Do you trust your heart?
How many of you have ever based decisions on what your heart tells you to do? "I'm going to go with my heart on that one". Or maybe you said you had a "gut feeling" about it?
Let’s turn to Matthew 26:31-35
“Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.”
Do you think Peter was lying to Jesus when he said he would not deny him?
Peter truly thought that he would never deny Jesus. He probably felt it in his heart. But when the time actually came, Peter's strength and resolve disappeared. What happened?
Do any of us really want to sin? Do we wake up in the morning and say "today would be a good day to sin against God." I hope not.
We begin each day with good intentions, right? We know in our hearts that we do not want to sin. What happens?
Here's the problem. We're putting all our trust in our heart, but our heart is deceptively evil.
Jeremiah 17:9 teaches us "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick."
Let's go back to that night in the Book of Matthew. Jesus and the apostles Peter, John and James went up to Gethsemane so Jesus could pray. Jesus asked the three men to keep watch while he prayed. Do you think any of those three men desired to fall asleep? Do you think that in their hearts they believed they would obey Jesus? The three apostles were deceived by their hearts. They fell asleep. Not once, but twice!
I believe in my heart that all of us in this room have good intentions. But I know in my head that under the right circumstances, all of us will fall into sin. All of us will be betrayed by our hearts.
Does that mean we can never trust our hearts? Not at all. But what it does mean is that without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are not reliable to lead us towards what will honor God. The Spirit will guide our hearts, but only if we listen.
We've all done something bad that we've regretted later. At that moment when we fell, we knew it was wrong. We knew we should not do it. That knowledge of good and evil is the Spirit within us guiding us. Unfortunately, our sinful nature can sometimes shout a lot louder and convince us to ignore what the Spirit is telling us.
The Spirit doesn't always speak to us in a loud voice. Most of the time it's a soft whisper. A little nudge. We give it a lot of names. Intuition. Gut feeling. Wisdom. But all of those names imply that it is our own doing. But it isn't. It isn't us, it's the Spirit within us.
We are born into sin. Unbelievers have no choice but to sin. The Spirit does not dwell in their hearts and they will be deceived into an eternal life in hell.
But when we are saved, that changes. When we are born again and receive the gift of eternal salvation by faith alone in Christ we now have the ability not to sin. We still have the ability to sin, but we have the Spirit within us guiding us towards the sinless life. If we listen.
So what can we do to make the Spirit's voice in our hearts louder than our sinner's voice? We feed it. We feed the Spirit and starve the flesh.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 ESV)
How do we feed the Spirit?
We pray. We attend church regularly. We attend home fellowships.
These are all good things, but it really isn't enough. To truly feed our Spirits we must study our Bibles every day. Not just read the Bible, but study it. Meditate on the verses. If you are doing a daily reading plan, read through the passage once, then read through it and find any parts that jump out at you and pray about those verses and how you might apply them to your life. Or maybe you found a verse that you don't understand. First write down what you think it means, and then check it against a good study Bible. (You MUST have a study bible! If you don't have one, you can always look up the verses on line, but unless you know which sites to trust, you can find yourself the victim of false teaching.)
Find out what the meaning is behind the verses so you can understand them. You can't apply Scripture to your life if you don't understand it.
Everything that lives on this earth must be fed to survive. Feed your spirit a healthy diet of God’s Word and watch it grow.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Faith and Obedience
Last time I spoke with you I shared how we were handling a cancer scare with Marissa. The main emotion we were dealing with at that time was anxiety and fear of the unknown. I shared with you how we turned to prayer and Scripture for reassurance during our times of trial.
I am happy to report that the cancer was benign and we did indeed rise up after that experience stronger in our faith and thankful for our blessings. The blessings have continued to flow, but so have the trials. Recently I got laid off from work. Again. Since we got married 3 ½ years ago, this is the 4th time I’ve gotten laid off. Note to any youth out there. Avoid careers in the construction industry.
Since I’ve had a little extra time on my hands, one of the blessings I’ve enjoyed is some quiet time early in the morning to study Scripture. Each morning I get up about 6:30, pour myself a nice hot cup of coffee, grab my study Bible and sit outside on our cozy little porch.
In the past I’ve spent most of my study time reading books of the New Testament. So I decided that this would be a good time to get familiar with Old Testament writings. Two Books in particular have provided some great insight into the trials we are currently experiencing, and I’d like to share them with you tonight.
In the Book of Genesis, I was studying the story of Noah and the Ark.
What if we were asked by God to build an ark? Can you imagine what it must have been like to be assigned that project? We’re talking a boat that is about the size of Qualcomm stadium. 1 ½ football fields long x half a football field wide and 4 stories tall.
I wonder what those next moments were like after Noah received the instructions from God and the logistics of the task began to set in. I can imagine what would have been going through my head.
Let’s look first at the materials. There weren’t any Home Depots back then, so we’re going to have to work from scratch. By my amateur estimates we’re looking at cutting down about 2,000 trees to produce about 30 to 40,000 pieces of milled lumber.
Now let’s look at the labor pool. We’ve got me and my three sons. Really God? Do you know how long this is going to take us? This is going to take like a hundred years!
OK, let’s assume we get this boat built. What about the animals you speak of LORD? How are we going to catch all of those animals? That crazy Australian guy got taken out by a fish. How are me and my three sons going to bring in lions and tigers and bears? (oh my!)
And then assuming we catch all those critters, how are we going to get them into the boat? I can’t get my dog to come when I call him without dangling a piece of bacon in front of him. I’m going to need a LOT of bacon LORD!
What about food? We’re going to be on that boat for a long time, we’re going to need a ton of food. And that’s just for my son Ham. He eats like a horse. What about all those animals? Some of them are meat eaters. How are we going to keep them from eating each other … or us???
And who’s going to clean up all that poop????
Clearly, the logistics of such an undertaking would overwhelm us before we even began. We’d be paralyzed by the how-to’s. When we’re faced with obstacles in our lives, it’s easy to get bogged down. Paralyzed. Defeated before we begin.
God gave Noah directions for building the ark. God didn’t burden him with all of the other details, so Noah didn’t waste time worrying about them. Noah didn’t get paralyzed. He didn’t get overwhelmed. He obeyed God.
Noah shouted out to his family “Japheth, Shem, Ham, grab an axe boys. We got some work to do!”
Noah had faith and trusted God to handle the details that were beyond his ability.
Faith and obedience.
I am unemployed. I could easily get caught up in what happens if my unemployment runs out before I find work? What happens if my truck breaks down? How am I going to take care of my family if we’re homeless? Will I ever eat Cinnabuns again? I can easily lapse into despair.
But just like all of the other trials we’ve encountered in our short time together, Marissa and I have faith that God will provide for us. Our needs will be met. We don’t need to worry about those things we can not control. That frees us up to focus on what we can control.
We strive to keep our faith and to be obedient to God. I try to not get overwhelmed with all the details. I try not to stress over those details I can’t control (like the economy). I try to be a good steward of the extra time with my family that God blessed me with. We rely on faith and obedience to keep our home a place where God is revered above all else. We strive for faith and obedience to make sure we are presenting a testimony to others that is pleasing to God.
The worse thing we can do is to take God out of the picture and try to move forward on our own power. To have faith without obedience is like a clanging gong. We’re just making noise. It doesn’t work. The minute we lose focus and drift off course, God wastes no time in letting us know.
Over the years, we’ve been frequently blessed by the kindness and charity of friends and family. This brings me to the other Book of the Old Testament I enjoyed reading. The book of Ruth.
Naomi and Ruth returned to Judah as two widows without any means of support for themselves. Without husbands to provide for them, they had to rely on the charity of others. Upon entering the land of Judah, Naomi sends Ruth out to glean from the fields owned by a relative named Boaz.
Gleaning was first mentioned in the Book of Leviticus chapter 19, verses 9 and 10:
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner”
Gleaning was the earliest form of welfare. The farmers set aside a portion of their harvest for the sustenance of the poor. The big difference between gleaning and modern-day welfare was that with gleaning you gathered up the left-over harvest. The farmer didn’t deliver it to your door. You had to make the effort.
Naomi didn’t arrive in Judah and head straight for the Gleaning Department, fill out some forms and then wait on the groceries to be delivered. She sent out Ruth to gather the harvest. It was a humble and yet honorable way to receive charity. The poor were more than willing to labor in the field to gather the harvest.
I believe that God wants to see us make an effort. I’m not saying living a life of works to earn His blessings and his grace. Those are free gifts of God that we could never earn by our efforts. But I do believe it pleases him when we are obedient to His Word and demonstrate our faith to God in tangible ways. It’s all part of the sanctification process. It’s all part of having faith and being obedient.
When the Israelites crossed the river Jordan after 40 years in the desert, God spoke through Moses and told them that He was going to hand over all the land to them as just as He had promised Abraham. God led the Israelites into battles against armies larger and more powerful then they were, and yet the opposition fell. However, the Israelites had to fight the fight. God could have caused plagues over the lands and allowed the Israelites to just walk on in and take over. But he didn’t. He wanted to see their faith. He wanted to see their obedience. And I believe He still wants to see that from us today.
When I was in Jr. High I remember a girl was running for class president. Everyone who was running for office made posters asking people to vote for them and posted them all over the school grounds. This one girl did not put up any posters. Someone asked her why she wasn’t promoting herself. She said that if it was God’s will for her to be class president she would be elected. She didn’t make an effort. She didn’t get elected.
Even though it would be over 30 years from that day before I came to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I remember thinking way back then that she must be missing something. Her approach seemed to be lazy and apathetic. Today it makes perfect sense to me. She had faith but lacked obedience. She didn’t take her sword into battle, so why should she win the war?
Faith and obedience are not separate options. Obedience is an outward sign of our inward faith. When we have faith in God, obedience naturally grows to fulfill our heart-felt desire to please God.
Obedience without faith may make us a good citizen, but it does not save us. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that “For by grace you have been saved by faith: and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”
We can’t just pray for rain and sit waiting for it to happen. We must pray for rain and then prepare our fields to receive it, knowing that the rain will come. That’s faith and obedience.
So how do we apply this knowledge and practice of faith and obedience to trials we face?
Our human nature tempts us to withdraw from our circumstances when we face trials. To withdraw from our ministries. To cut back on our tithing. To put our needs before others. But that isn’t being obedient to the Lord. That isn’t having faith that He will provide for our needs. We over come our trials by practicing faith and obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)
Our GOD is a loving God full of grace and wanting nothing but the best for us. We must have faith that our LORD will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and obedience to make the journey if that’s where He wants us.
I am happy to report that the cancer was benign and we did indeed rise up after that experience stronger in our faith and thankful for our blessings. The blessings have continued to flow, but so have the trials. Recently I got laid off from work. Again. Since we got married 3 ½ years ago, this is the 4th time I’ve gotten laid off. Note to any youth out there. Avoid careers in the construction industry.
Since I’ve had a little extra time on my hands, one of the blessings I’ve enjoyed is some quiet time early in the morning to study Scripture. Each morning I get up about 6:30, pour myself a nice hot cup of coffee, grab my study Bible and sit outside on our cozy little porch.
In the past I’ve spent most of my study time reading books of the New Testament. So I decided that this would be a good time to get familiar with Old Testament writings. Two Books in particular have provided some great insight into the trials we are currently experiencing, and I’d like to share them with you tonight.
In the Book of Genesis, I was studying the story of Noah and the Ark.
What if we were asked by God to build an ark? Can you imagine what it must have been like to be assigned that project? We’re talking a boat that is about the size of Qualcomm stadium. 1 ½ football fields long x half a football field wide and 4 stories tall.
I wonder what those next moments were like after Noah received the instructions from God and the logistics of the task began to set in. I can imagine what would have been going through my head.
Let’s look first at the materials. There weren’t any Home Depots back then, so we’re going to have to work from scratch. By my amateur estimates we’re looking at cutting down about 2,000 trees to produce about 30 to 40,000 pieces of milled lumber.
Now let’s look at the labor pool. We’ve got me and my three sons. Really God? Do you know how long this is going to take us? This is going to take like a hundred years!
OK, let’s assume we get this boat built. What about the animals you speak of LORD? How are we going to catch all of those animals? That crazy Australian guy got taken out by a fish. How are me and my three sons going to bring in lions and tigers and bears? (oh my!)
And then assuming we catch all those critters, how are we going to get them into the boat? I can’t get my dog to come when I call him without dangling a piece of bacon in front of him. I’m going to need a LOT of bacon LORD!
What about food? We’re going to be on that boat for a long time, we’re going to need a ton of food. And that’s just for my son Ham. He eats like a horse. What about all those animals? Some of them are meat eaters. How are we going to keep them from eating each other … or us???
And who’s going to clean up all that poop????
Clearly, the logistics of such an undertaking would overwhelm us before we even began. We’d be paralyzed by the how-to’s. When we’re faced with obstacles in our lives, it’s easy to get bogged down. Paralyzed. Defeated before we begin.
God gave Noah directions for building the ark. God didn’t burden him with all of the other details, so Noah didn’t waste time worrying about them. Noah didn’t get paralyzed. He didn’t get overwhelmed. He obeyed God.
Noah shouted out to his family “Japheth, Shem, Ham, grab an axe boys. We got some work to do!”
Noah had faith and trusted God to handle the details that were beyond his ability.
Faith and obedience.
I am unemployed. I could easily get caught up in what happens if my unemployment runs out before I find work? What happens if my truck breaks down? How am I going to take care of my family if we’re homeless? Will I ever eat Cinnabuns again? I can easily lapse into despair.
But just like all of the other trials we’ve encountered in our short time together, Marissa and I have faith that God will provide for us. Our needs will be met. We don’t need to worry about those things we can not control. That frees us up to focus on what we can control.
We strive to keep our faith and to be obedient to God. I try to not get overwhelmed with all the details. I try not to stress over those details I can’t control (like the economy). I try to be a good steward of the extra time with my family that God blessed me with. We rely on faith and obedience to keep our home a place where God is revered above all else. We strive for faith and obedience to make sure we are presenting a testimony to others that is pleasing to God.
The worse thing we can do is to take God out of the picture and try to move forward on our own power. To have faith without obedience is like a clanging gong. We’re just making noise. It doesn’t work. The minute we lose focus and drift off course, God wastes no time in letting us know.
Over the years, we’ve been frequently blessed by the kindness and charity of friends and family. This brings me to the other Book of the Old Testament I enjoyed reading. The book of Ruth.
Naomi and Ruth returned to Judah as two widows without any means of support for themselves. Without husbands to provide for them, they had to rely on the charity of others. Upon entering the land of Judah, Naomi sends Ruth out to glean from the fields owned by a relative named Boaz.
Gleaning was first mentioned in the Book of Leviticus chapter 19, verses 9 and 10:
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner”
Gleaning was the earliest form of welfare. The farmers set aside a portion of their harvest for the sustenance of the poor. The big difference between gleaning and modern-day welfare was that with gleaning you gathered up the left-over harvest. The farmer didn’t deliver it to your door. You had to make the effort.
Naomi didn’t arrive in Judah and head straight for the Gleaning Department, fill out some forms and then wait on the groceries to be delivered. She sent out Ruth to gather the harvest. It was a humble and yet honorable way to receive charity. The poor were more than willing to labor in the field to gather the harvest.
I believe that God wants to see us make an effort. I’m not saying living a life of works to earn His blessings and his grace. Those are free gifts of God that we could never earn by our efforts. But I do believe it pleases him when we are obedient to His Word and demonstrate our faith to God in tangible ways. It’s all part of the sanctification process. It’s all part of having faith and being obedient.
When the Israelites crossed the river Jordan after 40 years in the desert, God spoke through Moses and told them that He was going to hand over all the land to them as just as He had promised Abraham. God led the Israelites into battles against armies larger and more powerful then they were, and yet the opposition fell. However, the Israelites had to fight the fight. God could have caused plagues over the lands and allowed the Israelites to just walk on in and take over. But he didn’t. He wanted to see their faith. He wanted to see their obedience. And I believe He still wants to see that from us today.
When I was in Jr. High I remember a girl was running for class president. Everyone who was running for office made posters asking people to vote for them and posted them all over the school grounds. This one girl did not put up any posters. Someone asked her why she wasn’t promoting herself. She said that if it was God’s will for her to be class president she would be elected. She didn’t make an effort. She didn’t get elected.
Even though it would be over 30 years from that day before I came to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I remember thinking way back then that she must be missing something. Her approach seemed to be lazy and apathetic. Today it makes perfect sense to me. She had faith but lacked obedience. She didn’t take her sword into battle, so why should she win the war?
Faith and obedience are not separate options. Obedience is an outward sign of our inward faith. When we have faith in God, obedience naturally grows to fulfill our heart-felt desire to please God.
Obedience without faith may make us a good citizen, but it does not save us. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that “For by grace you have been saved by faith: and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”
We can’t just pray for rain and sit waiting for it to happen. We must pray for rain and then prepare our fields to receive it, knowing that the rain will come. That’s faith and obedience.
So how do we apply this knowledge and practice of faith and obedience to trials we face?
Our human nature tempts us to withdraw from our circumstances when we face trials. To withdraw from our ministries. To cut back on our tithing. To put our needs before others. But that isn’t being obedient to the Lord. That isn’t having faith that He will provide for our needs. We over come our trials by practicing faith and obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)
Our GOD is a loving God full of grace and wanting nothing but the best for us. We must have faith that our LORD will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and obedience to make the journey if that’s where He wants us.
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