Preparing Our Hearts for Worship
September 7, 2008
Psalm 34
Obedience is the highest form of worship. However, we will not offer our lives as living sacrifices if we have not first lifted Christ up in a spirit of thanksgiving and praise. Worship must be practiced 7 days a week or it won’t be practiced on Sunday. You can not truly worship the Lord without knowing Him. If we love Him we keep His commandments. The fear of the Lord is learned as we faithfully strive to keep His commandments. When we seek to honor Christ He is totally for us. If we do our “own thing” He will be totally against us.
I. Exalting Christ must be in our hearts during the week or it won’t be on Sunday (1-3)
II. There is a difference in a man who knows the Lord and one who talks about Him on Sunday (4-10)
III. The Fear of the Lord is something that we must learn (11-14)
IV. The Lord will either be totally for you or totally against you (15-22)
Its Still Got a Few Memories left in it
September 7, 2008
Back in 1996, when I was nineteen, I purchased a used Honda four-wheel drive ATV. Over the last twelve years a lot of memories were made on that ATV. Originally it was used to transport me from field to field as a cotton scout. Memories of mud bogging with close friends that I haven’t seen in years flood my mind when I sit on that machine. We would ride for hours each weekend. Most of these guys are now preachers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, or farmers. It was a steel horse that I used to work cattle along side of two now deceased cow dogs that I once owned. When Jamie and I started dating back in 1999 Sunday evening four-wheeler rides was one of our favorite pastimes. The memories are more than I can count but they continue to bring my joy to the boiling point. In 2004 when we entered fulltime ministry it was left beneath a tractor shed to collect dust and rust. A few weeks ago I aired up the tires, pressure-washed away the dust and mildew, and cleaned the gas tank. I was more than a little surprised to see that it would still run. It no longer shines, the racks are bent and rusty, the tail light is busted, it has no working brakes, and the seat is nothing more than a piece of exposed foam. Although it has definitely seen better days it still has the power to light up the faces of my wife and little girl. A lot of people, like that machine, sit around and collect dust when they have quite a few memories left in them. It doesn’t matter if you have seen better days. The point is that you still have the power to light up someone’s life. Solomon said, “Do not say, why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this” (Ecclesiastes 7:10). The command is one to live and bring joy to someone else’s life. It really all comes down to this; we can stay under the barn and rust out or we can smile, polish up, make some memories with what we have left, and wear out. Amen!!! Polish up and get on with it then.
When Small Things Grow Up
September 1, 2008
Earlier this week I cut down a pine tree in my back yard due to a dangerous broken limb hanging over Anna Ryan’s play area. It was close enough to the house to potentially do major damage if a storm came. Years ago that tree was planted as an apparently harmless seedling. As a seedling it could do little damage but it was inevitable that it would grow up. Similarly, people often select a small puppy seemingly oblivious to the fact that it will one day grow into a large obnoxious dog. Little thought is given to the fact that these seemingly small things grow up.
Sin is a lot like a tree. Romans 6:23 declares, “For the wages of sin is death.” Where sin is present something has to die. Unrepentant sin of any kind or perceived size puts a damper on our relationship with God. We read in Isaiah, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Each day our bodies slowly die until we are laid in the grave. Our spirits are different. Unlike our body, our spirit can be renewed daily. Don’t read more into this than I am saying. I simply mean that we daily make a choice to receive or reject God’s grace and that if we reject it our spirits are slowly dieing. Jesus had to die that we might have this grace, yet we knowingly plant small sins (whatever that is) in our lives and pretend it will not produce the fruit of death.
Praise Jesus that He has redeemed us and forgiven our sins. However, forgiveness of sin does not equal escaping the consequences of sin. We must never categorize sin but we must understand that some sins have greater consequences than others. No matter what the sin it is better to remove it from your life while it is small. The tree I removed this week took far more work than it would have taken a few years ago. To remove a tree is costly and it leaves a yard littered with stumps. Like sin, to allow the trees to remain litters my yard (life) with unwanted debris, presents a variety of safety hazards for my family and home, and blocks the sunlight (Sonlight). Had those pine trees never been planted it would have been far better. Uproot sin the moment you realize it is there.
Depending on God for Our Provision
September 1, 2008
2 Corinthians 9:1-15
Today we often do God’s work in the church without really giving any thought to God. We do the same thing in our personal lives. God has plenty of money, meaning He doesn’t need our money, and is more than able to provide ample provision for our needs. Although God does not need our money He demands that we honor Him with it. Giving is our testimony to the world that we believe God is faithful. “God loves a cheerful giver.” The church must return to trusting God for our provision and not our own means. He has, does, and always will provide for those whose heart is loyal to Him. Amen!
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Giving should not be a testimony to what we have but of what we think of Christ (1-5)
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We reap what we sow (6-7)
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Christ multiplies little to provide bountifully when we seek His glory (8-15)