Sunday, May 31, 2009

Mountains out of Molehills - Exodus 4:1-5

Title - God makes mountains out of molehills!
Date - May 31, 2009
Text - Ex 4:1-5

Introduction

- We often have a low estimation of what God could do with our lives
- We do not recognize the gifts he has given us
- And I am not even necessarily talking about our spiritual gifts
- “Margaret Storm Jameson, the English author, once expressed the view that we all spend too much time living in the past, feeling regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done.
- “Even when our minds turn to the future, she said, we spend an inordinate amount of time longing for it or dreading it.
- "The only way to live," she said, "is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle . . .
- “Work at your work. Play at your play. Shed your tears. Enjoy your laughter. Now is the time of your life." - Bits and Pieces, July, 1991
- Exodus 4:1-4
- God was telling Moses personally he was sending him to lead 6 million people out of slavery
- What an awesome task!
- But Moses did not feel adequate to the job
- He continued to come up with excuses even after God provided answers to each one, and eventually God even got angry at him!
- Moses had to learn that God could use anything for his glory

What are our abilities?

- God says to Moses, what’s that in your hand
- Moses has to say, a rod
- A rod identified Moses
- It meant he was a shepherd, who went around the desert with a bunch of smelly animals
- It meant he had a profession, even if it was lowly
- It meant he married a shepherd girl, Zipporah
- I am sure that Moses did not see his job as the ultimate in job satisfaction
- But it paid the bills, and under the circumstances, it kept him under the radar of the Egyptian FBI
- He used to be the heir-apparent of Egypt
- But his identity was now symbolized by that shepherd’s rod
- God said, what is that in your hand
- So what is in our hand?
- What are the abilities we have right now?
- Not, what did we used to be able to do, or what could we become with a lot of hard work
- God says what do you have in your hand, right now
- Right now, what you have in you hand is that you are clean and sober
- Right now, you have friendships and relationships with brothers and sisters who are making the journey with you
- Right now, you are learning perseverance, putting down the desires of the flesh and aligning yourself with God’s will and purpose
- These are your present abilities

Does God care about our past?

- For Moses, the rod also represented a former identity
- It represented times gone by, times of success
- The shepherd’s rod reminded him of the scepter he used to wield as the prince of Egypt, educated in the ways of the court
- He had been the general of Egypt’s armies and had waged a major and successful campaign against Ethiopia
- The scepter reminded him that he had all kinds of abilities
- His disability was, that that was no longer his identity
- He now had a shepherd’s staff
- What was in our past?
- We may have used to be very successful in our life before we were humbled by our addictions
- We may have used to be a top chef, or a successful carpenter, or maybe we used to teach at college, or we used to pastor a church, or lead a small group
- Our problem is that that was in the past. It is no longer in our present
- We have moved on in life, to places we wish we had never gone
- Our addictions have brought us down, and we feel we are no longer able to be of any value to anyone
- God says to us, what is that in your hand? He does not ask what it used to represent
- He does not ask, where have you come from, what have your past achievements been
- God asks what is that in your hand, today

What can God do with our present abilities?

- God was not ignoring Moses’ ability to lead people, his dedication to a task, his being educated in the court of Pharaoh
- God had a plan for Moses which would involve all his past experience
- But first of all, Moses had to focus on his present abilities, where he was right now
- Right now he was a lowly shepherd
- Isa 66:2 - This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
- 1 Cor 1:27-29 - But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are,
- 29 so that no one may boast before him
- Eph 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
- 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
- God is able to use the little ability we may have, and use it in a big way
- Remember the lady in Elijah’s day, who had a little cruze of oil
- God was able to multiply it
- God was only limited by the number of jars she brought to be filled
- The only limitation on what God can do through us, is the limitation we set on him
- Moses could not see beyond the shepherd’s rod in his hand
- But God had a bigger plan for him, to be the shepherd for a whole nation of ex-slaves
- The journey starts with being humble and recognizing our own inability to do anything hugely worthwhile
- Even Jesus said, “By mysef I can do nothing” – Jn 5:30
- He tells us in John 15:5 - “apart from me you can do nothing“
- It is only as we submit what we have in the present to Him, that he can make something useful out of it
- But when we do, there is no limit to what he can do

Conclusion

- As we consider where our life may be going, don’t focus on the past, whether good or bad
- Also, don’t be all focused on the future
- There is a place for planning and preparation and goals
- But keep your focus on the present, where you are today
- God is asking you, what do you have in your hand, right now
- This is what he wants to use, for his glory
- He will make it work, he will multiply the effect and impact
- He will make your life worthwhile
- Trust God that he will do it
- Zech 4:6 – 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Facing Your Giants - 1 Samuel 17:28-50

Title: Facing your giants
Date: May 21, 2009
Text: 1 Samuel 17:28-50
Introduction
- In 19467 San Francisco's Potrero Hill was a real ghetto.
- That year was the year Oren was born.
- Rickets, a poverty-related disease actually caused by malnutrition, was Oren's major problem.
- His vitamin-mineral deficient diet caused his bones to soften. His legs began to bow under the weight of his growing body.
- Even though the family was too poor to afford braces, Oren's mom refused to sit back, sigh, and resign herself to the inevitable.
- She rolled up her sleeves and took charge. She rigged up a homemade contraption in hopes of correcting her son's pigeon-toed, bowlegged condition.
- How? By reversing his shoes! Right shoe, left foot; left shoe, right foot; plus an improvised metal bar across the shoe tops to keep his feet pointing straight.
- It didn't work perfectly, but it was good enough to keep the boy on his feet and ultimately able to play with his buddies.
- By the time he was about six years of age, his bones had hardened, his legs were still slightly bowed, his calves were unusually thin, and his head was disproportionately large.
- Nicknames from other kids followed him around: "Pencil-legs," "Waterhead"; but he refused to let all that hold him back.
- He compensated by acting tough. Street gangs on Potrero Hill were common: the Gladiators, Sheiks, Roman Gents, Persian Warriors.
- By age thirteen Oren had fought and won his way to being president of the Gladiators.
- For all the fighting, he was arrested only three times; that was the crowning achievement of his early youth.
- Those who don't know his background could easily think he got all the breaks. As they look at him today and see this fine and refined gentleman, they would assume he's always been wealthy.
- He lives in the exclusive Brentwood district of Los Angeles, drives a luxurious car, and has his elegant office in an elite bank building.
- He is now a busy executive with his own production company.
- He personally handles most of his own financial affairs and business negotiations.
- He has contracts with the media and various entertainment firms and agencies.
- In today's terms, Oren has it made. That plush office with the name on the door belongs to Orenthal James Simpson. Yes, none other than O.J. Simpson
- We all have obstacles to face
- Some will be large, some will be small
- But if we want to win, we will have to face them
- David had to face a giant
- 1 Sam 17:28-50
There is a time to face our giants
- Verse 28-32
- David starts this day like any other
- He gets up in the morning the same as he always does
- Little does he know that this day he is going to be facing the biggest crisis of his life
- Giants are like that, they pop up when we least expect them
- David’s brothers have been gone from home for 40 days, in Saul’s army
- Jesse sends David, the youngest son to see how they are doing, they didn’t have the 10 o’clock news back then
- David reaches his brothers and starts talking with them
- Suddenly, the giant Goliath comes out and mocks the Israelite army
- Davids day just changed
- Suddenly he is faced with a situation
- He has no idea how to deal with it
- But he knows he must act
- This moment did not come by accident
- We need to understand that giants don’t just show up; their appearance is well timed.
- From our perspective, they just appear. But, from God’s perspective, they are all part of His perfect plan for us.
- If we could ever grasp the truth that nothing comes our way apart from the will of God, it would change our attitude toward the giants of life.
- Rom. 8:28, Psa. 37:23
- Recognize that God is in control of your life
- He knows what is happening, and he either caused it, or allowed it to happen
- So we are not standing alone in this situation
There is a time to trust our God
- Verse 33-39
- When we recognize that God is in charge, we can also allow him to work the situation out
- David had experienced God’s taking care of him a number of times
- He had fought a lion and a bear and had won
- He could look back at his experience and see that God had been in control of those situations
- David knew God was backing him up and he could trust God to come through
- He did not trust in armour or all kinds of defensive manoevering
- He trusted that God was going to fight his battle
- Remember, God did not save you for some giant to destroy
- Phil 1:6
- 2 Tim 1:12
- God is able to take you through your trial, whatever it may be
- God is not going to change his mind halfway through and give up on you or leave you to your own devices
- God is a God who does not change
- Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8
- God has the power to part the Red Sea, to multiply the loaves and fishes, to raise Lazarus from the dead, to heal the blind and the lame and the epileptic
- He can also take care of your situation, however big it may seem to you
There is a time to take the giant
- verse 40-50
- There is a time when our talking needs to stop and we take action
- We may be able to quote verses from the Bible, but it is when we step out in faith and trust, that put our money where our mouth is
- We talk about God providing for us and we may quote Phil 4:19
- We talk about God be ing in control and quote Rom 8:28
- But there comes a moment when action is required
- David did this by
- Placing his trust in God
- Believing that he can do everything he has ever done
- Then he marched into the valley, faced his giant, and started slinging his rocks
- David took more than one stone
- He was determined not to give up
- If the first one did not work, the next one would
Conclusion
- God created us to be giant-killers
- Gods intention for us is that we overcome the enemy
- Jesus went before us and conquered the enemy, we too do battle with him
- And Gods purpose is that we win
- The giant may be our addiction, or our anxiety, or our depression
- Maybe our giant is our lack of trust
- Ultimately it is about going out there and doing battle, trusting that God will make up for our deficiencies
- Luke 12:32

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Search for Contentment - 1 Timothy 6:1-10

Title: Search for contentment
Date: May 12, 2009
Text: 1 Timothy 6:1-10

Introduction
- Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat.
- "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked.
- "Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman.
- "Why don't you catch more fish than you need?' the rich man asked.
- "What would I do with them?"
- "You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish.
- You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me."
- The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?"
"You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist.
- "What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.
- Today we are going to talk about the subject of contentment
- Timothy was a young man when Paul asked him to join him in his missions work
- Eventually, Timothy was appointed the pastor of the church in Ephesus
- Paul wrote down some pointers for Timothy to remember, while taking care of the church
Contentment with our job (1 Tim 1-2)

- People who got into debt, could go into slavery to pay off that debt
- This does not mean they would be a slave forever, when the debt was paid off, they would be released
- You could buy a slave out of their slavery
- This was called redeeming the slave
- As a slave, you could have a good boss or a bad one
- If you have a bad boss, Paul says to still respect him, so that God’s name would not be slandered
- Ultimately, we have a higher boss, than our employer
- The way we work reflects on our Christian reputation
- When we work, we are really working for our higher boss, God
- Col 3:22
- Eph 6:6
- Paul’s point in these verses is to say that we should be working as though we are working for God
- We are known to be Christians
- Our behavior as an employee should not bring disrepute on Jesus
- You might be the only real Christian your boss has ever met, and how you treat your boss, how you do your job, and how you interact with your co-workers all communicate your commitment to Jesus Christ
- Paul also says that if we work for a good boss, a Christian, we should really work even harder for them, not taking advantage of their Christianity
- Sometimes people are slower to pay their bills to Christian suppliers or contractors, taking advantage of their Christian relationship
- Only, when we take advantage of them, we are not being Christian
- This is not God’s way
- There are lots of Christian business owners who prefer to not hire fellow Christians.
- The reason is that often a Christian employee thinks that he or she doesn’t have to work as hard, that they’ll get special breaks because they share a common faith with the boss
- In our employment relationships, do everything in a way that would please God

Contentment with our faith (3-5)

- There are genuine Christians who’ve grown dissatisfied with his or her Christian faith.
- I don’t mean that we should be content with who we are, we should always be growing as Christians
- “Be content with what you have, never with what you are”
- But we can become complacent in our faith
- This happens especially with people raised in Christian homes, people who’ve heard all the Bible stories since they were preschoolers.
- They’ve heard dozens of sermons on every Christian theme. For many of these people, familiarity has bred contempt.
- To spice things up, they can get all twiggy
- Instead of sticking with the trunk of the tree, they go off on the twigs, the non-essentials
- They develop their own pet theories about things, instead of sticking to the main message of Christianity
- Be content with what God is teaching you
- If it does not appear exciting, any more, ask God to give you back your first love
- Rev 2:4-5
- When we go off on interesting tangents and doctrines, we are ripe for being sidetracked into cultic ideas, and can lose out on what God is doing in our lives
- This can also lead to us losing focus entirely, and doing our ministry for the sake of profit
- Stick to the trunk of the tree

Contentment with our income 6-10

- Here Paul is telling that we should be satisfied with what God has given us
- Take care of it, maintain it, be thankful for it
- God is intimately involved in our life, he knows all that is happening to us
- He desires us to learn to trust him, and so we go through times when we may not be as well off as we would like
- But these times will probably be followed by times of blessing
- Prov 30:8-9
- "Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor." - Benjamin Franklin
- I heard about a rich man who was determined to take his wealth with him (Russell 88). He told his wife to get all his money together, put it in a sack, and then hang the sack from the rafters in the attic. He said, "When my spirit is caught up to heaven, I’ll grab the sack on my way." Well he eventually died, and the woman raced to the attic, only to find the money still there. She said, "I knew I should’ve put the sack in the basement."
- It’s been said, "Money will buy you a bed but not sleep. It will buy you books but not intelligence, food but not an appetite, a house but not a home, medicine but not health, amusement but not happiness, religion but not salvation--[money will buy you] a passport to anywhere in the world except to heaven."
- What’s most important in your today? Is it the value of your stocks or the kind of car you drive? Is it the amount of money you spend on your kids at Christmas?
- Or is it the quality of your relationships? Is it knowing that God loves you deeply and has rescued you from sin by bringing you to Jesus? What is most important?

Saturday, May 9, 2009

The Role of a Mother - Luke 2:39-52

The Role of a Mother
Date: May 9, 2009
Text: Luke 2:39-52

Introduction
- Mother’s Day is a day we remember our mothers
- This may be a happy day for us, or it may have some sadder overtones to it
- Your mother may have passed away, and you miss her
- You may have bad memories of your mother - the Bible records a few of those
- You may have longed to be a mother and were not able
- Maybe you are a mother but are not able to have contact with your children
- So we may have different perceptions on this day
- This sermon today is not just for the ladies in our program, but also for the guys
- We are going to examine some of the roles that mothers play
- “For the hand that rocks the cradle, Is the hand that rules the world” - William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)
Women in the Bible
- Miriam who led the people in praising God after the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 15:21),
- Ruth who put God first and became the ancestress of King David (Ruth 1:16;4:17),
- Deborah, a judge in Israel (Judges 5), who was known as a “mother in Israel”
- Hannah who 'lent to the Lord' the child of her prayers (1Sam 1:28),
- Esther who took her life in her hands to plead for her doomed people,
- The widow whose obedience sustained the prophet Elijah (1Kings 17:9-16),
- The captive maid who told Naaman's wife of the man of God who could cure Naaman of his leprosy (2Kings 5:2-4),
- The woman who anointed Jesus with the expensive ointment (Mk14:3),
- The poor widow's gift of two mites which won Jesus' praise (Mk 12:43),
- Mary who gave birth to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Luke 1:28),
- Martha who served and Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42),
- Mary Magdalene who brought spices to anoint Jesus, who first greeted the risen Lord and who received the first commission -'Go tell' (Jn 20:17-18; Mk 16:9),
- Lydia one of the first converts in Macedonia (Acts 16:14),
- Dorcas - full of good works (Acts 9:36),
- Phebe & Priscilla - servants of the church (Ro 16:1-4),
- Lois and Eunice who had sincere faith (2Tim 1:5),
- Persis 'the beloved' and Tryphena and Tryphosa who laboured for the Lord (Romans 16:12).
Women are equal with men
- Many of these women were women of responsibility
- Women in the Bible were not incapable, or second-rate citizens
- They led the nation, they brought their children up to be God-fearing adults, they showed great courage, they taught the Word, they exercised faith, they served the church and the people around them
- Down thru history, women have been relegated to the back seat
- Christianity has lifted women to equality with men
- Jesus honored women in his teachings
- Women were not playthings to be disposed of or divorced when a man tired of them – marriage is for life
- Paul tells us in Gal 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Lord Shaftesbury - 'Give me a generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change the whole face of society in twelve months.'
- Women have a profound influence on the course of history, through the way in which they raise their children
-
The role of the mother
- The influence of a mother in her home upon the lives of her children cannot be measured.
- The mother-infant bond is an intense relationship of unparalleled human affection.
- It is the foundation of the child's emotional and physical survival.
- Psychologists say that the bonding of baby with mother in the first few minutes of life is vital for the stability of the child and that that bonding through childhood has greater importance than the input the father has at that time.
- The mother provides an atmosphere of protection and care
- The mother teaches the young child skills it needs as it grows up
- The mother is usually more accessible to the child and the one to whom it will go when faced with hurt or danger or uncertainty
- As the young child is developing, the mother’s role is totally important
The role of the father
- This does not mean the dad’s role is unimportant
- When the child reaches adolescence the mother's role diminishes and the father’s role becomes vitally important.
- He helps to affirm his son in his manhood, in a type of informal initiation.
- The Jewish culture places importance on the Bar-mitzva
- But the father 's role with his daughter is also of great importance as the adolescent girl grows up.
- She desperately needs to hear from her father that she is attractive and capable.
- She trusts her dad and it is essential that the dad affirms and values and protects his daughter
- When daughters have not had this male affirmation, they will seek it elsewhere, and this can have disastrous consequences
- God’s intention is that both the father and the mother work together in the upbringing of their children

The mother’s role can be painful
- Part of the role of a mother is to nurture the young child during its early years
- During this time the child needs the close bond that exists between a mother and her child
- The mother provides the protective environment the child needs in which to grow up
- As the child grows up, it starts to develop in its independence
- The father is more important in helping the adolescent child grow up into adulthood
- As the child grows up and eventually leaves home, the mother wants to keep that bond with her child intact
- This is why it is so painful for mothers when their children leave the nest
- Our children have been lent to us for just a short time, then they will go and start a family of their own
The single parent family
- Now not all of us have a marriage where both partners are present, where the child grows up with both a mom and dad
- Where the father is not present, the mother has to play both roles
- She has had to be there for the child, usually at the same time as holding down a job to provide for the family
- She nurtures and has to be there for the child, whatever things may happen
- As the child grows up and becomes an adolescent, she now needs to add to her mother role, that of the father as well
- She has to teach the child to stand on its own two feet, to be responsible and become an adult
- This involves a letting go of the reins
- It is an enormous challenge to be a single parent
- It can be done, but it requires enormous wisdom to help our children grow up to be dependable, responsible adults.
A Mother’s Creed


A Mother’s Creed
- I will worry less about my children and trust God more.
- I will commit them into the Lord's care
- I will love my children unconditionally and let them know I do.
- I will believe in them constantly and encourage them often.
- I will pray for them daily.
- I will teach them responsibility for their own actions.
- I will try to be an example of godliness, but I will be unafraid to let them see my faults.
- I will give them generous doses of laughter, interspersed with fun.
- I will release them when they are grown but they will always be my own.
A MOTHERS' DAY CREED
- I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary.
- I believe in the love Mary gave her Son, that caused her to follow him in his ministry and stand by his cross as he died.
- I believe in the love of all mothers, and its importance in the lives of the children they bear.
- It is stronger than steel, softer than down, and more resilient than a green sapling on the hillside.
- It closes wounds, melts disappointments, and enables the weakest child to stand tall and straight in the fields of adversity.
- I believe that this love, even at its best, is only the shadow love of God, a dark reflection of all that we expect of him in this life and the next.
- And I believe that one of the most beautiful sights in the world is a mother who lets this greater love flow through her to her child, blessing the world with the tenderness of her touch and the tears of her joy.
- Thank God for mothers, and thank mothers for helping us understand God!