DAY #29: October 31, 2010

Let's conclude the story of Hosea and Gomer today.

Then God does a second thing to show us His love...
#2. He Removes our Resources.

God ruthlessly knocks the props out of our lives to get our attention. Gomer was in serious trouble –again! The money and groceries that God extended her did not turn her attention back to him. She blew right through that blessing. She was in serious debt – serious trouble. She was unfaithful and unrepentant. So, God took her stuff away. Hosea 2:9 says “Therefore I will take back my grain at harvest time and my new wine in its season. I will also take away my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.”

During the briar stage, God made sure her essentials were met. But during this stage, during the resource removal stage, her necessities were nil. They were gone. The Bible says she was suffering, broke, busted and disgusted. That is the life of Gomer.

We see this theme throughout Scripture. God barricades us with briars and if we don’t respond, then he ruthlessly removes our resources.

That is where our girlfriend, Gomer, found herself. Gomer had it so bad; do you know what she did? She sold herself into slavery. Gomer, this Biblical babe, this beautiful wife of Hosea, this high-priced call girl, became a slave. There is an avalanche of material about what a slave auction was all about. It was a horrible thing. You had to strip naked and stand there in front of all the crowd, show off your strength, and people would bid for you.

So you might be thinking, “Okay, Mike, you were talking about several things God does when we run from him. You said that God builds these walls of briars. You said that God removes the resources. I know what God is going to do now, Mike. He’s going to take this big old heavenly baseball bat and just whack Gomer upside the head. He is going to rain fire and brimstone down from heaven. I know that is what God will do, because I have heard sermons like this before.”No, God is not going to do that.

You know what God is going to do next? Here is the third thing that God does.
#3. HE grips us, with his amazing and irrational grace!

That’s what God does. God gives and grants Gomer his grace. Hosea 3:1, “Then the Lord said to me, (This is the Lord talking to Hosea) ‘Go and get your wife again.’” Hosea says, “Wait a minute. This girl doesn’t even want to come back to me. This girl has not repented. She still loves adultery.” God then tells Hosea, “Bring her back to you and love her.” Even though she loves adultery. I’m sure Hosea is going, “God, this is asking way too much. Here my wife has been with every man under the sun. She is standing naked before the community and you are telling me, a man of God, to buy her back.” But Hosea obeyed.

Maybe Hosea stood at the back of the crowd when the auctioneer started the bidding. The auctioneer, I can just hear him saying, “What’s the bid for this lady, Gomer?” Maybe someone said, “Five.” Hosea said, “Seven.” Someone else said, “Eight.” Hosea said, “Ten.” Somebody else said, “Twelve.” It was silent for a while and then Hosea said, “Fourteen.” Then the gavel fell and the auctioneer said, “Sold to the man in the back.” I’m sure Gomer was thinking, “Oh no.”

Because she knew that she was now just a piece of property. She could be killed or tortured—you name it. Then what do you think she thought when she saw Hosea walking toward her? He was a little bit older and probably a little bit grayer. What do you think she thought when she felt Hosea cover her nakedness? What do you think she thought when Hosea welcomed her back as his wife? She thought about God’s grace. She thought about irrational and supernatural love.

We have all “Gone Gomer.” We have all been on the auction block. We have all sold ourselves into slavery, haven’t we? These voices have bid for us: the voice of greed, the voice of sexual addiction, the voice of rebellion—all these voices have bid. But there is a nail-pierced hand that goes up in the back that says, “I paid for you. I did the work for that one. I spilled my blood on the cross.” The auctioneer’s gavel falls and says, “Sold to the man in the back.” Then we have our Savior walking forward.

We don’t deserve it. We have been unfaithful. We have committed spiritual adultery. We don’t deserve it. After our best day, we don’t deserve it. Yet, Jesus, with his irrational and supernatural love, clothes us in forgiveness and righteousness. If we turn to him, he fills us up with his love and his grace. That is what true love is all about. It comes from the inside out. It’s a God thing.

When I read this unbelievable story of Hosea and Gomer, I think of two verses in particular that grip me and move me. The first is Romans 5:8 (NLT) it says ”But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

What does that mean? He didn’t wait to die for us till we were good enough or beautiful enough or clean enough – he died for us while we were still in our sin. Irrational, unconditional love.

The second verse is 1 John 3:1. It says “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” How great is that irrational, unconditional love. He embraces us and calls us His children – for that is what we are when we choose to receive him as our Lord and Savior.

My question to you this morning is very simple. Have you responded to that love? Just between me and you, have you responded to that irrational, supernatural, and one-of-a-kind love?

If you want to know him personally, just say these words to yourself. Just say, “God, I admit to you that I am a slave to my desires—to my sin—and that I have gone my own way. Now, God, I turn to you. I believe that you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins and to pay the price to free me from my slavery. Right now, I turn from sins and ask you, Christ, to infiltrate my life. I respond to your irrational one of a kind love. Take control of me. I give you everything I am and everything I ever will be.”

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #28: October 30, 2010

How does God love us? (from the life of Hosea) First of all…
#1. HE Barricades us with Briars.

God barricades people who matter to him with briars. If we don’t respond to God, then he puts up this giant wall of briars to stop us – to hedge us in. When we run from God and fail to respond to him, he puts us in the barricade of briars.

As we go back to Hosea, and we think again about Gomer running, look at Hosea 2:6-8: “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns. I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.” I’ll say it once again: God loves us enough to make it tough when we run from him. Verse 7, “She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them. She will seek them, but will not find them.”

God says “OK Gomer, you want to run, I’m going to make it tough to run and do your own thing. Gomer’s out there prostituting herself, sleeping with other men for money. She has spit in the face of her husband and God. And in spite of that God pursues her. He makes it hard for her to keep running. What’s he do? I don’t know exactly what it looked like, but God made it hard for her to find men who would pay her for sex.

Maybe new laws were passed, maybe there was a drought and money was short for everybody. Whatever the case, money was running out because God had barricade her in with Briars. Just like he did with Jonah, Just like he did with the prodicgal son, just like he does with all of His children who want to go their own way, he make it hard for them to run. So, the money has dried up what now?

Then, the plot thickens. God tells Hosea to do something strange. God says, “Hosea, I want you to find Gomer and I want you to give her lover a money and groceries. I know she is kind of destitute right now, and I want you to do that. It will show her that you love her unconditionally and irrationally.” So Hosea, being a prophet of God, said, “I’ll do it.”

Hosea tracks Gomer down. He gives all this stuff to her lover. I can just see him standing at a distance watching this take place. Her lover, in turn, gives Gomer all this stuff. Now Gomer thinks her lover is giving it to her. Her lover is thinking, “This Hosea guy, what an ignoramus. You think I am going to tell Gomer that he gave it to me? No, no!”

What’s the correlation? We are blessed. We receive things. We get promotions. Things happen for us. Too often, we give credit to everybody and everything else except God. God, like Hosea, stands at a distance. We credit luck, we credit networking, we credit our education, or we credit our athletic ability. Yet, God is shaking his head like Hosea did and saying, “Can’t you see, I’m the source of your blessing. I’m the one who made it happen for you.’

Often, in our running, God irrationally blesses us, He irrationally showers His love down us – and we ignore the source. I’ve seen this happen so often with people. They are hurting, they need help, they need prayer – then boom, God blesses them. God takes care of them, God blesses the business, God makes it so the deal goes through. Our needs have been met, but we forget the source of the blessing. That’s what Gomer does.

Look at Verse 8, “For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and lavished on her silver and gold.” When something great happens to you, who do you give credit to?

Hosea pursued Gomer. Gomer didn’t turn. She kept going. She kept running. When God pursues people who run from him, what does he do? Does God give up? Does God say, “Well, boys will be boys and girls will be girls. Just go on ahead.” No. God does not say that. God does not do that. Here is what God does—maybe you are running from him right now—first, God barricades us with Briars.

What's the bottm line? Stop running FROM God and turn to Him. He loves you.
Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #27: October 29, 2010

I'm praying for you. I'm praying that God will grow your faith and grow your passion and make you aware of how short time is. I'm praying you'll put in the time and work to memorize the verses through through out the spiritual growth campaign. I'm praying you'll build some consistency with your QT, devotions, time in the Word. I'm praying you'll get connected in a small group and start building relationships with others.

Our memory verse this week - Ephesians 5:15-17 (NCV) - "So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, nut live wisely. Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times." (From memory BTW)

For the next few days, I want to look at another biblical character who spent his time well. He was wise in how he chose to live. That character is Hosea.

His head was spinning. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. His worst nightmare had become a reality. His wife, the love of his life, had run off. He tried the best he could to comfort the kids and to answer their poignant and powerful questions like, “When is Mommy coming back?” But he didn’t know what to say. Yes, he had heard the rumors. He had heard that she had been seen around town with other men, but he didn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe it until now.

That evening, he tried his best to cook. He tried his best to help his kids with their homework and to put them to bed. Finally, as they went to sleep, he walked into his room and he noticed the empty closet. He could still smell the faint scent of his wife’s perfume. He asked, “Why me, God? Why me? What have I done to deserve this?”

Sound like one of those romance novels? Well, so goes the story—the love story—of a man named Hosea and his unfaithful wife, Gomer. As we delve into this unique story, we see a double drama.

The first drama being played out is the story of love—love between a man and a woman. Not the superficial, and shallow stuff like cards and candy. I’m talking about real love - irrational and unconditional.

The second part of the drama is what the love story represents. It represents God’s love and God’s dealing with His people. During the time of the writing, it represented God’s love for the Israelites. Today, it represents God’s love for his people, those of us who know him personally.

As we look up close and personal at Hosea’s life, we are going to see someone who understood what it meant to truly love someone. Some of you may be asking – “is love really a character quality?” Well, yes it is. Because love is a choice, love is an action. Love is commitment and sacrifice and serving.

And you know what? Love is all important to God. You could have endurance, obedience, vision, discipline, humility, faithfulness and even courage – but if you don’t have love, you don’t have anything. Listen to our first key verse this morning;

1 Corinthians 13:1 out of the English version says -“I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.” It’s all about Love!

Now, put yourself in Hosea’s sandals. Hosea was married to one of the most beautiful people in the land. The girl had to be gorgeous. With a name like Gomer, she had to be. Suddenly, and without warning, Gomer spins on her heels and she leaves. She runs out on her husband – the love of her life.

The Bible describes what is going on in Gomer’s life right before she left. Hosea 2:5, says “For she said (this is Gomer talking), ‘I will go after my lovers who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’”

What is she saying? I want to split – go my own way, do my own thing. Be with other men. Run away from the one who really loves me. This is really a picture of us and our relationship with God. It is a story that illustrates His love for us.

Over the next few days, I want to look at how much God loves us by seeing how much Hosea loved Gomer.I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #26: October 28, 2010

After the test comes the final step.
#4. STEP FOUR: GIDEON'S TRANSFORMATION: God will empower me! (6:34)

That's where Gideon receives God's power in his life. v. 34 "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon." Now he's ready for service, ready to be a leader.

The secret of Gideon's life is that now God is working through him. "The Spirit came upon Gideon" Folks, here is a huge truth you need to understand: God works in the world but he does it through people that are usable.

What’s The Lesson?: Power in the Christian life always comes after testing not before. If I asked, "How many of you would like to have more power in your life?" Most of you would. Power to break bad habits, power to be a stronger Christian. The path to power is through a test. We want the end product with out the process!

In Judges 6 and 7 we have the conclusion of the story. Gideon was now ready. He was transformed into a leader. He goes out, blows a trumpet and says, "Everybody rally around!" and thousands of people rallied around him -- a man, who a few weeks before, was in the bottom of a wine press hiding out. He cries out, "Who wants to follow the Lord into battle?" and 32,000 people showed up.

God says, "Gideon, that's too many people. I want you to thin the ranks." That doesn't make sense. Thirty-two thousand is still grossly under rated compared to 135,000 in a battle. God said, "That's too many because I don't want the people to get the credit for it. I'll take the credit. It's going to be a miracle. So, Gideon, you tell every one of those 32,000 people who are afraid to go home." So 22,000 went home.

God said, "That's still too many, so after a test, he sent another 9,700 home. That left 300 men. God not only often uses unlikely people, he uses an unlikely strategy. Three hundred men against 135,000 that's odds of about 450 to one. Those aren't very good odds. Then God says, "Here are the tools you're going to take into battle. Number one, give every one of those 300 men a clay pot, a horn and a torch. Can you hear Gideon?

So in the middle of the night, Gideon takes his little band of 300 men and circle around the valley and spread out into a complete circle. Each man with his torch lit but the clay pot over it so that the light would not shine out. God says to Gideon, "When I say `Go!' you tell the men to blow the trumpets, to shout `For the Lord and for Gideon!' and to break the clay pots. [That will make a noise which the enemy won't know what it is; it will scare them.] The light will shine out and just a few men will look like thousands. In their panic the enemy will begin to fight each other."

That is exactly what happened - the Midianites woke up, began running around in their tents with their pajamas on, pulling out their swords and began to fight each other. The Bible says that over a hundred thousand soldiers were killed that day while the Israelites stood there and watched!

Gideon became a national hero, because he was useable. He was useable because he was humble. That's how God works in our lives.

Some of you are at Stage One today. You just need encouragement. You need someone to say, God believes in you! Most of the time we talk at church about how we need to believe in God. That's very true. But God believes in you. Get that this morning!

Some of you are at Stage Two. You are ready to meet God personally. Maybe you've had a religion but you've never had a relationship. God says, "I want you to know Me. Will you do that today? HOW? Humble yourself and give your life to Christ!

Some of you are at Stage Three. You're in a test. It may be a test at work. It may be a test at home. It may be a test at school. What's going to have first place in your life? Status? Career? Money? Things? What's going to have first place in your life? Anything that is not God that's in first place becomes an idol. Maybe you need to do a little spiritual housecleaning. Say, "Lord, what is the Baal in my backyard? What is it that competes for my time and energy, that really replaces You?"

Some of you are in Stage Four. You've been trying to fight God's battles in your power and you're tired. You came here this morning thinking "I'm wasted, I'm really fatigued. God, do something today, please! It's been a tough week." You need God's Spirit in your life. If you're a Christian, He's in your life. Now you need His power. Make it your prayer this morning that God would give you power to live HIS life! A lot of times we get tired running our race. Ask God to give you power to run HIS race!

Time is short. Start today.

DAY #25: October 27, 2010

Then there's the third stage God takes us through when He wants to use us:
#3. STEP THREE: GIDEON'S CONFRONTATION: God will test me! (6:25-32)

Before God will ever use you in a significant way He will test you. A test of whether you're really going to trust God and obey him. This is what happened in Gideon's life.

The background of the story is that during this time of oppression and depression in Israel, they had decided to worship false gods. They were compromising their faith. God said, "Gideon, I have a task for you to do. Before you do anything else, I want you to go and tear down the idol that your dad built -- the false god that's in your little village."

v. 25 "That same night the Lord said to him, `Take the second bull from your father's herd, one of seven years old and tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah [which was another god. Baal was a fertility god. It was a sexual cult] Then build the proper kind of altar to the Lord, your God, on the top of this bluff and using the wood of the Asherah, that you cut down, offer the second bull as an offering.So Gideon took ten of his servants and he did as the Lord told him."

Gideon passed the test! He tore down the idol in his life. Let me ask you, what's the idol in your life? What is the Baal in your backyard? This incident shows us the three ways that God may test you before he uses you.

1. God may test you spiritually. This is a test of Who's going to be God in your life. Exodus 20:3 the very first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." God says I want complete allegiance. I want total obedience. I don't want any compromise. I want to be number one in your life." A spiritual test is "What is number one in your life?

2. God may test you emotionally. Notice who's altar it was. It was his father's altar. It says he went and tore it down at night because he was afraid of his family. We're talking about a confrontation with tradition. We're talking about a breakdown from the past. He's saying, "My whole family has been worshipping this for years. I'm going to break with tradition." That's an emotional test. Family ties. The point is, service for the Lord always begins at home. In your own backyard. He said, "Gideon, before you can go out and take on the world let's clean up your act right here in your own family. Service for the Lord starts at home.

3. God may test you physically. There may be a physical test in your life that God will use to see how willing you are to follow directions and instructions. When you think about this, this was a risky move -- In fact, it could have cost him his life. When you read the next few verses, you'll find that when they woke up the next morning the town formed a lynch mob and came after Gideon because he had done this.

v. 28 "In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar demolished and the Asherah beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the altar. They asked each other, `Who did this?' When they carefully investigate they were told Gideon, son of Joash did it.' So the men of the town demanded of Joash his dad, "Bring out your son. He must die because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah beside it." This is a physical test. He could literally lose his life.

What’s The Lesson?: If you really get serious about serving God expect fireworks. You may cause a riot. You may upset a few traditions or something. 2 Timothy 3:12 (CEV) says “Anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others.” Anytime you make a stand for God, someone will give you trouble – count on it!

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #24: October 26, 2010

The next section from the book - "The ME I want to be" - is redeeming my time. That's why the memory verse this week is so key. I urge you to memorize it. "So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely. Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times."

This week, I want t o look at a few Biblical characters and how God used them. They made the most of their time. I am praying these devotions this week will encourage you and motivate you to do the same.

Today and tomorrow, we're going to look briefly at a man named Gideon. Who was he? (The guy that wrote the Bible in the motel?) Actually he did a little more than that! He was a classic example of an ordinary person that God uses. He was a farm boy who became a national hero. Against incredible odds, he saved his nation.

Some background: Israel was at one of their lowest points in history. They were spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, economically bankrupt. An enemy nation called the Midianites had come in like a swarm of locusts 135,000 strong and forced all the people who lived in Israel to move into caves. They were living in caves and eking out survival. We find Gideon initially down in the bottom of a wine press threshing grain instead of out in the open where the wind could get the chafe out. He was hiding. If he was seen they'd kill him and take his wheat.

When things get bad, God looks for a person to use. God often uses the most unlikely person. Some of you are thinking, "God could never use me." Don't bet on it! God often uses the most unlikely people. God specializes in turning nobodies into somebodies.

In Judges 6:11 we find Gideon hiding out. "The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash [who was his dad] his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites.]

Gideon had climbed down into the wine press and he is threshing grain to eke out a little bit of wheat to make some bread for his family that's living in a cave in these dark desperate times when everybody's lost hope. They're helpless. They're driven to despair. And an angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and says this (v. 12) "The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and he said, `The Lord is with you mighty warrior.'"

That brings us to Judges 6:15 – it says "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

In that one verse we see the key to God using a life – Humility. A definition for true humility: admitting that I don't have it all together, that I haven't arrived, that I haven't learned it all, that I'm a long way from perfection, and you know what else humility is? It’s admitting that I'm not God!

I ran across an article talking about St. Francis of Assisi. He had an unusual method of maintaining humility. In his memoirs, he said any time someone praised him, in order to stay humble; he would have a fellow monk sit down and tell him all his faults. (Of course, the reason he had to ask a fellow monk was because he never married!)

Twelve different times in Scriptures we are told to “humble ourselves.” Get this: humility is a choice – to think of others instead of yourself to bow your will to God’s. Gideon understood humility and as a result God was ready to use him! When we humble ourselves, God will be ready to use us as well.

Anytime God uses a life, he takes us through a four step process.

#1. STEP ONE: GOD”S AFFIRMATION: He will ENCOURAGE me! (6:11-16)

God always starts in your life with a word of encouragement. He will encourage you. He sees your potential and He wants you to see it. When God starts to work in your life, first He wants you to get a new view of you. He wants you to get a glimpse of your potential.

I love Proverbs 29:18 in the KJV. It says, "Without a vision people perish" - What is that verse saying? People need a vision for what their lives can be as they follow God. God affirmed Gideon – God gave him a vision for his life. He said, "You're a mighty warrior!" Anyone could see that Gideon was no courageous leader. But God saw behind the surface. God does that with us as well.

WHAT”S THE LESSON? Many people miss God's plan for their life because they just can't see God using them. They just can't see themselves as a dynamic Christian. They can't see themselves as a leader. They can't seen themselves as being an influential person spiritually. Why? They have not been encouraged property – they have not been given a vision for their life. If you don’t get anything else from today’s message, get this. Walk out of here committed to being an encourager of people – someone who plants a vision within another – a builder of people souls and lives and futures!

Hebrews 3:13 (GW) says “Encourage each other every day while you have the opportunity. If you do this, none of you will be deceived by sin and become stubborn.” Put this verse into practice!

#2. STEP TWO: GOD'S REVELATION: He will meet me! (6:17-24)

Gideon had a personal experience with God. The fact of the matter is, when God wants to change me, first He encourages me and second, He meets me. He gets to know me. Life becomes more than a religion but a relationship.

This is what happened with Gideon. v. 17, "If I've now found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it's really you talking to me. Please don't go away until I come back and bring an offering and set it before you.' And the Lord said, `I'll wait for you to return.'" God waits for us. God was ready to use Gideon right there. But Gideon said, "I'm not ready yet." Gideon went back home and prepared a meal at great expense and he brought it back to God and offered this mean to this angel of the Lord and it was supernaturally consumed. He realized then that he was talking to God.

v. 22 "When Gideon realizes that it was the angel of the Lord he exclaimed, `Ah, sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.' …So Gideon built an altar. And he called it `The Lord is peace' and it stands there to this day." Gideon had a personal experience with God and it says he made an altar. He piled up some stones.

What does an altar represent? In the Old Testament, an altar always represents a personal commitment to God. It was a reminder. Gideon was saying, "I don't ever want to forget this so I'm going to put some stones up here and make an altar so that every time I pass by here I'll remember that I encountered God personally, face to face here. I had an experience with God." This represents where God meets man.

What's the lesson? Before you are ready to fight external battles you must have internal peace. Before you are ready to face the tough times you're facing at work or at home or out there in the world, you've got to have an internal peace inside, capable to handle the battles. Where do you get that? You come to the point that Gideon did. A face to face encounter with God. Have you met God? Have you come into a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ?

Today, ponder these points. God wants to use you. There are needs all around you. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #23: October 25, 2010

The memory verse for this week is Ephesians 5:15-17 from the New Century Version. It says, "So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely. Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times."

Be wise. Use every chance you have for doing good. What does that look like? That's what we want to look at this week. Let me start by talking about responsibility. What's your responsibility as a follower of Christ and a member at COV?

Ephesians 4:14-16 (NIV) gives us insight into this.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

#1. GROW UP AND MATURE SPIRITUALLY. (Ephesians 4:14a)
Then we will no longer be infants

#2. DON”T BE TOSSED & BLOWN BY FALSE TEACHING . (Ephesians 4:14b)
tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching

#3. DON’T BE IMPROPERLY INFLUENCED. (Ephesians 4:14c)
and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

#4. EVERY DAY, BECOME MORE & MORE LIKE JESUS CHRIST. (Ephesians 4:15)
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

#5. FULFILL THE MISSION GOD HAS FOR YOU. (Ephesians 4:16)
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

How are you doing in regard to the five areas above? What time and resources are you giving/dedicating to these areas of your life?

It's my Job job here at COV to equip you for your ministry. The Bible teaches this very clearly. One day you're going to stand before God and He's going to ask you two questions. First He's going to say, "What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?" And I hope you already know the answer to that one. "I've given my life to Him. I've made Him my Lord and Master. I've committed my life to Christ. I've accepted Him for salvation."

Then He's going to say, number two, "What did you do with what I gave you?" You have some natural talents. You have some abilities. You have some spiritual gifts. Where do you think you got those interests? God put them in your life. He didn't give you that talent and ability just to use on yourself. He meant for you to use it to help other people and to serve other people. When you use your talent, your ability, your interest to help other people that's called ministry. Our job as pastors and teachers is to help equip you for your ministry.

Ponder these things today. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #22: October 24, 2010

Today starts week #4 of our spirtual growth campaign here at Church of the Valley. Let me ask you point blank - are you growing? Are you seeing God move in your life? If so, would you shoot me an email to let me know what God is doing? pastormike@covsanramon.org

I want to finish some final thoughts on pride and how to remove it from your life, so it won't be an obstacle to the work God wants to do in you heart and mind. Take two steps.

STEP #1. Admit my sins honestly.

That’s the starting point. First I admit my sins honestly. The Bible says this. “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. [You want to be successful? A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful.] But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.” I like second chances. I believe of the God of the second chance. God says I like to give you a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance, a twentieth chance. That’s called grace. But if you’re full of pride you get no chance. God says I give second chances to the humble. But if you’re prideful and won’t even admit it you don’t get a second chance.

Romans 3:23 (NIV) says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Can you admit that this morning? Romans 6:23 (NIV) says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

STEP #2. Accept Jesus humbly .

Prideful people say, I don’t need God in my life. In contrast Jesus promises great blessings if we live with humility. “True humility and fear of the Lord [that means respect for God.] lead to riches, honor and long life.” How many of you would like to have that? Riches, honor and long life. He says there – humility. That’s the key.

Let me say it again. Pride is the sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven. It can keep you out of heaven too. Many of you, you’ve heard about Jesus Christ What has kept you from stepping across the line is your pride and your pride will keep you out of heaven.

John 1:12 (NIV) Says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” You can’t get to heaven on your own – only through accepting Jesus Christ into your life.

Many of you are extremely successful people – men and women. You have made your success the old fashioned way. You’ve earned it. But you can’t earn your way into heaven. It’s just a gift. The Bible says it is by grace you are saved, not by anything you do. Not of works. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “It is by grace you are saved through faith not of works so no man can boast.” So nobody can brag about it. So nobody can be proud of it.

Would you pray this prayer? Dear God, all my life I’ve been taught to depend on myself. God, I realize that a lot of times I’ve done things I’ve wanted to do and I’ve been my own God. There’s been times I didn’t want You in my life or think I needed You in my life. I’m sorry. Today, I humble myself before You. I humbly say You are God and I’m not. You sent Jesus to be my savior. That means I need one. So I’m asking You today to save me, Jesus Christ. Not by my works or because I deserve it. But just because of Your greatness and goodness and love. Today, I’m saying Jesus Christ I’m humbling myself to follow You from this day forward. To be the person You want me to be. I humbly ask You to accept me into heaven. In Your name I pray. Amen.

DAY #21: October 23, 2010

#2. Pride not only causes conflict, the second thing it does is it prevents growth. (Spiritual growth)

You can’t grow with pride in your heart. Pride makes you unteachable. If the only person you can learn from is you, you’re not going to learn very much. I’d rather not know it all and admit it and learn than pretend that I know it all and be ignorant.

The moment my head starts swelling my mind stops growing. Pride is what keeps me growing. Listen folks, you can learn from anybody. The person sitting next to you could teach you. I learn from my friends I learn from my enemies, I learn from critics, I learn from people I don’t like, I learn from people who don’t like me, I learn from people I don’t even agree with. You can learn from anybody if you’re willing to be humble and teachable. Pride prevents personal growth.

I remember years ago when Mohammad Ali was in his prime. The champion! The superman! He got on an airplane. The stewardess came back, “Mr. Ali you need to buckle up.” He said, “Superman don’t need a seat belt!” She looked at him and said, “Superman don’t need an airplane.” You’re not as hot as you think you are.

Proverbs 10:17 says, “Anyone willing to be corrected is on the pathway to life. But anyone refusing has lost his chance.” How willing are you to be corrected? Are you teachable? I have seen this a thousand times. It is pride that keeps us stuck in a rut. It is pride that keeps us from getting help on our marriage. It is pride that keeps us from getting help in our finances. It is pride that keeps us from getting into recovery from an addiction. From a difficulty. It is pride that keeps us from getting help in any area of life. At work – parenting – whatever.

#3. Pride angers God.

God hates pride. He doesn’t just put up with it. He hates it. Pride is the sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven. It can keep you out of heaven. God hates pride. It’s basically saying, “I’m god. I’m going to do my own thing. I’m going to be my own god. I’m going to run my own life.”

James 4:6 (NIV) says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” The English version says, God comes against the proud. Folks, that is a position you do not want to be in. It is not a position I want to be in. When it comes to selfish, stubborn pride, I must go the other way. And you know what the other way is? HUMILITY.

Friends, if I could learn just one Christ-like quality in my life and get it down it would be the quality of humility. More than anything else I want that quality in my life. More than any other quality. It’s the one I have to struggle with the most. It’s the one I want the most in my life.

Why? Because humility is the hallmark of emotional maturity. The more emotionally mature you are the more humble you are. The more emotionally insecure you are the more prideful you are. Pride is an evidence of insecurity. The more insecure you’re feeling on the inside the more you try to puff yourself up.

But the more secure you are and the more stable you are in your love for God and His love for you, the more humble you are. It is the hallmark of emotional stability. Humility is the secret of God’s power in your life. And I want God’s power in my life more than anything else.

How do you humble yourself before the Lord? By expressing your dependence to Him. Pray. Bow your head and say, “God, I humble myself before You. I humble myself before you!” There’s a song that used to go “Humble myself in the sight of the Lord..” I’ve memorized that and it’s a regular part of my prayer life.

How can I learn to live more humbly and get that stubborn ego out of the way that causes so much problem in my life?“ James 4:10 (NIV) says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” You have to take the step…

Will you do that today? Humble yourself before the Lord? I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #20: October 22, 2010

What's the number one barrier to God doing a new work in our hearts and lives? What stops the process of God transforming our lives? PRIDE. This morning and over the next few days, I want to talk about rooting out the pride in our lives.

The more you mature in life, the more you realize you are your own biggest problem. I cause myself far more problems than anybody else does. And you do too. The more you grow and the more you develop and the more you mature you realize that you have an “I” problem. The middle letter of “sin” is “I”. The middle letter of “pride” is “I.” When I want what I want and I want it regardless of what God says it causes all kinds of problems.

The Bible talks about two kinds of pride. There’s good pride and there’s bad pride. There’s godly pride, which is a good thing. And there is ungodly pride. Before we get into this I want to distinguish the difference.

But then there’s the negative that we’re all too acquainted with. The selfish pride. The stubborn pride that won’t admit it when we’re wrong. That holds on to a grudge. That gossips. That causes all kinds of conflict. The kind of pride that judges other people and puts them down and thinks we’re better than others. It’s conceit. It’s egotism. It’s arrogance. God says that is damaging and destructive.

Do you want to know what God thinks about our pride? Proverbs 6:16-17 (AMP) says, “These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: The first is a proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others]…”

Maybe you’ve never thought about how destructive pride is in your life. But it is the root of every other sin in your life. Do you want to know what the worst sin is? It’s pride. It is not murder. It is not adultery. It is pride. Pride says, “I want to be God… I want to choose my own way…” is at the root of everything else.

Over the next few days, I want us to do two things. First I want to look at how pride damages our lives. Then how do we root it out? How do we break free from that bad kind of pride so that we can live the kind of lives of happiness and success and fulfillment and the purpose and plan of God for us?

First let’s look at the damage pride does.
#1. The first thing pride does is pride causes conflict. Pride is at the root of every single human conflict. Pride. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:10 “Pride only breeds quarrels”

Pride causes conflict because of so many different implications of it. As I said, it’s the root of all other sins. For instance, pride causes us to put pressure on other people. I wonder how many kids are being pressured by their parents to take ballet class when they don’t care about ballet. Or take martial arts class, or little league when they don’t really care about it. But the parents want them to take it. You need to ask yourself, do my kids really want this or is this something because of my own pride? Am I forcing them to do it because of my own pride? So I can put a bumper sticker on my car that says, “My kid was student of the month at “this” school.” (I saw one the other day, “My kid was inmate of the month at San Quentin. That’s going a little too far!)

But how many times do we pressure other people to act in a certain way because it will make us look good. Not them. That causes conflict.

Pride is what causes you to hold on to grudges and to keep score in your marriage. Do you do that? “You did this!” Yeah but you did that. There’s a word for that. You are being a prideful person at that moment. Pride won’t let go. Pride won’t forgive. Pride holds on to hurt. Pride keeps us keeping score. Are you keeping score in your marriage? If you are, you’re killing it. You just need to understand: you are the one killing your marriage. By keeping score. You’ve got to let it go.

Pride is what causes us to gossip. The reason we gossip is it makes us feel better about ourselves by saying dirt about other people. Any time you gossip you are acting like a prideful person. The Bible says this in Proverbs 28:25 “He that is of a proud heart, stirs up strife.” And nothing stirs up strife more than gossip.

Pride makes us rude. When we think we are better than somebody else we become obnoxious. We become arrogant. We take people who are serving us for granted. You’ve seen it. You’ve seen it in airports when people are rude to the ticket people or rude to clerks at the grocery store. Things don’t go the way they think and they think that the entire world should serve them at that moment. That’s pride.

Pride makes us judgmental. When I think I’m better than you, I look down on you. When you stumble it makes me less willing to forgive. It makes me unmerciful.

The number one thing pride does in causing conflict is it causes us to refuse to admit our mistakes. I can guarantee you that the family you are in right now or the family you grew up in has some conflicts that were never ever resolved. I guarantee you that. There were some issues in the family you grew up in or the one you’re in now that were never ever resolved. The reason is stubborn pride.

One last thing I would share this morning. Pride causes us to fall. "Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18 (HCSB)
Stay humble or you'll stumble. Today, is there any pride in your life you need to confess, so it won't be the barrier that stops you from transforming into the person God desires?

I love you guys. Stay humble. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #19: October 21, 2010

When else does God renew our mind?

#4. When we Obey Him continually!

Life is not a 50-yard dash. It’s a marathon. God doesn’t want you to just love Him some of the time – spasmodically. He doesn’t want you to obey Him for just a season of your life, but for all of your life. Psalm 119:112 says “I am determined to obey You until I die.” I love that verse, because it makes a declaration. It says Lord I am your until I stop breathing – until I am no more. Have you made that choice? I have made the choice that I am determined to obey God until I die. I pray you will as well.

Psalm 119:33 says “Just tell me what to do and I'll do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey.” Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it – would you make that your prayer today?

Some of you are saying, “Why doesn’t God tell me what to do? I’ve been praying what to do in this situation.” I'll tell you why He hasn’t told you. Because you’re not already doing what He’s already told you to do. Why is He going to give you further revelation if you have not acted on the truth He’s already told you?

Philippians 3;16 says “We must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already.” The last three weeks in this spiritual growth campaign - THE ME I WANT TO ME, becoming God's best version of you - I’ve been giving you a lot of truth about faith. Have you acted on it? Have you done anything about it?

It's a head scratcher for me that I or anybody could sit through an entire message on obedience,faith, living for God - whatever and walk out and do nothing about it. But I know all of us are tempted to do just that.

So, as we close this devotional for today, let me ask you a couple of questions. What does your obedience to God reveal about your faith and love? Is your obedience to God immediate or delayed? Is it complete or is it partial? Is it joyful or is it reluctant? Is it continual or is it spasmodic? What do you know is the right thing to do but you’ve been putting it off? Where has your obedience been incomplete?

Why don’t you pray this prayer in your heart? “Father, there are many areas in my life where I know what You want me to do. I just haven’t done it. And I’m sorry. Please forgive me for my disobedience. I now realize that it was a lack of faith. I wasn’t trusting that You knew best. I ask You, Jesus Christ, to give me the strength to follow Your directions immediately, completely, joyfully and continually for the rest of my life from this day forward. I am going to trust You to fulfill all of these promises in my life. In Your name I pray. Amen.”

James 4:17 (MSG)
17 In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil.

DAY 18: October 20, 2010

What else triggers God's Holy Spirit to do a new work in your life? When does God renew our mind and restore our strength and ignite our passion?

#3. When we obey God joyfully!

Psalm 100:2 says “Obey Him gladly.” Psalm 119:16 says “I enjoy obeying Your commands.” Psalm 119:47 “I find pleasure in obeying Your commands.” How was it enjoyable to do what God tells you to do?

It’s enjoyable because I love God. I know what He’s done for me so I love Him and I want to obey Him. In marriage, the longer you live together, the more you know what offends and grieves your partner – your husband or wife. Am I right? The longer you’re married the more you figure out what will offend that person. Like blowing your nose at the dinner table or passing gas on the couch or leaving the seat up. You learn what offends your partner. But if you love that person, the longer you’re married the less you do those things because you don’t want to offend them or hurt them. You love them.

When you walk with the Lord through many years the more you realize what God has done for you, how good He’s been to you, the less you want to offend God. You enjoy doing the right thing. You enjoy keeping His commands. You do it because you love God.

Do you know how God measures your love? Not by what you say. (“I love You! I praise You!”) God measures your love by your obedience. By how well you follow directions. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” That’s how we prove our love. If you want the blessings of God in your life you obey Him immediately, completely, joyfully and...

Examine your heart and life this morning - is there genuine joy in your life when you obey the Lord? Do you serve with a heart of gratitude? I pray so.

Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #17: October 19, 2010

If you want God to do a new work in your life, renew your mind, restore your passion and revive your soul - if you want all the blessings of God in your life, you must also ...

#2. Obey Him completely!

Not just immediately but completely. You don’t say, “I’ll obey this command and not that one... I like this command but I don’t like that one... I’m going to follow this one but I’m not going to follow that one.” You need to not be partially obedient, but totally obedient. Psalm 119:4 says, “Lord, You gave Your orders to be obeyed completely.” In order to do this, to obey God completely, you need to understand two very important truths.

1. God’s standard of right and wrong has never changed. It never has. It never will. If something was wrong 6000 years ago it’s still wrong today. If it was right 10,000 years ago, it’s still right today. Lying was wrong in the Ten Commandments. It’s still wrong today. Truth doesn’t change. Culture changes, popular opinion changes. Lots of things change but truth does not change. It is eternal forever. And what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. Regardless of what the popular opinion polls say.

2. God has a bigger perspective than you. He sees things you can’t see. You trying to see from God's perspective would be like an ant trying to see from your perspective. It isn’t going to happen. You’re not capable of seeing it all like God sees it all. You need to trust Him. James 4:11 says “Your job is not to decide whether God's law is right or wrong, but to obey it.”

In 2 Kings, there is a story about a guy named Naaman. Naaman had leprosy. He went to Elisha and said, “I’m a very famous man but I’ve got leprosy. What do I do?” and Elisha said, “I’ll tell you what. Just to show your faith, God wants you to go down to the Jordan River and dunk yourself under it seven times.” Naaman says, “You’ve got to be kidding. It’s humiliating.” Elijah says, “Yes, it’s humbling yourself before God.” On the last time he comes up and he was cured of his leprosy. Was there special power in the water? Absolutely not. It was because he was obedient to God. He had faith. And he obeyed God completely.

Several years ago, a pastor friend of mine got this fax from one of his members. “Dear Pastor, in 1995 I opened up a video store as a side business. I decided to carry adult videos since they make up 35% of all rental revenues. But a couple years ago I began attending church. One day I told my wife, “How can I ask God to help our store if I don’t do what He wants. I’ve got to get rid of those adult videos.” My business partner said, “Are you crazy? We depend on that income.” But I knew we couldn’t expect God's blessing unless I obeyed Him so we got rid of them – all of them. The first weekend without the adult videos, something strange happened. I was flooded with new customers. And I didn’t now why. Then people told me that you told everybody to come in and rent a video just to support our decision. Boy, did they come. I had to call all of our employees in just to handle the crowds. I eventually closed that store but I haven’t forgotten that lesson about obeying God even when it doesn’t make sense. My life changed and I committed to doing whatever God wants.

Obey God immediately and completely. When we obey God's word like that, God knows we mean business. He sees we're serious about serving Him and following Him and His Spirit begins a new work in our heart. Will you decide today to obey God like this?
I pray so.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE.

"But Samuel replied: 'Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.'" 1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV)

DAY #16: October 18, 2010

The Bible is very clear. If you want a new mind, you do four things.

#1. Obey God Immediately!

Don’t delay. Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t put it off. Don’t make excuses. Don’t drag your feet. Just do it. You do it now. Don’t do it later. You do it now.

Psalm 119:32 says “I will quickly obey Your commands. ... Without delay I hurry to obey Your commands.” If there’s any time in life you really ought to hurry it’s when God tells you to do something. Don’t delay on that. You hurry. You obey God immediately whether you feel like it or not. Whether you understand it or not. Just do it immediately.

Can I say something that is so key here - You don’t have to understand something to benefit from it. You may say, what do you mean by that?
I don’t understand how heavy planes fly in the air but I fly all the time. I don’t understand how computers work but I sure like e-mail. I don’t understand internal combustion but I’ve driven a car for years. You don’t have to understand something to enjoy it, to benefit from it. And you don’t have to understand God's commands in order to obey them and benefit from them.

Every parent knows that you’ll tell a kid something sometimes and they’ll say, “Why should I do that?” and you say, “Because I said so.” Behind those five words you’re actually saying, “Because your little pea brain isn’t big enough to understand it and one day you’ll understand real reality but right now trust me. I know better than you. I’m doing this for your own good so you do it.” All of that is behind, “Because I say so.”

And God sometimes tells you to do something and you say, “Why?” and He says, “Because I say so. Because I know more than you. I don’t owe you an explanation. One day you’re going to understand. But now, just do it.” It is pretty audacious to question the creator of the universe, “Are You sure, God?” Some of you say, “What if I don’t have a good attitude?” Listen, you still obey. “You’re telling me to obey God with a bad attitude?” Absolutely. That’s far better than disobedience.

You parents, if you say, “Kids, I want you all to clean your room but you don’t have to do it until you have an enthusiastic attitude.” They’re never going to do it. You do it in spite of.

Question: What if God responded to your needs at the same speed in which you obey Him? When we get in trouble, we want God's help immediately. “God, I need You help now! I need it fast!” and God would say, “I’ll think about it. I'll get around to it one of these days. But right now I’m a little busy. I intend to help you but it will be awhile.”

If you want the blessings of God, all the ones I just read, if you want those in your life, you must obey God immediately. If you really want God to chnage the way you think and renew your mind and heart I must obey His word immediately.

DAY #15: October 17, 2010

Today we begin week #3 of our spiritual growth campaign - The ME I Want to Be. This weeks memory verse is Romans 12:2 (NIV)- "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

The New Living Translation of Romans 12:2 says this - "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."

The Message Bible says in Romans 12:2 - "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

What is all this leading up to? You? God's Word changes our mind, renews our resolve, refreshes our spirit and soul. We've got to read God's word, study God's word, memorize God's word, but most of all, we've got to obey God's word if it's going to change the way we think and live.

I’d like to read with you a passage that details a man who Jesus described as having the greatest faith he had ever seen. In Matthew 8:5-10 - “One day a Roman army officer came to Jesus and said, “I have a servant who’s very ill. In fact, he’s paralyzed and he’s suffering in bed.’ Jesus said, ‘I'll go to your house and heal him.’ And the Roman centurion said, ‘O Lord, You don’t need to do that. I understand authority and I’m not worthy for You to come to my house. But I know this obedience and authority thing. I’m a captain in the army. I give commands to my soldiers and they obey immediately. I make commands to my servants and they obey me immediately. They do whatever I tell them to do. So I understand authority and obedience. You don’t need to come to my house, Jesus. If You just say the word from right here I’m sure he’ll be healed instantly.’ Jesus looked at that man and said, ‘This is the greatest faith I’ve ever seen in Israel.’”

The greatest faith. Why? Because faith and obedience are interlocked. When you trust someone you do what they say. If you don’t do what someone tells you to do it means you don’t trust them. God has linked faith and obedience together so that all of the promises of God are conditioned upon you following the directions that He gives you.

Notice Deuteronomy 5:33 – it says “Follow all the directions the Lord has given you. Then life will go well for you.” That’s a great promise – a promise you can build your life and faith upon.How are you doing so far with the memory verses? Hang in there, stay at it – even if you have not followed through to this date, it is not to late to start – it is never to late.

I want you to know this morning, that God has made some incredible promises in His word about obedience. In fact, there were so many promises about obedience in God's word I couldn’t list them all. I just picked and chose a few of them. Notice what God promises if we obey Him.

God blesses those who obey Him.
God saves those who obey Him.
God watches over those who obey Him. The Lord
takes care of those who obey Him.
God helps those who obey Him.
He gives us what we ask for because we obey His commands.

The Bible says that if you follow God's directions you will be happy. You will live longer. You will lack nothing good and you will have all that you need. And guess what? That’s just 10 of the more than 7000 promises in the bible. Think about it, you could memorize a promise a week and it would take you 20+ years to get through them all. What would you’re faith look like if you claimed them all? If you knew them and trusted them? You could /would change the world!

Folks, I know that a lot of these commands, they don’t make sense from a human standpoint. But God says do it. It’s a matter of trust. It’s a matter of obedience! Obedience is a demonstration of faith. Obedience unlocks the key to all of God's blessings in life. God promises to reward you if you’ll just follow His directions.

As your pastor, I don’t want you to miss out on all the promises. I don’t want you to miss out that God will bless you and save you and watch over you and take care of you and help you and you’ll be happy and live longer and you’ll lack nothing and you’ll have what you need and you’ll have perfect freedom.

So this week, I want us to look at how to receive the promises of God. What you must do in order to appropriate all these things in your life. The Bible is very clear. You do four things -we'll look at those this week.

Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #14: October 16, 2010

How else do you finish well and build your faith?

#3. Resist all Discouragement

I know there are some of you who are discouraged.(I fight discouragement on a regular basis) Some of you may be discouraged about your health, about your finances, about your marriage. You may be discouraged about your children or your desire to get married, or your desire to have children or your desire to change jobs. You may be discouraged about your finances, a personal problem. Whatever you’re discouraged about I'm sorry. But as your pastor I need to be honest with you and tell you something - you have a choice. It’s your choice.

You are discouraged because you are choosing to be discouraged and that is your choice. Nobody’s holding a gun to your head. Nobody is forcing you to feel discouraged. Discouragement is always a choice just like any other attitude. If you’re feeling down, if you feel like quitting, if you feel like giving up it is because you’re choosing to think discouraged thoughts.

You don’t have to. In fact, the Bible says don’t do that. It says to do the opposite. It says fight the discouragement. Resist the discouragement. Move against in. Discouragement is Satan’s favorite tool in making you ineffective. If he can get you discouraged, you’re locked up. Forget it! You’re history.

I want us to look at the verse I shared with you yesterday - Galatians 6:9. “Let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”

Notice it says don’t get tired of doing what is right. How many of you get tired of doing what is right? Why? Because it is easier to do what is wrong. If doing what is wrong was hard, nobody would do it. It is easier to be undisciplined than disciplined. It is always easier to lie than to tell the truth. It is easier to be selfish than it is to be unselfish.

Notice what else the verse says - it says don’t get tired of doing what is right “for after a while (notice this phrase) we will reap a harvest of blessing” if we don’t give up. Why is this so key? God doesn’t always do what we want him to on our time table.

Habakkuk 2:3 (LB) says, "But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!"

So what do you do during or after that “after a while” time? When you’ve done the right thing but you haven’t seen the reward yet, what do you do in that after a while time. It says, “… keep on doing what is right.” You keep on doing the right thing. You Don’t give up. You do the right thing even when it seems like there’s no good out of it, no results out of it. Nothing is changing. You keep on going on.

One of the great tests of faith is how you handle the “after a while” time. When you’re doing the right thing and you don’t see the immediate reward , the immediate results. What do you do when you do the right thing for weeks, months, even years and nothing happens. Do you have a pity party and invite yourself? Do you start complaining? Do you start griping? Do you start saying, “Forget it! I'm going to give up. This isn’t worth it.”

The Bible says resist that discouragement. Folks, I’d be lying to you if I gave you the impression you could do this on your own – you can’t. I can’t. You have to plug into God’s power. Anybody who memorized Ephesians 3:20 knows this.


You may be in a situation right now where you’re thinking, “I can’t take it anymore! I’ve had it. I'm at the quitting point. I'm ready to throw in the towel. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm ready to give up. I can’t take it anymore.”

But you can. You can if you will you renew yourself every day. If you’re going to last over the long haul you must figure out how to recharge yourself - both physically and spiritually.

FIRST, you’ve got to learn daily physical renewal. Psalm 127:2 in the Living Bible says, “God wants His loved ones to get their proper rest.” Many of you are violating that. You know, the first part of this verse says, “It is stupid for you to get up so early and stay up so late for God wants His loved ones (His children) to get their proper rest.” Discouragement is a by product of being drained physically. Vince Lombardi said “Fatigue makes cowards of all of us.” When you’re tired you get discouraged. What’s the answer? REST! SLEEP! I went to the beach last Friday just for that.

The SECOND, you need daily spiritual renewal. 2 Corinthians 4:16 “This is why we never give up. Our spirits are being renewed every day.” How does that happen? The way you get spiritual renewal is by spending time with God. The secret of persistence, the secret of endurance, the secret of finishing what you start is spending time with God every day.

Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross!” Jesus had to face something far worse than you’re facing yet He didn’t give up. Why? He knew the reason and He knew the rewards. When you plug into His power you will have the power of persistence.

You need more than your own power to make it in life. You need God’s power. You need Jesus’ power. You need to depend on Him. You need to rely on Him. You need to trust in Him. You need to give yourselves completely to Him. That’s called faith.

My hope as your pastor is at the end of your life you will be able to stand before God in heaven and say to Him what the apostle Paul was able to say at the end of his life. “I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” That is my prayer, my desire, my wish for you. I pray we all will FINISH WELL!

I love you guys. Stay faithful Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #13: October 15, 2010

Continuing from yesterday... Do you want to finish well? The second thing you and I have to do is:

#2. Remember the Reward.

Remember the reward that God has out there in front of us. You cannot run the race well without an eye on the finish line. If you’re going to finish well in life you have to remind yourself why we do what we do. Otherwise you’re going to end up thinking, “Why even make the effort?”

The “why?” behind what you do determine shows how long you’re going to last in what you do. If the “why?” is immediate gratification, you’re going to last for five minutes. The only “why” behind what we do that makes us last all the way through life, through some of the tough things you have to face in life is the eternal reward that God will give to us.

So when you feel like giving up, when you feel like you’re not going to make it, sometimes the only thing that will get you through is to say to yourself “My faith will be rewarded.” In fact, that is so important I am going to ask you to write it down. My faith will be reward – I have to keep on. I can’t quit. I can’t give up!

1 Corinthians 9:25-26 in the Living Bible says “To win the contest you must deny yourself many things that would keep you from doing your best. We do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. A heavenly reward, personally rewarded by God.”

Think about this: if you’re having a tough day at work about the middle of the day what happens? You start thinking about the way you’re going to reward yourself on the way home. If you’re having a tough week you think at least there’s the weekend. I'm going to do something different on the weekend. If you’re having a tough year you start thinking, "At least I’ve got vacation.”

What do you do when you’re having a tough life? What do you do when the weekend isn’t long enough to help you make it through, there’s no vacation good enough to give you hope in life? There are many times in life when the only strength that’s big enough to help you make it through to know you can finish well, to encourage you in tough times is knowing that God has a reward that is out there for us personally given to us.

We look at ourselves sometimes and think, “Why can’t I get motivated today?” Sometimes the reason is you need a higher motivation. The next paycheck, the next business opportunity is not enough to motivate you any more. You need the motivation that can come only from the reward that God will give as we are faithful to Him. Not external motivation or internal motivation but the eternal motivation that keeps you going forever.

That’s one of the reasons during this spiritual growth campaign, The ME I Want to Be, we’re memorizing a different verse, a different promise, from God’s word each week. These promises help you have hope and faith in tough times.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.” Could any of you use this verse in your life? ABSOLUTELY! That’s a verse you can build your life on!

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #12: October 14, 2010

“Don’t allow fear of the unknown to cause you to miss out on what God wants to do through you. Worse than failure is living with the regret of never having stepped out in faith to pursue your vision.” Andy Stanley (from the book "God's Great Ambition.")

The goal of this spiritual growth campaign (The ME I Want to BE) has been to build your faith, stretch your faith, see your faith grow. So let me ask you - how is it going? What's going doing in you? What's the Holy Spirit inspiring you to do or change? I would love to hear a report - please email me an let me know what God is doing in you @ pastormike@covsanramon.org

Hebrews 12:1 says, “We have around us many people (talking about these lives in the Bible) whose lives tell us what faith means so let us run the race that is before us and never give up.”

I love that verse! You know why? It tells us that life is like a race, like a marathon. It’s not a sprint. So, stay in the race until the end – keep on keeping on. Endure, persevere. Unfortunately very few people finish the race of life well. We get discouraged, we get distracted, we get hurt, we get sidelined and very few people actually make it to the end of life finishing well. We give up. And we end our lives with unrealized dreams and unfulfilled potential.

We leave a lot of things in life unfinished. We start something and get tired, bored, distracted, whatever then we move to something else. Our lives are strewn with rubble of unfinished projects, unfulfilled commitments, unkept promises. Because we get discouraged.

If you’ve been discouraged over any issue in your life you’ve picked a good day to read this blog because we’re going to look at how to finish what you start even when you feel like giving up over the next few days. The Bible tells us there are four things you need to do if you want to finish the race of life well. The first thing is this:

#1. Remove any distractions.
Remove any distractions that keep you from running the race of life that God meant you to run. The rest of the verse, Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back.” He says remove anything that gets in the way, that keeps you from running your race.

What could distract you from your life mission? What could distract you from the purpose you were put on this earth to fulfill? I thought about that and came up with a few things. One, trying to be like other people will distract you. Another thing is making wealth the primary goal of your life. If wealth is the primary goal of your life obviously God’s purpose is not the primary goal and you are being distracted. Habits can distract you from finishing the race. The wrong kind of friends can distract you from what God put you on earth to do. Television. Good things can distract you. The Bible says remove those things.

I have found as I have worked with people over the years, the biggest distraction of all is our past. Our past keeps us from finishing the race. It loads you down. You continue to hold on to hurts from way back and you refuse to forgive and you keep on beating yourself up over some bad decision you made a while back. That’s a distraction.

Guess what? The apostle Paul had a lot of regrets. He had a lot to regret. Before he became a believer in Jesus Christ, he was a religious terrorist. He went around killing people who were Christians. But notice what he says in Philippians 3, “Forgetting the past (underline that) and looking forward to what lies ahead I strain to reach the end of the race.” He says I'm not going to let the things in my past keep me stuck.

You need to do that too. To be persistent in life, to finish what you start, you’ve got to focus on the future not worry and regret and guilt on the past. You’ve got to let go of grudges against other people. You’ve got to let go of guilt and you’ve got to let go of grief.

Would you pray today - "God, show me the things that are slowing me down. Show me the things that have become a distraction from being the man/woman you want me to be. Lord, give me the courage to remove that which is hindering my walk with you."

I love you guys. Put our memorry verse this week into your heart and mind.

"Give yourselves completley to God, every part of you. For you want to be tools in the hands of god, to be used for His good purposes." (I wrote that from memory)

DAY #11: October 13, 2010

If you were to specifically say to Jesus Christ, “I want a change in me, God. I don’t want to be the same. I want to be different,” what would He do?

#3. He will enable you to do what seems impossible.

He will enable you to do that which seems humanly impossible. Notice the third thing that Jesus says to this paralyzed man (Mark 2:10) “Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up! Take your mat and go on home. You’re healed.’ The man jumped up, took the mat, pushed his way through the stunned onlookers. They all praised God , ‘We’ve never seen anything like this before,’ they exclaimed.” I guess not!

Think about this. Jesus asked this guy to do the very thing he has been unable to do his entire life. Jesus could have asked him to do all kinds of different things but He asked this guy to do the one thing he had never ever done in his life. This man is an invalid. For life he’s been a shut in. He has been carried everywhere he’d ever gone in his entire life. There were no wheelchairs in those days. So everywhere this man had been in his life somebody had carried him. And Jesus looks at him and says, “I want you to stand up and take up your mat and get out of here! You’re healed.” Why in the world did Jesus do that? He asked him to do the impossible. Why? He wanted to stretch his faith.

Faith is not something you believe. No. Faith is something you do. Faith is not something you think about. It’s something you act on. Faith is not an opinion or a conviction or a philosophy. Faith is an activity. It is obeying God and doing what He says to do even if it seems impossible.

What is God asking you to do that looks impossible. God is testing your faith. “This is a test. Are you going to believe Me? Are you going to trust Me? Are you going to place your faith in Me.”

You have many areas in your life that you would like to change. These are areas under your control. But you’ve decided it’s too hard, or it’s impossible or it will never happened. I'm not talking about things out of your control. For instance, no matter how much you pray you’re never going to change your height. No matter how much you believe you’re not going to grow a foot. That’s in God’s control.

But there are many things in your life that are under your control that you’ve just decided are too hard. “I’ll never be able to do it.” It’s humanly impossible. So you say things like “I’ll never be able to break this habit... I’ll never be able to recover from that failure... I’ll never be able to start over... I’ll never be able to love again… I’ll never be able to find someone I can have a relationship with... I’ll never be able to be different... I'm not ever going to see my dream realized... I'm never going to become what I’ve always wanted to be… I can never forgive that person who hurt me.”

And you’re right. Because you are emotionally paralyzed. That’s why you need Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Without God it is utterly impossible but with God everything is possible.” Your greatest need is not for relief of your problems. Your greatest need is to see how big God really is, to understand the greatness and love and majesty and forgiveness of God. Because the more you understand how big and how loving God is the smaller your problems shrink in comparison.

The reason your problems look so big is you’ve got your eyes on your problems all the time. No wonder! But when you look at God and realize how great God is everything else shrinks in comparison. You realize, “This does seem impossible from my viewpoint but nothing is impossible with God. And if God asks me to do something, I had better do it in faith.”

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. See how BIG God is. Why don't you give it another shot to memorize the verse we have given you so far in the spiritual growth campaign.

Ephesians 3:20 (NCV)
"With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine."

Romans 6:13 (LB)
“Give yourselves completely to God, every part of you. For you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for His good purposes.”

DAY #10: October 12, 2010

If you were to specifically say to Jesus Christ, “I want a change in me, God. I don’t want to be the same. I want to be different,” what would He do?

#2. He will eliminate your guilt.

Notice the second thing Jesus says to this paralyzed man in Luke 5:20, “Then Jesus said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Time out! He didn’t come asking for forgiveness. He came for healing and Jesus looks at him and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” What’s going on?

This man was more interested in his external problems which is typical of human behavior. We always care more about the problems going on around us and the problems in our bodies than we do the problems in our souls. Jesus looks beneath the surface issue, He looks beneath the symptoms and He deals with the real issue. He looks beneath the effect and He deals with the cause. When Jesus works in your life, He always works on your heart first. He looks at this man and He saw that he was physically paralyzed but He knew that he had a hidden wound in his heart and he was emotionally paralyzed too.

This man was paralyzed by his past like many of you are. You can’t get on with the future because you’re stuck in the past either by guilt over things you’ve done to other people or resentment over things they’ve done to you. You’re stuck in the past and you can’t get on with the present and you’re certainly not going to move on into the future. So Jesus comes and deals with the real issue here. And He says “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Most of the world is dying to hear three words – You are forgiven. Everybody needs to hear these three words – you are forgiven. Why? Because we’ve all blown it. We’ve all messed up. We’ve all made mistakes. None of us is perfect. So we all need forgiveness.

Guilt is an incredibly paralyzing emotion. Probably the worst one of all. It paralyzes you. It robs you of your energy, your strength, your joy. It destroys relationships. No telling how many marriages have been destroyed by guilt or guilt manipulation.

And it harms your body. Our bodies weren’t meant to carry a load of guilt. Studies have shown that fifty percent of the people in hospital beds right now are there because of a stress related illness primarily for unresolved guilt or anger. I'm not saying that all sufferings is the cause of guilt. It is not. But a lot of it is.

You say, “Should a follower of Jesus Christ ever feel guilty?” Yes… for about ten seconds. That’s how long it takes to recognize you blew it, that you have sin in your life, confess it to God, admit it and say, “God, I want to change.” God doesn’t want you carrying around a load of guilt all the time. Some people actually think that the more guilt you carry, the more spiritual you are. No, you’re just more miserable. Jesus Christ came to relieve your guilt, to ease your fears and to eliminate your guilt. That’s what the cross is all about.

Here’s the truth. All of us have blown it. We’re all imperfect. I don't measure up to my own standards much less God’s. We all need to know how Jesus Christ forgives. And the Bible is very clear about that.

1. Jesus forgives me instantly.

In Isaiah 55:7- “God is merciful and quick to forgive.” [Notice “quick”] God’s quick to forgive. It doesn’t say, “I want you to suffer a little while.” That’s the way I like to forgive but that’s not the way God forgives. If someone hurts me I don’t want to instantly tell them it’s ok. They’re forgiven. I want them to suffer, I want them to feel it, I want them to grovel a little bit. But Jesus never makes us wait. He never delays. He never says, “I’ll think about it.” The moment you ask for forgiveness, it’s instant. What a deal!

2. Jesus forgives you completely

Completely. That means every sin in your life. Notice this verse in Colossians 2 “He has forgiven all your sins [circle “all”], He has utterly wiped out the evidence [circle ”wiped out”] of broken commandments which always hung over our heads and He has completely annulled [circle “annulled”] it by nailing it to the cross.” Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and your sins were nailed to the cross with Him so you can stop nailing yourself to the cross. It’s forgiven. And it’s instant and it’s complete.


3. He forgives us freely.

In other words, you’ll never be able to earn it. You’ll never be able to deserve it. God’s forgiveness is a gift.

Notice this verse in Romans 3 “God says He will accept us and acquit us and declare us not guilty if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sin no matter who we are or what we’ve been like.” I love that in the Living Bible – the last phrase – “no matter who we are or what we’ve been like.” That includes all of us. It’s free.

Did you notice when Jesus looked at this guy He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus called him a friend. I don't care what you’ve done in your life Jesus Christ wants to be your friend. He wants to have a relationship with you because that’s what you were put on earth for. You were made to have a relationship with God. If you miss that, you miss the purpose of your life. The purpose of your life is not to make a lot of money, retire and die and that’s it. The purpose of your life is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. God wants a relationship with you. He wants to be your friend. And He wants you to be His friend no matter what you’ve done.

Jesus Christ looks at this man who’s physically paralyzed and He sees a deeper wound. He’s got an emotional paralysis too. It’s guilt. Jesus didn’t minimize the guilt – “It’s no big deal,” because it is a big deal when you sin. He didn’t minimize it. He eliminated it. He wiped it out. Remember Etch-A-Sketch – you do it, shake it upside down and it’s gone. It’s like starting over. This is the etch-a-sketch verse of the Bible.

Why don't you thank God today for this great gift - the gift of forgiveness. BTW, is there anybody in your life you need to forgive? You can not flourish with an unforgiving spirit.