Emmanuel Ministries Notes 9/27/09

Well today the rains came and the attendance was a bit lower. Márcia decided we should combine the services and use interpretation. After worship, I was going to need to preach to both Spanish and English speaking people.

Since my sermon series on Jonah was just too much to get across with interpretation, I had to choose a simpler message. So my Jonah series will hopefully begin next week. I decided to add an impromptu fourth "Becoming" series message. So below you can listen to the message "Becoming More Like Jesus" from Ephesians 4.29-32. I was not prepared for this, so you can hear my "out of season" type of message.

Somewhere during the message Márcia asked a gentleman to translate the message, because she felt he was better for the task.



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Jonah Series: "Jonah: The Rebellious Prophet"

This week begins a three week series on the book of Jonah. It will be divided by chapter. Below is the outline for the first message.

“Jonah: The Rebellious Prophet” Jonah 1.1-17

Intro/Background

· Author: Jonah (Despite writing in the 3^rd person- Moses, Isaiah and Daniel also wrote in 3^rd person at times, Jonah wrote whole short book in 3^rd person); During events of 793-753 BC

· Jonah is written as history, but also as a message to Israel (Northern Kingdom)

o God’s concern for the Gentiles

o Unfaithfulness of Israel in missionary work

o God’s sovereignty in carrying out His will

o A rebuke to God’s people as Nineveh repented when Israel did not

o Jonah was a picture of Israel’s disobedience: God’s punishment, Jonah’s repentance & restoration

· Jonah can teach us about servicing God obediently, being willing to repent and God’s faithfulness to those who will receive Him

· Jonah is not a work of fiction- Jesus referred to him as historical fact; nothing in the book is impossible

The Attempted Escape (v.1-3)

· Jonah receives the direction from the Lord: tell Nineveh to repent

· Jonah decides to go to Tarshish- the opposite direction; Nineveh was in modern Iraq, Tarshish in modern Spain

· Jonah tried to run from “the presence of the Lord”

· “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! ⁹If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139.7-10 ESV)

· Application:

o sometimes we run from God’s call also

o Illustration: Sunday morning, late for church, saw man walking-seemed distraught, made deal with God, God did His part, I didn’t

The Absconder Exposed (v.4-10)

· Definition: Absconder- one who runs and hides from adversity

· As Jonah slept during the storm, the sailors were trying to appease their gods

· When Jonah was alerted and exposed by the lots

· He admitted running from God and testified that His God was the one, true God

The Adversity Evaded (v.11-16)

· Sailors ask Jonah for direction

· He tells them to throw him over

· The sailors seek another way- they seem to be decent men

· Finally they decide to comply, asking God’s forgiveness

· Once Jonah was overboard, the storm ended immediately

· It was a testimony to the Gentile sailors who obeyed, while Jonah and Israel were disobedient

The Appointed Event (v.17)

· God prepared a rescue for Jonah despite his disobedience: the big fish

· Three days in the belly of the fish- not a historic impossibility, especially when God is factored in

· This would also be a picture of the days between the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ

· God sets things up for those He will rescue from sin; God’s will for our lives will come to pass

Closing

When God calls us, we can run, but we cannot hide; we can rebel like Jonah, but it will be fruitless. He is God and his will is going to be accomplished. Christians may run from His calling, non-Christians may run from His mercy, but He will have His way.

5 Years of Myall4One! (4God.blogspot.com)

Yep, it all started 5 years ago (September 25, 2004). My first post here was an introduction: http://4god.blogspot.com/2004/09/my-new-blog.html. I began by talking about Hurricane Jeanne and then went political and also focused on my faith. Over the years I have covered football, baseball, politics, religions, the Christian faith, ministry and sermons. Probably some other stuff too.

Will I make it to ten years? Who knows. We do not even know if we will be able to use the Internet freely in ten years. Or if advances will send the current Internet into 8-track-tamp status (for younger readers, look up the 70's and really bad technology to find out what they were).

I am pleased that this blog has moved on to be a place to post my sermons and sermon outlines. No, I am not the best preacher around, but the Word of God is what is important, not me. I hope someone somewhere benefits from my sermons and outlines- even if a preacher decides to use my outlines verbatim- that is fine, as I know they will not preach every word the same. Actually, I would be honored if someone found them to be valuable in that way.

Thank you to God for the ability to keep this blog going, and to Blogger for making the product available.

Here's to the future!

Emmanuel Ministries Notes 9/20/09

The ministry went well, except for me neglecting to bring my guitar for worship. Márcia had to lead worship today. It was not bad at all. Flexibility is a key at Emmanuel Ministries- much like my missions experiences.

I was immersed in developing the message even into this (Sunday) morning. Never a comfortable way to complete a message, but I know it was the right message for the right time. I am working toward messages that are useful for discipleship and evangelism.

Today's message is streaming in the player below or available for download at the link below the player...

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“Becoming God’s Good Servants” 2 Timothy 2.1-7

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ²and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2.1-4 ESV)

Entrust the Message v. 1-2

· It was common practice of the time to emphasize the passing of sacred traditions

· Paul encouraged Timothy in a similar way to pass on what he had been taught

· Teaching “faithful men” who would then pass on the teaching as well

· Preserving the Gospel for future generations

Example of the Soldier v. 3-4

· Share in suffering: do not be surprised or slowed, suffering comes with following Jesus

· As a good soldier: Christian life compared to being a soldier

· Civilian pursuits: anything that would distract from following Christ fully

- a call to focusing on one purpose- serious dedication

- requires unswerving obedience (as a soldier)

~ Gettysburg, D-Day: soldiers rushed to their deaths at command

- requires devoted discipline (not like my work-out routine)

- John Piper: “The world is no longer our treasure. It’s not the source of our life or our satisfaction or our joy. Christ is.” (Don’t Waste Your Life p. 57)

Example of the Athlete v. 5

• Olympic athletes required at least 10 months of serious preparation by oath
• They had to follow the rules or be disqualified
• They strived to win a simple prize of garland
• We strive to win the prize of salvation through Christ

- I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3.14 ESV)

- Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12.1 ESV)

Example of the Farmer v. 6

• There is an emphasis on hard work and a reward to come
• The farmer puts forth the hard work and is rewarded in time with a harvest
• We are to work hard to serve Christ

- though salvation is not based on works

- works are the fruit of salvation

• The reward for a Christian comes in salvation as we are judged innocent based on Christ’s sacrifice

Endeavor to Gain Understanding v. 7

• Paul encourages Timothy to consider what he has said
• The Lord will give understanding
• If we seek God, we will find Him

- Jeremiah 29.13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (ESV)

- Isaiah 55.6, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near…” (ESV)

Closing: To become God’s good servants, we must be disciplined like a soldier (avoiding things that distract), dedicated like an athlete (devoting ourselves to the race) and determined like a farmer (who works hard for a future reward). Consider this, “for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

Emmanuel Ministries Notes 9/13/09

This Sunday we had a good time of ministry. I preached on Luke 12.13-21 and if you listen to the message in the other post, you will hear rain start pouring down in the background somewhere around the seven-minute mark. You will also hear me totally freeze while trying to quote Hebrews 9.27.

The message also features a story I heard from a pastor in Alabama. It is a true story about how he sacrificed his inheritance in order to live according to God's Word. He tells it better, but the message is a good one. That is about five minutes into the message.

After the message we prayed over a number of prayer requests.

Actually, before the message and before we began with our worship time, a lady told us about her recent commitment to forsake alcohol and seek after God. That prompted another person, a man who has been attending for a few months now, to tell us that he had been off alcohol for four months now. We prayed for their strength to be found in Christ.

The rain came and went and somehow I ended up pretty wet- between sweating from the heat and the drenching downpours. It was all worth it. I thank God for allowing me to have this place to preach. I thank Him for entrusting me with His word- may I be more faithful to it!

"Becoming Rich Toward God" Luke 12.13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." ¹⁴But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" ¹⁵And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." ¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' ¹⁸And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' ²⁰But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12.13-21 ESV)

Intro: In life we have our priorities. However, we can be rich in this life or rich toward God. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, but if it is at the expense of our eternity we lose everything in the end.

Earthly Priorities (v. 13-15)

· The man who came to Jesus with this matter apparently wanted his "fair share"

· Jesus demonstrated concern over the spiritual state of the person, not whether or not the person had a legal right to a thing.

· Traditionally Rabbis (teachers) were able to handle these issues, but Jesus was not bound by tradition

· See John 4: Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman (2 things that were against tradition)

· ILLUSTRATION: Pastor Golden- inheritance (house & property): was rightfully his, but stepsister wanted it and was considering legal maneuvers to get it, but he gave it to her without a fight to preserve his right-ness before God. What was legally his was less important than doing what was spiritually beneficial.

Empty Prosperity (v. 16-20)

· Jesus illustrated the importance of the spiritual with a parable

* This man was invested in his greed

* He sought pleasure and comfort

* He did not consider God nor other people (selfish)

* God saw his plans for ease and called him a fool; he was going to die that night

* What good would these riches do him then?

· Everything we have will one day belong to someone else

· The man was physically rich but he neglected two things:

* To thank God for the harvest

* To consider the needs of others

· He did not consider the "greatest Commandment"

· "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22.37-40 ESV)

Eternal Promises (v. 21)

· The person who forgets God and the importance of the life to come is bound for ruin

· We have to consider God first in our lives

· "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6.33 ESV)

· Christians can only become Christians out of a consideration of the eternal

· "He who dies with the most toys..." Wins? No, still dies with nothing

Closing: No matter how much we gain in this life, it will all pass away. As the Preacher said in Ecclesiastes, "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." (Ecclesiastes 1.14 ESV) Nothing in life is lasting, we need to become rich toward God by valuing the things of God and building for eternal life, not just life here.

Sermon can be heard via streaming player or by download below:

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"Becoming Useful to God" Jeremiah 15.19

Therefore thus says the LORD: "If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them." -Jeremiah 15.19 (ESV)

Intro: To become useful as a Christian we can look at Jeremiah. He was a prophet of God who had spoken in a way that disqualified him from being eligible to speak for God. We as Christians can learn about being restored to become useful for God.

Return and be restored

· Jeremiah was called to repent so that his position as God’s prophet could be restored

· His message was one of repentance; the message to him was “repent”

· God calls us to repent so that He can restore us

· It’s simple: turn from our sin and allow Him to change us from the inside out

· “For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In repentance and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’” (Isaiah 30.15)

Speak what is precious

· “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4.29 ESV)

· speak only what is worth saying, not worthless words, and He will use us as His spokesmen

· You know those dirty jokes that go around? Don't participate in them

· You know how some of us tend to be sarcastic? Time to stop

· It's difficult. I've had a lot of work to do on that at work

Turn, don’t be turned

· “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts. 3.19-20 ESV)

· “Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9.62 ESV)

· Let the people turn to you (God's message), DO NOT turn to them!

· Jesus said that He is the only Way to the Father. All other ways are false

· Do not allow yourself to compromise for the sake of making people happy

· Stand up for the truth

Closing: To be useful for God we need to repent and be restored. We need to avoid unrighteous speech and speak what is precious. Furthermore, to be useful to God we must stand our ground in terms of our faith and the message of the Gospel.

C²C: Unbeliever: your restoration comes through salvation and repentance before the Sovereign God of all creation. Believe in Christ for your salvation and repent of your sins to find salvation in Him and become useful for God for the first time in your life.

Backslider: your restoration comes in light of 1 John 1.9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV)- Repent and become useful to God again.

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The Pastor Who Prays for Obama's Death

"Pastor" Steve Anderson has made the news for praying for Obama's death and preaching a message entitled, "Why I Hate Barack Obama."  After reading about him on several news sites, I recalled that this was the "pastor" who was shot with a taser a while back.

 

As I researched him in the past, I found that he was an idiotic "King James-Only" preacher who makes little sense in his YouTube videos.  (Search YouTube for Steve Anderson and pisseth on a wall for a clear example).  On his church website there is this blurb under the "Our Pastor" section:

 

"Pastor Steven Anderson started Faithful Word Baptist Church on December 25, 2005.

Pastor Anderson holds no college degree but has well over 100 chapters of the Bible committed to memory, including almost half of the New Testament.

Today, most Baptist churches are started by Bible Colleges. However, the Bible makes it clear that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, not a school. Faithful Word Baptist Church is a totally independent Baptist church, and Pastor Anderson was sent out by a totally independent Baptist church to start it the old-fashioned way by knocking doors and winning souls to Christ. This is the scriptural method.

God has blessed Faithful Word Baptist Church tremendously. Hundreds have been saved, many have been baptized, and many more have learned to win souls both door-to-door and in their day-to-day lives."

 

Okay, I can find a lot wrong on the site, but this is what I will focus on.

 

1. "Pastor Anderson holds no college degree but has well over 100 chapters of the Bible committed to memory, including almost half of the New Testament."  Is he boasting that he has no college degree?  Granted, it is not written in stone that you need a college degree, but not having one is not a reason to boast.  While I admire his claim to have "well over 100 chapters" of the Bible memorized, I would like to see some proof.  Anyone can claim anything.

 

2. "Today, most Baptist churches are started by Bible Colleges. However, the Bible makes it clear that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, not a school."  What? Document this! This statement has no basis in fact.  He is just trying to make a case for not being college educated.  Listening to him preach makes it clear that a college education may have been helpful, but he may just not have been college material.

 

3. "Faithful Word Baptist Church is a totally independent Baptist church, and Pastor Anderson was sent out by a totally independent Baptist church to start it the old-fashioned way by knocking doors and winning souls to Christ. This is the scriptural method."  The phrase "totally independent" is meant to be inflammatory.  As if non-Independent Baptist churches are not independent, being under the control of a central authority.  Most independent KJV-only churches are most opposed to Southern Baptist churches, and SBC churches are independent and autonomous.  If the SBC comes down with a directive, local churches are not bound by it.  The SBC does not, and cannot, appoint pastors for local churches.  Local churches cooperate with the SBC, they are not controlled by the SBC. Additionally, I hope Mr. Anderson is not making the claim that knocking on doors is the Scriptural method.  It is not.  However, "winning souls" is the way to increase the kingdom and build a local church.

 

4. "God has blessed Faithful Word Baptist Church tremendously. Hundreds have been saved, many have been baptized, and many more have learned to win souls both door-to-door and in their day-to-day lives." How many people attend this church? From the YouTube videos it looks small.  How many of the "hundreds" that have been saved regularly attend services? 

 

Based on my investigation of Faithful Word Baptist Church and "pastor" Steve Anderson, I think he might benefit from some college.  Or even high school.  He makes outlandish statements just to seem relevant.  I did not address KJV-Onlyism, even though it is a cultish doctrine, but it is well refuted at the Alpha & Omega Ministries site.