Tag Archives: prayer

Sermons

Worship – part 2 September 11, 2016

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This past Sunday we remembered the tragic events of 9/11/2001. It is a sad reality of our world today that sometimes it takes a disaster for us to realize what is really important and valuable to us.

Imagine that you were told that your house is about to be sucked into a sinkhole and you have two hours to get your most valuable belongings out of the house. What would you find that is your most precious possession? Assuming all people and animals were safe, some people might grab their passports, personal documents or maybe a family Bible.

In an instant our lives could be changed and we are forced to think hard about what is most important to us. In this series on worship we discovered that we worship what we give value to. We are by nature worshipers, we all give value to different things, and when we give priority to anything above God, we are worshiping that thing and that is the definition of idol worship.

King David the King of Israel was known as the man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22). As we know David wasn’t perfect, but he had his priorities right. David found his satisfaction in God, he was a true worshiper of God.

Looking at David’s Psalm 16, we find some of his secrets to true worship. This Psalm is a beautiful picture of someone who has a warm and close relationship with God

This Psalm can be divided into 4 sections.

Verses 1-2  In the first section, David sets the correct perspective. The Hebrew word for God used here is “strong one”. David declares that God is well able to protect and keep him. David declares that God is his highest treasure, his primary joy and delight.

Verses 3-4  Then in the next two verses, David turns his attention to the people around him and divides them into two classes. The first are the saints in the land, the followers of the one true God. David loves to be in fellowship with them. The second group are those who have other things in their life more important than God. Who value other things more than God. David says he will not participate in their worship. David loves the fellowship of those who put God first, but will not even name the names of the idols that people worship.

Verses 5-6  The next two verses begin with the line; “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;” As David looks at his life he sees how God has blessed him, and he is able to say; “God you are all I need” David understood that all things come from God and that God is enough. By saying that you are my cup, David is saying that God satisfies, invigorates and refreshes him. Remember what Jesus said in John 4:13-14. Is Jesus your cup? Do you still look to other things to refresh you? If you do, you will always be thirsty again.

Verses 7-8  In these verses David takes a more introspective tone, as he praises God for counseling him.  When all the noise is gone, and he is alone with his thoughts, he praises God because he knows without a doubt that God is always with him and he will not be shaken. In the 21st century, where man has rejected God, one of the greatest fear of man is silence and being alone with one’s thoughts, it should not be this way.

Verses 9-11  In these last three verses David looks forward; he has reflected on the past, praised God for the present and now he looks ahead, and he looks to the future with joy and peace. If you are anxious about the future, and many in our nation are, it is vital to spend time in prayer alone with God’s word. As you do, you get God’s perspective on your life, and like David, you can rest secure.

The final verse is a triumphant declaration; David knows that while he is still alive, he can experience the joy of the Lord by coming into his presence, and for eternity he is going to experience the pleasures of the goodness of God.

As we see from this Psalm, God is everything to David. He looks to the past, his present situation and the future and boldly states that God is enough.

As you look at your life, can you make the same statement? Is God more important to you than anything else? Worship has to be completely God-centered. The danger is that we as a culture are so performance oriented, that we define worship in terms of songs and practices, things that we do. Our focus shifts away from God as the center and we focus on things like singing quality, instruments or worship leaders. And little by little our attention goes away from the Lord and our absolute dependence on him, and we begin to focus on the quality of our worship performances. That is idolatry.

In Exodus 34, we have an example of pure worship, as Moses is alone with God. God speaks to Moses and proclaims His name; the majestic, all consuming name of God. Moses’ response is to fall to his face and worship God. (Exodus 34:8). That is Worship, when nothing else matters and we are consumed by the presence of God.

When worship becomes more about us and our preferences then it is no longer worship at all. Worship has to be all about God and Him alone.

King David lived a lifestyle of worship, he lived everyday glorifying God through his life.

“God is most Glorified when we are most satisfied in him”

John Piper

How about you? Are you able to look at your life and give glory to God because you are satisfied that He is all you need?

Sermons

Playing our Part “How we share the Gospel” June 5, 2016

Evangelism 3 Title.2

Mark 1:16-20

We all know that we live in a world that is motivated by fear, but there is a deep seated fear that drives the current generation. It is the fear that motivates social media, the reason why so many people post selfies on facebook and Instagram. It is the fear that drives people to climb high mountains, or write books.

What I am referring to is the fear of insignificance, the fear of living a life that doesn’t make an impact. Everyone wants to live a life that makes a difference in the world. This generation is driven by the fear of insignificance.

But the truth is that everyone has the potential to live a life of immeasurable significance, everyone can leave an eternal legacy.

We have a privilege, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have the greatest story ever told. This Gospel message is powerful and life changing. It is the only message that we have that can have an eternal impact on the people around us. By keeping this message to ourselves, we are withholding the news of eternal salvation.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark we read how Jesus began his ministry. Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, but he was not simply strolling on the beach.

Jesus was about to set in motion a ministry that would ultimately lead to his crucifixion, and change the entire world. He was selecting his disciples. God the Father led Jesus in this process, Jesus was not randomly calling people, he was not looking for a crowd, he was looking for the select few. Those who would follow him, ultimately paying with their lives for the Gospel message.

Jesus is still calling people today to follow him, to leave all behind and follow him to make a difference in the world.

Mark records that Jesus says three simple words; “Come, follow me” Jesus took the initiative as he called his disciples. This is the truth of the Gospel message. In our own fallen sinful nature, we do not seek God out, he seeks and calls us. Jesus was demonstrating the way of the Kingdom even as he called his disciples.

Jesus goes on to declare a promise over their lives. A promise that still stands for all the people that God calls. “I will make you fishers of men”. Jesus had “caught” them, now he was beginning the process of equipping them to carry the message of salvation. They did not know what they were being called to, but they followed in faith.

When we say yes to Jesus, we don’t know what that will lead to. For all of us, who know Jesus as our Lord and savior, we say yes, because we are called. Called to be people who leave an eternal legacy.

esus went on, and saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, calling them they left everything without delay. They left everything, turned 180’ and followed him. Today Jesus calls us, and asks us to do the same, change the direction of your life. This is the essence of being born again, it is not a mere addition to your life. Being born again is a complete shift; a change of perspective, priorities and life goals.

Below are five practical applications that we all need to bear in mind as we seek to lead lives of eternal significance and be fishers of men.

1: You cannot share what you do not have; In order to lead others into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, we need to know Jesus as Lord for our own life. This is not simply attending church or attending a life group, rather asking Jesus Christ to become Lord of your life, and growing in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

2: Know your story; Every one of us has a story, but the most important story we can share is how Jesus saved us and our lives were transformed by the Gospel. We need to be able to share our story in three minutes or less in a way that clearly demonstrates the saving power of Jesus Christ.

3: Know the gospel; The central point of who we are as a church is the Gospel message, and we need to be able to clearly articulate this Gospel message. (See 1 Corinthians 15:2-5)

4: Jesus calls us to an exchange not an addition; Unfortunately modern television evangelists and many others are preaching a message that teaches how you will have a better life if you “accept” Jesus, how you will be blessed if you “add” Jesus to your life. A little addition of some Jesus to your life and you will experience blessings, you will have the husband or wife you dreamed of, you will be able to claim wealth and health. That is not the truth. In fact Jesus clearly explained that when you become a follower of his there is a cost involved (see Luke 9:23-25).

5: let the Holy Spirit lead; This is the crucial part of evangelism that we must understand. We don’t convert anyone, we don’t have the ability to bring conviction of sins. We can make people aware of their need of a savior, but we cannot do the work of changing the very soul of a person, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. As D.L. Moody once wrote; “There is not a better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit”.

So where do you start?

You start at home. Sometimes the most difficult mission field. Very few of us can say that everyone in our extended family has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And in this challenging mission field is where we are called to start.

You can live a life of significance, you can make an eternal difference, but the only way to make an eternal difference is by telling others about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote; “Only by coming after Jesus can we obtain our heart’s desire and be really useful to our fellow men.”

https://youtu.be/2EiygCWVMvA

A Study on the Topic of Revival

Revival Part 12

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2 Chronicles 7:14; “ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

We have seen that revival is God’s sovereignty on display in response to our prayers. He decides when and provides for revival. But, there is a part we have to play, we need to humble ourselves and pray, but we also need to turn from our wicked ways.

We don’t like that word, it seems very harsh in our 21st century politically correct world. Wicked means sinful and ways refers to a behavior that we have settled into and become comfortable with.

So what are these wicked ways? The Bible gives us some clear guidelines.

  • In Revelation 3:15-16 we see that the Laodicean church was wicked because of their spiritual luke-warmness. Are we neither hot nor cold for the things of God?
  • In Matthew 6:14, Jesus makes it clear that we are not to hold unforgiveness against anyone. After all we have been forgiven, it is wicked not to do the same for others.
  • In John 17, Jesus prays for unity. We fall into sin, when we create division and disunity in the church through gossip and slander.
  • By not reading the Word of God and applying it to our lives, that is a wicked way. We are neglecting the Holy Word of God to us.
  • In Malachi 3:8, we see that withholding our tithes and offerings is a wicked way, we are literally guilty of robbing from God, by not giving back to him what he has first given to us.
  • Then we have the list of moral failures, lying, indifference to evangelism, losing our tempers and idolatry (putting something before God).

Looking at this list, it makes us wonder if we will ever see revival.

We need to strive for purity and holiness, not so set anything unholy before our eyes and not to speak any unwholesome words.

The verse says that we are to turn from these wicked ways, and we will look at this in more detail in the next posting. But the key is repentance. We need to repent and ask God to forgive us of all our sin. True revival always starts with repentance.

A Study on the Topic of Revival

Revival Part 11

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Continuing to look at 2 Chronicles 7:14, ; “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray… and seek my face…”

If we were truly honest with ourselves, we are more interested in seeing the hand of God than seeking His face. We want to see miracles, we want people healed, we want God to provide money and we want families reconciled. All these things are not bad if our motives are pure, but when we pray for revival, our priority must change, we need to pray for a new vision of God, a fresh understanding of who He is.

Praying for revival, is really praying for intimacy with God. When last did you get on your knees and agonize before God. Not praying for new people to come into the church or for our finances to be provided, but rather to pray to know God more deeply and to see His face. This is the prayer that brings revival.

Listen to what David writes in Psalm 27; “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4.

Oh that we would learn to pray like that.

Sermons

Run the Race Part 2 February 21, 2016

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Romans 8: 1-17

Using the analogy of a race, a marathon, there is so much that we can look at that applies to the Christian life.

We are called to a new life, a life that is led by the spirit, Paul says is that we need to be led by the Spirit of God, as we run the race that God has for us.

Now human nature is that we make rules, and when we disciple new believers, we inadvertently make rules for them to follow, because of the mistakes we made when we were in their position. Sometimes these guidelines can be made to look like laws. Romans 8:2 says; “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”. When we run the race that is the Christian life, we do things differently, we are not under the law that leads to condemnation and death, but we are led by the Spirit which leads to life and peace.

Our disciplines and our training for the race are not governed by law, but they are governed by the Spirit and this brings life. Verse 11 tells us that the same Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and me! Our old way of viewing time, money, family, possessions all changes, and we see things from the perspective of heaven.

And then there is the unbelievable promise in God’s word in verse 14, we are called the children of God! I know our minds cannot grasp that, we have no idea what it means to be adopted into the family of God. We are called children of the creator of the universe. And verse 17 says that as a result of our adoption as God’s children, we receive an inheritance. We have an inheritance simply because we believed that Jesus died for our sins. He did it all, we die to our old way of life and begin to live by the Spirit, and we get to receive an inheritance from God.

But as we read verse 17 a little further we read these words: “if indeed we suffer with Him…” Suffering? That is not the wonderful Christian life the Walmart book aisle speaks about? Going back to the analogy of running a marathon, if any of you have run a long race, you will know that there are periods of suffering that you go through, occasionally you will “hit the wall”, using running terminology, when your tank is empty. But you push through, others encourage you, and you reach the finish line. Immediately the suffering becomes something you joke about because it is so small in comparison to the joy of the finish line. Verse 18 sums it up; “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us..”

Suffering and discipline are a part of the Christian race, but we must not shy away from them, they are building us and growing us to be more like Christ.

Let’s look at four Christian Disciplines that will help us run the race that is set before us:

  1. Reading and meditating on God’s word

This Bible is contains your heavenly Father’s love letter to you– it is your daily bread – it is your sword of the spirit – it is the truth that gives light to your path.

It is no ordinary collection of pages and ink. It is supernatural in its authoring, it is supernatural in its reading and it is supernatural in its application (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

If you are led by the Spirit, you will need the sword of the spirit.

Do we daily discipline ourselves to read, study, meditate on the word of God?

  1. Prayer

Prayer is a discipline, it is hard work, when we don’t discipline ourselves to spend time alone with God we limp along in the Christian race, missing out on so much that God has for us. Discipline yourself to pray, it will transform your life and the race God has called you to.

  1. Tithing

Tithing is something we seldom view as a discipline, but the way we handle our finances is either worship or it is idolatry. Either God is more important than your money, or your money is more important than God in your life.

We don’t tithe because God needs our money, he already has all things. No, we tithe because it is worship. Tithing is an act of worship, because many times we look at our income and our expenses and wonder how we can afford to give 1/10 of our income to the Lords work. Well if the Bible is correct, and we know it is, how can we afford not to give to the Lord, knowing that he is our provider and that he will take care of all of our needs (see 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8). You will have all you need to do the will of God for your life.

  1. Evangelism

Evangelism is a spiritual discipline that we are all called to participate in. Evangelism that is led by the Spirit is a joy and a blessing, but we make it out to be a fearful chore.

Evangelism that is fruitful and effective is evangelism that is led by the Holy Spirit. Daily discipline ourselves to pray: “Lord bring someone into my path today who needs a touch from heaven, let me be used by you, almighty God, to bring a miracle to someone’s life” That is the discipline, being available, daily being led by the Spirit to look for the person that God wants to touch through your life story (see 2 Peter 3:15).

Notice two aspects in this verse: firstly – it starts with “revere Christ as Lord”. If Jesus Christ is truly Lord of your life, it will be evident to those around you and your life will be a testimony for Jesus.

Secondly: “always be prepared to explain the reason for your hope” – because, if you are living by the Spirit, people are going to want to know why you are different.

Remember not everyone is gifted as an evangelist, but we are all called the spiritual discipline of sharing the story that God has given us and the reason for our hope.

Remember that the Christian life is a race, it is not a stroll or a wandering along the pathway, there is a very definite end goal. And to keep us running diligently we need to develop Spiritual disciplines, Prayer, Reading God’s Word, Tithing and Evangelism are just a few of them.

But why do we do them?

Because they are good for us? Or because we become more fruitful and lead others to Christ? Yes, but there is a greater reason.

We develop Christian disciplines, because our lives will bring Glory to God.

A Study on the Topic of Revival

A discussion on Revival – Part 1

What is Revival?

This is a short study on the topic of revival. This is based on the book written by Selwyn Hughes called; “Why Revival Waits”

Praying for revival is what we do every Tuesday morning here at Grace Point. It is a powerful time with the Lord and we will faithfully continue to pray each week as the Lord directs us.

We do this because we believe that this is the greatest need of the church today and it is also the greatest need of the Christian church at large.

When we think about revival and prayer, the one verse that we always turn to is 2 Chronicles 7:14; “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Most of us can recite this verse, and it was the theme verse for the great Welsh revivals and the theme verse for the Global day of prayer movement, that grew to encompass every nation in the world between 2000 and 2010.

It is God’s formula for revival.

Defining revival is difficult because it is a word so frequently used and thrown around. Some call a revival a weekend where more people than usual come to know the Lord as their savior.

But a true revival is an unusual and extraordinary movement of the spirit of God. Very different from anything previously experienced. Not just a trickle but a flood.

What revival is not.

Revival is not an evangelistic campaign – Billy graham was used by God as a tremendous evangelist, but evangelism and revival are very different.

Evangelism is the expression of the church – it is what we do – or should do.

Revival is an experience in the church.

In an evangelistic appeal, the preacher calls for people to repent and be saved.

In a true revival, the people come to the preacher and ask how they can be saved.

Throughout history there have been many revivals in the Body of Christ; in America there was the First and Second Great Awakening in the 18th century. In South Africa in 1860 there was a revival that started in a small town in the church of Andrew Murray. There was the great Welsh revival in 1904, and there have been others throughout history. All of these revivals have one thing in common; people interrupted the preacher to beg him to tell them how to be saved.

During evangelistic preaching, people come under the conviction of sin and this conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In a true revival the power and presence of the Holy Spirit it so strong that people are crying out in the streets for salvation, as they are made aware of their own personal sin.

Revival is not a large number of backslidden believers coming to repentance.

Revival is not a wonderful meeting, where we felt the presence of God and enjoyed the music.

Rather revivals are often accompanied by great sorrow, crying, and grief.

So as we continue to look at this subject over the next few weeks, let’s be very sure that we know what we are praying for.

Sermons

Be Still and Know – Psalm 46 Part 2 1/10/16

Be Still and Know that I AM God.

Psalm 46 Title part 2.2

Part 2- Psalm 46

Continuing with our series on Psalm 46, and specifically looking at the first part of verse 10. “Be still and know that I AM God.” I want to look at two words in this verse “Be Still”. There are two different translations that we find, and two ways to look at these words.

The first one is translated in the NASB, which says; “cease striving and know that I am God” The dictionary defines to strive as; “to contend in opposition, battle, or to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance:”

Literally what this text is saying is that we must not strive against God. We obviously know that this is stupidity and we would never directly oppose God Almighty. But what about murmuring against God? We have all been guilty at one time or another of complaining or murmuring against God. We don’t have to look further than the children of Israel during the Exodus to see how much their murmuring cost them.

Who are we to complain or murmur to God about what He is doing? We would never call it murmuring, but when we gossip about His church, the Body of Christ, we are murmuring against God. We don’t like what God is doing, but we blame it on someone else, we complain about the younger or older generation, we complain about the Deacons or the Pastor, but what if we are complaining about God’s servants, when in reality, God is answering our prayers for revival but we just don’t like the way in which he is going about it. When you are tempted to complain and gossip, why don’t you stop and pray, and ask God what He is doing? You may find that He says to you, stop striving.

The Prophet Habakkuk complained against God, and God put the world in perspective for him; “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” Habakkuk 2:20.

The fact that He is God, is sufficient reason why we should be still before Him. Not complaining or murmuring in any way, but calmly acknowledging who He is and submitting to Him.

But there is another way of interpreting this verse and that is the way the NIV puts it; “Be still and know that I AM God”. Literally we need to be still.

Last week we dealt with the way in which we so easily get trapped in fear as we look at our television news or the world around us. The world we live in is a crazy place. Never before in all of history have we had so much information available to us at the push of a button. But this leads to a situation of information overload and a short attention span. We live in the digital age, whether we like it or not. And the result is a tremendous increase in stress related ailments. Our news is often boiled down to 140 character headlines in twitter, or poorly written text messages.

A recent study by Microsoft Corporation has found that the human attention span has shortened from 12 seconds to 8 seconds in the last decade. The average goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds, so much for evolution! The study said; “Heavy multi-screeners find it difficult to filter out irrelevant stimuli — they’re more easily distracted by multiple streams of media,”

 This digital age has had a dramatic effect on our personal spiritual lives. The shortening of the ability to focus, has made it increasingly difficult for people to pray. As a result many Christians are weak and easily distracted. We are unable to focus on what is really important, because we struggle to filter out that which is mindless noise. If we were honest with ourselves, we would realize that we have some kind of noise in our lives all the time. Whether it is the radio on, or the TV going all day. We have become a people who are afraid of silence. Silence terrifies us because it is in the silence that we have to confront ourselves. We are so inundated by bad news and mostly irrelevant news that we forget about the good news of the Gospel, we forget that Jesus came to set us free from the world and its treadmill.

Don Whitney said; “As sleep and rest are needed for the body, so silence and solitude is needed each day for the soul.”

If you do not have a daily time with the Lord, you are probably not growing as a Christian. You come to church on a Sunday for a boost and a word of encouragement to keep you going, but then you slowly slide back as the week progresses. I cannot stress enough the importance of spending time alone with God in silence. Oswald Chambers wrote in 1936; “Solitude with God repairs the damage done by the fret and noise and clamor of the world.” If he felt that in 1936, how much more do we have to contend for that solitude with God?

What I am talking about here is discipline. The discipline to slow down and hit the off button. This is a fight for our survival, the church is filled with weak Christians because we do not take the discipline of prayer and solitude seriously. This is not for the few, this is for all who identify themselves as followers of Christ.

Read what Jesus said in Matthew 6:6; Jesus doesn’t say, if you pray, but when you pray. It is imperative that prayer be a part of your daily life. Then Jesus said, go into your room – we need to establish a place for prayer. Find a regular place where you can meet with God each day, Jesus goes on to say, close the door. Close the door on the world, that also means for us, don’t take your digital devices into your prayer room. Take a bible, a journal and a pen. Leave the world outside and spend time with God.

When Moses came down off the Mount Sinai after receiving the law from God, we read that his face shone, because he had been in the presence of the Lord. When you leave your home in the morning, do the people you meet know that you have been with Jesus? They should..

Let us learn what it is to once again be still and know that He is God.