Jesus is the head of the church— he is the Good shepherd—he calls under-shepherds to tend the flock of the church (see Ephesians 4:11-12 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7).

Paul, speaking to the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20:28, says, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”

Jesus valued his church in Ephesus. And he values the representation of his body here at Grace Point. It is his, bought with his own blood. And it is because the church is precious to Jesus that he calls men to shepherd it.

The Role of Elders

Paul continues, warning the elders in verses 29-30, “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

The early church was under constant persecution for the first four hundred years. But there were also internal challenges from false teachers and leaders who sought to manipulate the church for their own profit.  Paul warned the Ephesian elders of “fierce wolves” who would infiltrate the church, as well as those from within who would distort the teachings of Christ. Jesus used the same imagery in Matthew 7:15.

False teaching takes various forms, but Satan’s tactics have remained consistent throughout history. Some common signs of false teaching include denying the divinity of Jesus, rejecting the resurrection, challenging the authority of the Bible, or diminishing the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement. These are explicit deceptions. More subtle false teachings might encourage salvation through works, striving to earn God’s favor, or promoting extra-biblical revelations.

Elders play a crucial role in safeguarding the church from false teaching. Their primary responsibility is to nurture and feed the flock with the Word of God. John 6:35 illustrates that Jesus is the “Bread of Life,” and elders are tasked with ensuring the church is nourished by the Word. It’s the Word of God that sustains and grows the church, not marketing or management strategies.

The Plurality of Elders

Elders are also sheep, and as such need accountability and shepherding as well. This is why a church needs more than one elder. Having more than one elder in the church strengthens the church and guards against strong personalities that might slowly begin to introduce false teaching.

Biblical leadership principles emphasize plurality in leadership. While we may use terms like “senior pastor” or “associate pastor,” the New Testament emphasizes a team of elders who pray, study the Word, and provide spiritual guidance together. Plurality ensures a healthy balance of leadership, preventing any one individual from potentially leading the church into false teaching. John MacArthur wisely points out, “their combined counsel and wisdom helps assure that decisions are not self-willed or self-serving to a single individual. In fact, one-man leadership is characteristic of cults, not the church.”

The Nature of Elders

The term “shepherd” might have been perplexing to the first-century church. Shepherds were not held in high esteem; instead, their role was one of humility and sacrifice. Similarly, elders within the church are called to be spiritual shepherds, and by nature, that means three things

1: Shepherding is spiritual work. 

Shepherding sheep was not flashy work; it was humble, sacrificial work with no shortcuts. Similarly, the growth of the church is not driven by worldly methods or quick-fix strategies. It’s a spiritual endeavor that requires spiritual leadership.

2: Shepherding is hard work.

Just as being a shepherd in the ancient world was dangerous and challenging, shepherding the church involves spiritual warfare, discouragement, and many other challenges. The elders of the church must be prepared to commit to pray, fast, and serve the body of Christ.

3: Shepherding is answerable work.

Shepherds answered to the owners of the sheep; they were responsible for the care of the sheep they had been entrusted with. Elders are accountable to the Lord for the health and spiritual growth of the church. The church belongs to God, and they are stewards of His people (see Hebrews 13:17).

The Church and Elders

You might be reading this asking, what does this have to do with me?

I encourage you to commit to the church. Become a member of the church if you haven’t already and be an active member of the Body of Christ by praying and using your gifts to serve. This goes far beyond our gathering on a Sunday morning; that is just a springboard for the impact we can have on one another and our community today and for generations to come. As the elders – shepherd and the sheep commit through serving and praying, the whole church is strengthened.

In this age we live in, being part of a church will require active engagement. The season for passivity is over. Being a follower of Jesus is not for spectators. Jesus is building his church and raising up elders to oversee it; will you engage with him in it?

Will you commit to the church?

Sermons

Do Not Fear Man

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Fear of man is a weapon that Satan uses to prevent us from doing what God calls us to do. In many parts of the world, there is the very real fear of being martyred for being a follower of Jesus. But in America the fear we most often deal with is the fear of being ridiculed or “cancelled”, for standing for the truth of God’s word.

In Matthew 10, Jesus prepares his disciples to go out and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom. From verse 16 his teaching is directed towards all who would be his disciples in the generations to come. Jesus teaches us to be fearless in proclaiming the Gospel boldly (Matthew 10:27).

In this passage we have five reasons to have courage:

1. Jesus experienced it.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:25b, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”

By being mistreated for proclaiming the Gospel, we are simply being treated the way Jesus was treated. It is a sign that we belong to him. The insults bind us closer to the Lord. It brings great comfort to know that we are being identified as a child of God.

2. You will be vindicated.

Jesus continued in Matthew 10:26, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”

When you know you are right, you don’t have to continue to argue, because you know that you will be vindicated. The same way with the truth of the Gospel, even though people may reject it, it is seldom helpful to try to argue with someone. You and I cannot do the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting people of their sins. Jesus said if they ridicule you for the truth, take heart, the truth will be revealed, and you will be vindicated.

3. What’s the worst that can happen?

We read in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The worst the anyone can do to someone who proclaims the Gospel, is to kill the body. This is a very real fear for millions of believers around the world. But as we know, the worst that man can do, God turns around for His glory and for our good. Killing the body of a believer is an upgrade to glory.

The second sentence of this verse has always struck me. Hell is a real place of eternal suffering, and Jesus spoke about it more than anyone else in the Bible. Hell is the penalty of God’s wrath and that is why Jesus said, “fear Him”.

It may seem like Jesus is saying, “stay in line, do what you are commanded to do, or else the One who has the power will destroy you?” But in the following verses, Jesus speaks about how much more valuable we are than the sparrows. Essentially Jesus is saying that we should fear God, but if we believe in him, we do not have to fear the wrath of God, because He is a good Father.

While it is true, the fear of the Lord is reverence and awe of God, but this teaching of Jesus really means, be afraid of God. Be afraid of the wrath of God towards sin. The only way this fear is removed is when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 8:1-2).

Jesus is teaching that we need to see sin as something more serious than we could ever imagine. The real problem is that we don’t see sin for what it really is. We are sinning against the One who is infinitely holy and infinitely worthy of our worship. When we sin, we are displaying that something else is more desirable and worthy than God. When we understand that sin is an afront to and infinitely good, holy, powerful, and worthy God, then we become aware that our sin is infinitely deserving of eternal punishment. God cannot overlook sin; it goes against His character.

However, Jesus not only warns us, but he also rescues us and promises salvation (Luke 12:32).

Do not fear man, the worst that he can do is send your soul to paradise.

4. God sees you.

In Matthew 10:30 Jesus said, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”

God sees you and He knows everything about you. When we suffer some hardship or persecution for speaking the truth, it is not that God is oblivious, on the contrary, He sees, and He knows the outcome even before we experience the persecution. The creator of the universe is with us, He is close, we can be of good courage and speak the truth.

5. God has a plan for you.

Jesus continued in verse 31, “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

God governs the world, He controls the lives of the sparrows and the smallest flowers, there is nothing that will happen to us that is outside of His perfect will. This truth has encouraged followers of Jesus for centuries. Henry Martyn said, “if God has work for me to do, I cannot die”.

This difficult conversation with Jesus is really an encouragement to live a life of freedom. Freedom from fear, expectations, criticism, and even the persecution of man.

If we succumb to the “cancel culture” of the day, it is because of one of two things; either we don’t believe the words of Jesus that he is the only way (John 14:6), or we don’t believe in Hell.

We need to be people who love the truth and speak the truth.

Are you going to fear man or are you going to fear God?

Sermons

You Must Be Born Again

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Have you ever noticed that some of the teachings of Jesus are hard to grasp.

Ultimately, what he said led to his crucifixion, and they are still offensive to the world today.

Sometimes we gloss over the hard sayings, or worse yet, we think that they don’t apply to us. But the teachings of Jesus are the Word of God to every generation.

In John 3, we read of a high-ranking Pharisee coming to meet with Jesus.

This well-known account of a senior leader a pharisee coming to Jesus to know more about Jesus. Nicodemus lived sincerely under the law as best as he could. He adhered to the strictest possible religious rules. But he desperately wanted to find out the truth about Jesus.

We see Nicodemus showing up a few times in the Gospel of John, a man who was not afraid to stand against the crowd and be identified with Jesus after his crucifixion. Nicodemus was bold and Jesus took time to meet with him.

Nicodemus doesn’t ask a question, But Jesus jumps right to the heart of the matter in verse 3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”.

Jesus knew his heart and the fact that he was seeking truth and cuts to the chase, he jumps into a difficult conversation.

A better translation of verse 3 could read, “unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.

Can you imagine poor Nicodemus, he must have been quite confused. Jesus was using language that we are familiar with because we hear it all the time, but Nicodemus was hearing this for the first time, and it made no sense. The familiarity of what Jesus said can also be lost on us.

Obviously, we are by nature flesh, referring to our ordinary humanity. But we are born spiritually dead. We are not spiritually attuned to the things of God.

Ephesians 2 begins with the shocking statement, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sinsin which you once walked, following the course of this world,” Ephesians 2:1-2a.

Until you are born again, you are spiritually dead, you are unable to see or understand the things of God. The problem with spiritually dead people is that they don’t know they are dead.

Spiritually dead people are unable to hear God speak to them, because they do not have the Spirit of God in them, they have no desire to read God’s word, because it makes no sense without the Spirit’s revealing truth to us.

Tragically, spiritually dead people can raise their hands and come forward in a meeting, saying all the right things, get baptized and become good church members. Spiritually dead people can serve on committees and even teach Sunday School or lead a life group.

Sadly, when it comes to eternal salvation, the church might just be a dangerous place. Because you can put on a clean face, clean up your language, give money, even mouth the right prayers, but unless you are born from above, you are not a child of God, and you are destined for an eternity separated from God in hell.

Becoming a Christian is not becoming a better person or cleaning up your act, becoming a Christian is coming alive! Being born from above.

Nicodemus was spiritually dead, but the Spirit of God was drawing him in. That is what the Holy Spirit does, He makes people aware of their desperate situation and leads them to encounter the risen lord Jesus.  

Nicodemus began to wrestle with the beauty of the Gospel, he asked Jesus in verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

You see, this leader and rule follower, this man of exceptional discipline and obedience, was looking for something to do, but the new birth does not come by a set of accomplishments. It is a free gift.

Jesus says to Nicodemus in verse 5, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

What does Jesus mean when he says, to be born of water?

Nicodemus would have known Ezekiel 36:25-26. Where God tells the nation of Israel that He will spiritually wash them of their sins, a washing that will come with the new covenant when God puts His spirit inside of believers (see Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 5:26).

Being born of the Spirit means to be filled with the presence of God by the Holy Spirit, it means coming alive spiritually. If you don’t know what it means to be born of the spirit, you will never know what it means to walk in the spirit.

Walking in the spirit affects every aspect of our lives, our decisions and plans are all led by the Spirit of God. How we steward our finances, how we interact with people, where we go and how we spend our time. Being born of the Spirit means that we will begin to display the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-24.

If someone was to follow you around for the next 7 days, and see everything you do and hear everything you say, would they be able to testify that you are born of the Spirit?

Are you born again? Are you born of the Spirit of God?

Are you daily experiencing the power of the resurrected Christ in your life?

Sermons

Get Back on Track

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Have you felt that the past three months were a bit of a blur?

It has been a busy summer and we have seen God work in amazing ways in Kansas City, Tahlequah, and South Africa.

The danger of coming to the end of a sprint or a summer of outreach is to look back and to rest on our laurels. However in sports, any winning team knows that the very next day, they need to get back into the gym and get back to the discipline of training in order to achieve the same results.

As we come off a season of spiritual warfare and victories, we need to slow down and get back to the basic disciplines of preparing ourselves for what God has in store for us.

What I am talking about is getting back on track with our spiritual disciplines. Those things that we do that few people see but produce a life of faith and spiritual strength.

Don Whitney said, “The spiritual disciplines are those practices found in Scripture that promote spiritual growth among believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Sadly many Christians are unfit spiritually, because they are undisciplined. Nobody drifts into discipline. Just as the undisciplined body becomes sluggish and fat, the undisciplined spirit becomes weak (See 1 Timothy 4:7-8).

This is why Paul coaches Timothy (1 Tim 4:7-8).

There are many spiritual disciplines but let’s look at four today:

  1. Prayer:

Prayer is the one thing that you can do, that will have the greatest impact on your life. There is nothing more important, strategic, or more rewarding than prayer.

While Jesus was on earth, he was constantly in prayer. As followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we be a people of prayer, constantly asking God for direction, wisdom, healing, and interceding for those around us.

Personal holiness is not just being a good person, it flows from a powerful and intimate relationship with God through prayer.

I invite you to commit to joining one of the scheduled church prayer times during the week, or one of our bi-monthly nights of prayer.

2. Bible reading/ study:

In John 17 Jesus asked the Father for his disciples, that He would “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Jesus said that the Word of God is the truth that transforms us and brings about our sanctification.

The truth of God’s word does not change, it is our plumb-line and our authority for all aspects of life. However, we are tempted to redefine truth to fit our own personal preferences or desires. Let us be careful not to ignore or discard selected truths, just because we find them hard to receive or difficult to understand. Above all, we must be careful not to become lazy or apathetic with the truth of God’s word because it is not socially acceptable or because the cost of defending or standing on the truth becomes too demanding.

As you read the Bible, you will encounter Jesus, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit will reveal his glory and majesty to you.

Will you get back on track with the daily reading, studying, and Memorizing God’s word.

3. Disciple making

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he left a commission for us (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus said, “go and make disciples…”, which means, to win people to Christ.

Disciple-making is a spiritual discipline, it does not happen by accident.

To make disciples, as the Bible commands, we must actively seek out opportunities to share the Gospel, baptize new believers, and teach them how to obey everything that Jesus commanded.

All Christians should practice disciple-making. Sadly, many leave it to just the hired professionals.

Most of us don’t make disciples because we don’t discipline ourselves to do it.

Making disciples will cost you something. It may cost you your reputation or even a promotion. But in many parts of the world, it will cost you your life.

Sharing the Gospel is valuing the message and the person you are speaking to, more than your own comfort, finances and even life. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. To value Jesus more than our own lives. Didn’t Jesus value you more than his own life?

Will you determine today to develop this discipline in your life?

4. Fellowship/ Community

Finally, I want to invite us all to get back on track in fellowship.

Fellowship is so much more than a handshake, a hug, or a pat on the back. Fellowship in the church is doing life together, growing together, challenging one another, and picking one another up when we stumble.  

God has put us in community, so that we can build one another up and walk together through the challenges of life.

Fellowship is one of the keys to the effectiveness of the church. A church will never be able to grow beyond its fellowship. If the fellowship is healthy in the church, it will continue to minister and grow in maturity and in number. The early church did this well (Acts 2:42).

Fellowship is also staying in community even after a disagreement. True fellowship is fighting for restoration and unity. That’s hard work, that requires discipline (Hebrews 10:24-25).

One of the first signs of drifting away from fellowship with God is a tendency to pull away from fellowship with each other.

Together the embers of a fire glow red-hot. But scattered, they soon grow cold. That is why the discipline of fellowship is so important. We all need brothers and sisters united in Christ to strengthen our faith.

These are four foundational disciplines. If you are waiting to rekindle a particular discipline when you feel like it, you will never begin the discipline.

Discipline does not come from desire; it comes from decision and determination.

I encourage you to enter into discipline, get back on track, and see how God uses your commitment.

Sermons

To God be the Glory

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It is good to be back in Kansas City. Our team was an exceptional team of fifteen people from Grace Point. Debbie and I really enjoyed sharing the beauty and culture with our family from Grace Point.

The schedule was demanding, and the team was exhausted, but they approached every day with zeal and optimism. Even as we struggled with sickness and cold early mornings, there was no complaining.

I got regular text messages from our ministry partners asking for the team to return and pray for more people because the Lord was moving so powerfully wherever they went.

There was so much that God did, and still doing in the lives of the people we encountered. Lives were eternally changed, simply because we brought the Gospel message, prayed, and invited the Holy Spirit to do his work.

We served a wonderful ministry called Living Hope in Fishoek, South Africa, near Cape Town. Founded by John and Avril Thomas almost 24 years ago, they serve thousands of people annually. The entire Living Hope team are heroes and some of the most selfless people you could meet.

During our time in Fishoek, we served in many different capacities; we served with after school programs, helped with the sustainable farming, sorted donations, rebuilt and stained a deck, prayer walked, taught and served at a drug and alcohol recovery center, led staff devotions daily, served and prayed for people in their in-patient medical facility and served with their disabled and home health care teams. We prayed for people, served food, shared the Gospel, washed feet, and taught the Bible; it was such a powerful experience for our whole team.

One of the questions often asked about short term missions is, what is the fruit? Can we quantify the “return on investment”?

A lot of money was raised, and many people sacrificed in order to go to South Africa, how can we know if it was worthwhile?

Short team missions is a double edged sword; lives are impacted as we pray and share the Gospel, ministries are encouraged, churches are built up, people are healed and souls are won for the kingdom of Heaven.

But missions is also a tremendous discipleship tool for those who go. They grow in their faith as they rely on the Lord. Being stretched to speak in front of people and lead when they never thought they could. Seeing the faith of others around the world who have little or nothing in the way of material goods, yet they joyfully praise God. Seeing people with absolute faith that God will come through and heal or provide daily bread. This mission team are changed people and they will continue to grow as God leads them to serve and share what they have learned.

I love to invite people into a relationship with Jesus, and I had the opportunity to do that on several occasions.

During the after-school ministry, Bob Strawn had just taught the children the parable of the Good Samaritan. As we closed, we impressed on the children that without Jesus Christ they would not be able to love their neighbor. Many of the children have been abused by their neighbors, how could they love them?

As we spoke about the power of the Holy Spirit to enable them to love like Jesus does, we invited them to make Jesus lord of their lives, about twenty of the children responded to the Gospel that day.

A few days later, at the recovery center, we were asked to come and pray with Samuel. Samuel was writhing in pain as he was going through heroin withdrawal. Tim Bardy and I prayed with him to be set free from pain and he prayed to make Jesus Christ lord of his life. A temporal and an eternal miracle. Two days later we saw Samuel again and he was a visibly different person as the Lord had begun to transform his life.

A number of our team spoke at the recovery center, and I was scheduled to close with a Gospel invitation. I took them to Romans 6:1-6 and specifically verse 6, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

The clients could all identify with being a slave to sin, and six of them responded to the Gospel invitation. It was a great day, we were seeing a harvest of souls.

Throughout the trip, the Lord would wake me up early, each morning I would look at my watch and it was 4:38am. This happened day after day, each day the exact time I looked at my watch was 4:38am.

As we spoke about it, I wondered if it was maybe a scripture reference that the Lord was calling me to meditate on. I began looking and immediately came across John 4:38, Jesus speaking to his disciples said, “For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” The Lord impressed on me that we are simply experiencing the harvesting of the fruit of other peoples’ faithful labors.

There are seasons of sowing, nurturing, and reaping. God moves his servants around and we must always be aware of the season that we are in. The people at Living Hope have sown for years with incredible sacrifice, then God sent a small team from Kansas City to reap the harvest that they had been praying for. What a joy to be used by the Lord to partner with these incredible people thousands of miles away from home.

Kansas City is our mission field, it is the primary area of our sowing and nurturing. There are thousands of people in our community that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Are we faithfully sowing and praying to the Lord of the harvest?

Thank you to all who sacrificially gave and blessed the people of South Africa.

kuThixo makube luzuko (Xhosa)

Aan God die eer (Afrikaans)

To God be the glory.

Sermons

In God We Trust

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“In God we Trust”. It is the official national motto, signed into law in 1956.

The sad irony is that in our nation today, few people really trust in God. Many people say that they have faith in God, but their actions and lifestyle show that they do not trust God.

In Psalm 25, David is crying out to God for direction, and in verse 2 he states, “O my God, in You I trust…”. And then in verse 3 he says, “Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame…” Waiting on the Lord is the equivalent of trusting in Him. It is actively trusting the Lord, waiting on Him to reveal His plans. Choosing to wait on the Lord and not run ahead of him, that is trusting in the Lord.

In verse 4 and 5, David asks the Lord to show him the way he should go. He is prepared to wait all day for the Lord. David acknowledges that he doesn’t have the ability to move forward, he is pleading with the Lord for direction. How often do we cry out to God like this for our future? 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, hoping that God will bless it.

We read in verse 9, “He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.”

Now we know that in order to trust God we need come before him humbly and acknowledge our weakness. But the word “humble” in the Hebrew could also mean, afflicted or broken.  

We tend to think of being humble as a posture that we present to God in the way of our attitude, but rather David describes being afflicted and humbled by God. We don’t like the sound of that. David was pleading with God to teach him, and the humbling process was the way God taught David dependence on Him.

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.

Part of learning to be directed by God, begins with the fear of the Lord (see verses 12,14 and Psalm 111:10). To fear the Lord is a theme throughout the Old Testament.

Fearing the Lord means to be in reverent awe of His holiness, to give Him complete reverence and to honor Him as the God of great glory and majesty. This will bring us into a position of understanding and wisdom, which is knowledge given by God. Only as we truly fear the Lord will we be freed from all destructive and satanic fears.

In verse 15 David declared, “My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.” David trusted God to deliver him when he was in trouble. Do we know how to trust in God when we face trouble? (See Psalm 91:2).

Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead to free us from the power of sin and death. 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. However, nothing that is happening today or will happen tomorrow will ever shake God or surprise Him. And along with that, the church, the body of Christ that is built on the foundation of the Word of God will never be shaken.

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8.

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. What a privilege we must open the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal truths to us. The Bible is 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 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, and have a growing relationship with him, you are part of another Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. This kingdom will endure forever (see Psalm 145:13).

Matt Chandler once said, “The Kingdom of God wasn’t born on the Fourth of July.” 

Do you trust in God?

Sermons

Why Worship?

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We have this misconception that worship is the time of our church gathering when we sing songs.

But worship is not just singing, we worship what we give value to.

We worship by the way we use our money, the way we work, the way we share the Gospel with others and even in the way we spend our free time. When we understand worship, we understand that we have the opportunity to worship God with every aspect of our lives.

Everyone worships, but not everyone worships the one true God.

In John 4, we read an account of a woman who had misplaced worship. Jesus was resting at a well in a town called Sychar and a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus spoke first and asks the woman to give him some water.

The woman who came to the well had been searching for love, fulfillment, and purpose all her life and the only person who could fulfill all her desires was sitting right in front of her. She brings up the question of worship in verse 20 when she says to Jesus, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” One of the big issues of distinction between the Jews and the Samaritans was the question of the location of their worship. She soon discovers that Jesus was wanting to speak about worship all along, this is why he was waiting at the well for her. Jesus directs the conversation to a time when worship will no longer be about a physical location (see John 4:23-24).

Jesus is explaining that only those who receive the Holy Spirit can worship God the Father. It is only in the Spirit, by the Spirit and through the Spirit that we can truly worship God in a way that pleases Him. The issue is not that we need to learn how to worship or where to worship, rather we need to learn who to worship and only by the Holy Spirit are we able to worship God the Father.

By the definition of worship, we are all really good worshippers. In our sinful human nature, we are really good idolaters, we give value to things in our lives above God. We all are tempted with idols such as: security, peace, meaning in life, self-esteem, significance, or any good thing that we elevate to a level of importance above God in our lives.

“Our hearts are a perpetual idol factory.” John Calvin

The problem is misplaced worship, and the consequences are always tragic (see Jeremiah 2:13).

Jesus offered the Samaritan woman living water, she had been trying to satisfy her longings with marriage after failed marriage. At the core of all failed longings is misdirected worship. Worship of God is what we were made for. We will only find true fulfilment in life as we worship the one true God. That is a meaningful life, that is a life of worship. True worship is recognizing the sovereignty of God in all the aspects of my life.

“Worship is my active, all-of-life response to the worth of who He is and what He does.” Matt Heard

One of the most common misconceptions of worship is that it is a relatively passive event. But in the Bible, the Hebrew and the Greek words for worship involve physical activity involving all of life. Every single activity of my life becomes a way of acknowledging the creator God and His worth in my life, that is worship.

But we live in a world that worships false gods, we are living in an age that is described by David in Psalm 63:1. Are you in a dry and weary land? Or are you experiencing the living water that Jesus invited the Samaritan woman to in John 4:14?

This doesn’t mean that you will never experience pain or hardship (see John 16:33), but when you worship God with all your life, you will know peace, joy and complete fulfilment in the midst of your circumstances. You will be able to worship along with the prophet Habakkuk (See Habakkuk 3:17-18).

In the month of June, we are particularly reminded that the world around us does not worship the God we serve. As we see a month dedicated to the worship of self and immorality.

The world has a sin problem, but the real issue is that the world has a worship problem.  Sin is the result of misplaced worship. Thinking that something other than God will bring joy and peace. In Romans 1:28 we read that God will give people over to the objects of their worship.

We are not dealing with people who are confused or struggling with their identity, we are seeing the result of Satan’s demonic power being unleashed on the earth.

Satan has gone after the very root of God’s relationship with the earth. The pride month uses the rainbow, the rainbow is one of God’s original covenants, not just with the Jews or people but with all living creatures (See Genesis 9:12).

The pinnacle of God’s creation was man and woman created in His image, that was His original design, Satan is attacking that.

In Genesis 1:28 God’s original instruction to man and women was to be fruitful and multiply, something that is impossible with same sex relationships.

And then there is the original sin, Ezekiel 28:17 says that Satan’s original downfall was his pride over his beauty. He grew in pride and defied the one who created him.

Pride is at the very root of Satan’s power. Pride is ultimately worshipping ourselves, saying that we know better than God the Father, the one who created us.

So how do we respond?

Ephesians 6 doesn’t say, go and beat up sinners, it says in Ephesians 6:13 that we should simply stand firm. Stand firm, speak the truth in love and allow the Holy Spirit to do what only he can do.

If you have friends and loved ones caught in this deceptive lifestyle, love them enough to speak the truth to them. The Bible is very clear, they are on a pathway of destruction that leads to hell, because they are worshipping a false religion that may bring fleeting and deceptive pleasure for a moment. We must speak the truth, millions of souls are at stake.

Worship of the one true God is essential in the church.

Sermons, Uncategorized

Why Deacons?

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This past weekend we had the joy of praying for three new deacons as they were installed into the role of deacon. But is the role of a deacon still relevant in the twenty-first century?

The first deacons were appointed in Jerusalem as we read in Acts chapter 6. In the book of Acts, we get a glimpse of the first century church. The church was growing rapidly and due to the work of the Holy Spirit it is estimated that the church had grown to somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 disciples.

The Church was a radical movement of people gathering daily for prayer and teaching. The believers sold their belongings and gave to anyone who had a need. The early church was a healthy and thriving community as the Gospel message was being told from person to person all over the region.

But then a complaint arose. There was a disagreement that some of the people were being overlooked as food was being distributed to the poor and the widows.  This imbalance may have arisen due to the logistical challenge caused by the rapid addition of Hellenistic Jewish Christians.  

The church was initially made up of Aramaic and Hebrew speaking Jews who believed in Jesus, but as the church grew, more and more Greek speaking Jews came to faith in Christ.

The church had two distinct groups, Hebrews and the Hellenists. It was sadly a form of racism that was being practiced as the needs of the widows and the poor among the Greek speaking believers were overlooked.

The Apostles called a meeting and said in verse 2, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” Acts 6:2b.

Does this mean that the original disciples who were trained by Jesus himself were above helping the poor? Not at all, but they had a primary purpose and calling to preach the word and to pray.

This is the primary calling on pastors in the church, to primarily focus on the clear and correct teaching and preaching of the Word and prayer. For the health of the church and the continued growth of the Gospel message in our community, I must give attention to prayer and preparation for preaching, constantly hearing from God the word that he would have for us as a church. It doesn’t mean that I as the pastor do not care about people, I do very much. I love to visit and share life with people, but I need to prioritize my time and remember my primary calling.

Research has shown that if a pastor would be the only one in the church doing the ministry of visitation, care and prayer for the congregation, that pastor could only put his arms around seventy people. Hence the average size of churches in America is around thirty.

The number of our current active members and adherents at Grace Point is a little under 280.

That is impossible for one or even three pastors to stay in touch with. The role of the deacon in our church is the same as it was in the first century; to assist in member care, to minister and love the people of God.

In the first church in the book of Acts, the people chose seven and brought them to the Apostles. These men had particular requirements, they were “men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3). These were men of godly Character.

In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 the Apostle Paul wrote the qualifications of a deacon.  It is a very intimidating and demanding list of qualifications. Can anyone meet those requirements? And in verse 10 we read that they must prove themselves blameless!

Well, that excludes all of us, because we all fall short, we are all sinners saved by grace. But there is a key verse of hope in what Paul wrote, 1 Timothy 3:9, “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”

What is the mystery of the faith? It is the mystery of the age in which we live, the current church age, between when Jesus ascended into heaven and when Jesus is coming back again.

The mystery is that we who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ as Lord, are covered by his righteousness, we have died to our old way of life and have literally put on Christ like a garment. When God the Father looks down on His children, He sees us covered with the righteousness of Christ. We are not perfect; we will never be perfect until Jesus comes again, but by God’s grace we are being made more like Christ every day. This is the mystery of the Gospel; this is the only hope we have of being able to stand before our Heavenly Father in prayer.

Getting back to the first century church, the result of the deacon ministry was healthy growth. Notice that verse 7 says that the number of disciples multiplied, these were disciples, not believers, adherents or attendees. No, these were followers of Jesus, people who looked like and spoke like Jesus – disciples. This is the result of effective church ministry; this is a sign of a healthy church.

You may wonder, if we have deacons in the church helping with visitation, discipleship and member care, does that mean the rest of the church is not involved in the caring ministry?

Absolutely not, in 1 Peter 2:9, the Bible clearly states that we all are royal priests in the kingdom of God. We are all in ministry and we all carry the responsibility to do the work of the ministry as we read in Ephesians 4:15-16.

As we grow as a church, we will continue to see an increase in opportunities to serve one another, the deacons are to spearhead the care for the needy, but the entire church is to be a part of the care and the visible demonstration of the Gospel being lived out.

Let us continue to pray for the leaders in our church as they serve the Lord.

Sermons

Why the Church Needs Mothers

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Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a woman of integrity and prayer. God chose her to be the one who would carry the Messiah.  But there is an unusual encounter in Matthew 12 that causes us to pause and question the way we view mothers in the church (see Matthew 12:46-50).

This was a challenging time in the ministry of Jesus. In reading through Matthew 12, we read that the pharisees frequently challenged him and tried to trip him up. He was being put under pressure and probably being fully man, he was tired of the false accusations and possibly stressed. In verse 47 we read that a man came to let him know that his mother and brothers were outside and looking for him. He responded with an abrupt answer that seemed to indicate he was a little frustrated, “who is my mother and who are my brothers?”

We know little about the relationship that Jesus had with his family, however we do know Mary was with him all the way to the cross. Mary knew that Jesus was her son, but she also remembered the promise of the angels and the miraculous conception.

To Jesus, Mary was his mother, but also a person he came to save, and he knew his purpose was significantly bigger than his family. Jesus is not making light of natural family, but he was emphasizing the greater importance of spiritual family.

Our commitment to the Body of Christ and to the call of God on our lives must have a higher loyalty than to our own family. I understand our first mission field is our homes, but when God calls, sometimes family is left behind (see Luke 9:57-62).

Two weeks ago, we saw the apostle John in Revelation 19, where he begins to worship the angel. The angel rebukes him and says, “I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers…” Rev 19:10. Who are John’s brothers? Who are our brothers and sisters?

The Greek word “Adelphoi” is a plural and can mean blood brothers and sisters. What is being conveyed here by the original language is that our fellow believers around the world are closer than blood relatives. We are united together by the spirit of God and washed by the blood of Jesus, we are closer than natural family. That is the body of Christ.

The church needs spiritual mothers who can love and raise up the next generation. The way the church is designed by God is to be nurturing and caring. There is no shortage of pain and hurt in this world and many women in the church through their life experiences are uniquely positioned to be a mother to someone else.

But spiritual mothers are not to rebuke and correct at every opportunity.  We know that people don’t need more correction or telling them what they are doing wrong. What the world does not need is more people giving worldly advice.

The primary role of spiritual mothers is to pray for younger women and young families. And when a word of counsel is needed, or invited, then by all means, step in with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

Paul writing to Titus in chapter 2:3-4 writes to older women, perhaps widows, he says, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,”

Before we get too distracted about not being slaves to much wine, in order to contextualize this for our generation, it is basically any addiction that removes your ability to be an effective counsellor. To have a temperate and self-controlled life that understands the importance of training up the next generation and not wasting time with distractions such as social media, mindless entertainment, and the like.

What if the Lord would lay a young person on your heart, and you would simply begin to pray for them. Maybe a young married couple, just starting out, maybe their parents are out of town or even absent. It doesn’t matter what if the Lord would simply have you come alongside them and pray for them, encourage them and make yourself available.

Debbie and I have navigated the past twenty-three years away from our parents, and I can list a long line of spiritual parents who adopted us. They may not think they adopted us, but their love and actions were exactly what we needed as immigrants and as young parents navigating the challenges of adoption, ministry, immigration, financial stress, sickness and life in general.

Just this past week we visited Tom and Joyce Lyle in Oklahoma, and this is a couple who have adopted many children throughout their lives. Not adoption through the courts, but through love and action.

How different would the church be if we would actually be the family that Jesus calls us to be. We would be irresistible to the world, they would long to be a part of a family that lavishes love on the next generations and disciples them in the ways of the Lord.

Who is the Lord calling you to be a spiritual mother to today.