Hearing From God

Today's Bible readings are Genesis 16:1-18:15, Matthew 6:1-24, Psalm 7:1-17, & Proverbs 2:1-5

Hearing from God is one of the greatest things that a christian can learn to do. As Spirit-filled believers we know that God speaks to us. We are in a relationship with Jesus. In any relationship there is communication that occurs.

Most the time in christian life this is a one way street; we complain to God, scream & through fits, beg Him through prayer, etc...  We never take the time to listen for Him to speak back to us. Sometimes we fail to go to the sources that God primarily uses to speak to us. None the less, we miss out on the great benefit of hearing His voice.

Learning to hear His voice & not be moved by the voice of other influences is the key to prospering in this life. In today's reading we see what happens when we listen to other source without first hearing from God.

Genesis 16:1-2

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.

Abram & Sarai both wanted a child desperately. Abram was even promised one by God. Yet, we see that he was moved to do things that lead to turmoil when he gave his ear to the wrong source--"So Sarai said to Abram..."  

How many times have we got ourselves in trouble by listening to the wrong source or by being moved by the wrong things? Just for a moment, let's consider the result of this one choice.

1. Hagar & Sarai had a broken relationship.
2. Abram must have had strong tension from both to deal with.
3. Ishmael must have had insecurities growing up. 

These are just to name a few of the immediate results. Now let's look big picture:

Genesis 16:12

¹² This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

We know of the great struggle that there is between the Muslim's & Christian's today. Muslim's that Ishmael is the son of promise & Christians say that Isaac is the son of promise. There is open hostility between the 2 that lead to violence today. Fists are still raised & lives are still lost over the result of this event. What a disaster it is when we fail to listen to God.

The other option, of course, is to learn to know God's voice & then obey it. We see this in the book of Acts with the Apostles & the early church leaders. They knew that God would speak if they would only listen. They saw remarkable miracles & experienced the supernatural on a regular basis. They prospered in their efforts to build the kingdom in ways that most churches today only dream about. 

1. They knew where to go--because He told them.
2. They knew where not to go--because He told them.
3. They knew what to say--because He told them.
4. They knew who to appoint to leadership--because He told them.
5. They knew what to preach--because He told them.

Just imagine with me for a moment that nearly every problem or trouble that you are facing right now is just one word from God away from being solved & changed. That is how important it is to learn to hear His voice.

 

Here are some things that you can start doing to increase you receptivity to God's voice:

 

1. Listen for Him.

John 10:3

³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

• God is speaking.
• We must listen.
  

2. Prepare regular quiet time for you & Him.

Psalm 46:10

¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

• Slow down.
• Force yourself to wait on Him.
• No person can listen to their lover if they are on the go all the time.

3. Stay in His Word.

Psalm 19:7-11

⁷ The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. ⁸ The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. ⁹ Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. ¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. ¹¹ They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

Start with these three things & you won't go wrong. Let's make a choice today to hear from God & prosper. Remember, one word from God will change your life!

 

Pastor Richard

 

Who Are You Connected To?

Today’s Bible readings are Genesis 13:5-15:21, Matthew 5:27-48, Psalm 6:1-10, & Proverbs 1:29-33

In today’s reading in Genesis we see how God richly blessed Abram. God was faithful to His promise to Abram in every respect. Abram became very wealthy as a result of God’s blessing. God truly supplied all of his needs.

I want to take a look at Lot this morning. I find it very interesting how Lot was blessed with abundant blessing also. God had no obligation to Him, though He did promise to bless those that blessed Abram. What I want to present to you today is a question—Who are you connected to???

Lot was connected to the right person. He was connected to a man with the favor & blessing of God on his life. As a result, that blessing began to spill over into his life. It is an example of what Jesus said He cam e to do—give life in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. The overflow of blessing begins to affect others. That is the case with Lot.

As a result of his relationship with a blessed & favored man he became blessed too. This is a great principal to take note of. It is true that those we unite ourselves to will greatly affect us positive or negative.

We also begin to see the negative aspect of this same principal when Lot moved to a place near Sodom. Lot was near a people who were very wicked. He probably built business relationships with them over time. As we read on in Genesis we find that after a period of time he actually moved into the city. It is clear that sin has a gradual pull on us whether we like it or not. That is why we need to avoid things that would pull us in the wrong direction. Like the old saying—“If you hang around a barber shop long enough you will eventually get a haircut.”

As a result of his relationships with the wrong people he experienced great loss. Had it not been for righteous Abram coming to his rescue he would have be enslaved. Again, we see right relationship make a difference & poor relationship lead to loss.

1 Corinthians 15:33

³³ Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Here are a few thoughts to consider today:

1. Where do you desire life to take you?
2. What are the goals that you have set? 
3. Are the associations that you have going to help you achieve these things or hinder them?
4.  Are the associations that you have going to help you achieve these things or hinder them?
5. Who could you immediately connect with that could assist you in the plan that God has for your life?

1
I leave you with a quote from a mentor of mine:

“Show me your friends & I will show you your future.”

 

Pastor Richard

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached

Today's Bible readings are Genesis 11:1-13:4, Matthew 5:1-26, Psalm 5:1-12, & Proverbs 1:24-28

Matthew 5 is the beginning of, in my opinion, the greatest sermon ever preached. This sermon continues through chapter 7, so you will be getting more of it in the next few days. In fact, at the close of this message the bible declares:

Matthew 7:28-29  (NLT)

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

I can only imagine how it really played out that day. I can envision Jesus passionately proclaiming to the multitude the truths about God & His character. As they listened to His teaching it must have resonated with their hearts at the same time bringing deep conviction.

I want to focus this morning on something that Jesus said that must have blown the minds of those that heard Him speak it.

Matthew 5:20

²⁰ “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of 
religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

This must have caused jaws to drop. People probably thought, "Did He just say what I think He said?" I'm sure that their were people in the crowd who had though it before but Jesus actually said it out loud.

Here was a group of people who practiced the Law to the letter. I'm sure that they were the standard that all people tried to live up to. They were the ones saying to others, "Be more like me." They thought they had it all together. Most people even believed that righteousness could be attained if they could only obey as well as the pharisees.

I love this part in Jesus' teaching. I use to think that it was a stern correction towards the leaders of the day but I'm lead to believe that He was really beginning to point the minds of the people to the concept of GRACE.

The pharisees thought that following a set of rules was enough to save you. That is what their faith was in. They practiced religion to the letter. As perfect as the law was it was weakened by their sinful nature. The law did nothing with it.

Jesus came to proclaim that the law of the Spirit of Life could free us from the sinful nature all together. That is the beauty of grace that is often never mentioned. We talk a lot about His grace to forgive us when we sin. That is what religion knows. That is all the pharisees knew. They knew nothing about how to deal with the nature in them that made them desire to do wrong.

Grace flows from the throne to enable us to live free from sin, not by following a set of rules, but by letting the Life of Christ, through His Spirit, flow through us! His Spirit resides in His children. We truly are born of His Spirit & washed in His blood!

3 THINGS I WANT YOU TO CONFESS OVER YOURSELF TODAY

1. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me NOW. 

2. Sin & satan has no power over me because the power of the Spirit in me is GREATER than him.

3. Through this Spirit I can do ALL things & will overcome EVERYTHING. 

Romans 6:12-14

¹² Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Pastor Richard

ACQUIRING WISDOM THAT LEADS TO TRANSFORMATION

Today's Bible readings are Genesis 8:1-10:32, Matthew 4:12-25, Psalm 4:1-8, & Proverbs 1:20-23

Proverbs 1:20-23

²⁰ Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. ²¹ She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: ²² “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?
²³ Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

Today I want to talk about how to acquire wisdom. We live in a day of information, much of it wrong by the way. Blogs like this one, Google searches, talk shows, radio shows, etc... are pumping out opinions & ideas faster than we can digest them. The masses really are being influenced by this information, many times in the wrong direction. That is one of the main reasons that our culture is changing at this rapid pace. I believe that it is connected to the rapid increase of information going forth.

Information is what influences people to share the ideas & perspectives that they have. Information can become the compasses that direct our lives & even morals. This is fine if the information is coming from the right source with the right motives, but it is destructive if it come from wrong sources with evil or self seeking motives.

It appears to me that people are becoming more & more foolish with the more information that is being pumped through the information pike line. People in our country are not getting smarter, there is much proof to the contrary. The data shows that there is a “dumbing effect” taking place in our culture. Why is that???

Many proclaim that knowledge is power. I don’t necessarily agree with that thinking. Here is the truth—“What is your knowledge about?” 

²⁰ Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. ²¹ She calls to the crowds along the main street,

Much like in our readings in Matthew today where we saw Jesus going to call out Peter, Andrew, James, & John to follow Him; Jesus is crying out for us to return to Him so we can gain true wisdom once more. His voice is shouting out in the streets of America. His Spirit crying is crying out to our government. His voice calls to the crowds that are on the broad path—Return to me & find wisdom.

True wisdom comes from Jesus Christ.  It is released & received through the reading of God’s HOLY WORD—The Bible. Scripture tells us that Jesus has been made unto us wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom & knowledge. As people grow away from the very things that can produce wisdom & as culture turns to the information of others to guide & direct their lives there will continue to be a dumbing effect & moral decline.

BUT HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS:

1.      Jesus is still calling.

2.      He relentlessly pursues hearts.

3.      He regularly challenges the saints.

4.      His Spirit is still in the Earth.

As you continue to commit to God’s Word He is going to bless you by granting you His wisdom. He will change the way you think, which will change the way you live, which will lead others to the truth. Don’t’ let up in your pursuit of TRUE WISDOM!

Pastor Richard

Today's readings are Genesis 5:1-7:24, Matthew 3:7-4:11, Psalm 3:1-8, & Proverbs 1:10-19

There are so many great things that we can pull from today's readings. First, we can look at the life of Noah that we read of in Genesis. We can see from his life that God is more than able to protect the righteous while destruction falls on the wicked. 

This is encouraging for us because we know that there is great wickedness in the Earth today, unlike that which has ever been seen before. It is easy to get consumed with fear as we see the destruction of the wicked before or eyes. We must remind ourselves that God will provide a way for us to escape the destruction taking place around us. Many things that are happening around us that can cause us to worry are things that we don't have to pay much mind to. We are inn Christ & not subject to wrath but salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What I really wanted to talk about today is something that John the Baptist said.

Matthew 3:8-10

⁸ Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. ⁹ Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. ¹⁰ Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

Our lives should be significantly different now that we are Christians. There are certain things that we should see in each others lives now that we have chose to follow Jesus. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car. 

Jesus said that people will know we are His followers by our love. Let me ask you a question today-- How is your love life?  I do want to clarify that because I don't want anybody to think that I'm being inapproprate. I'm not speaking about you sex life--I asking about your love life?

A lot of people are up tight all the time. They are always complaining & grumbling about something. Could it be that love is waxing cold in their life? Do you get agitated quickly? Do you tend to find fault in everything? Are you quick to criticize what others are doing? Do you demand that your needs come first? Do you still hunger to see souls saved or are other things more important to you?

You can gauge a persons love life by this one thing every time--how far will you go to reach the lost?

Jesus is our model. He is the exact representation of love. Considered how far He went to save the lost. He demonstrated His love by dying for us. He held back nothing. He poured out everything. 

There is an old hymn that says:

To be like Jesus
To be like Jesus
All I ask - to be like Him
All through life's journey
From earth to glory
All I ask - to be like Him. 

We sing it, but I think we often forget to consider what that would really mean. 

I leave you today with the words of the great apostle Paul in regards to love:

1 Corinthians 13:11

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

Pastor Richard

Lord, help us to grow in love.  Let us put away the childish ways & move to maturity, in Jesus name we pray.

The Fall

Today's reading Genesis 3:1:4:26, Matthew 2:13-3:6, Psalm 2:1-12, & Proverbs 1:7-9

Genesis 3:1-4

The Fall

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.

I love the caption to this portion of scripture:  "The Fall". Here we see the single event that led something of such great cost. I'm sure that Eve & Adam never realized the height from which they were about to fall. Yet, I know for certain, that after it happened they felt so guilty that they hid from God. 

Fall always starts where trust in God ends. The enemy desires to confuse you. He works in areas of our thinking that would lead us to question the integrity of what God has said.--"DID GOD REALLY SAY" or "IS THAT WHAT GOD REALLY MEANT". We must know & be confident in what God has said. This comes by knowing His word--faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God.

When this same thing happened to Jesus, His reply to the enemies suggestions where: "IT IS ALSO WRITTEN..." It was Jesus' knowledge & understanding of His Father's word that kept Him from falling.

Hosea 4:6

⁶my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

Here are 5 things that you must settle in your heart & mind to never question:

1. God's love for you is GREAT.

2. God's mercy towards you NEVER ENDING.

3. God's grace extended to you is GREATER than all your sin.

4. NOTHING is impossible for Him.

5. God is for you, not against you.

Let these 5 things be the foundation that you build your trust & confidence in God on. Add to this, continued daily reading of His word. Attach to that, being actively involved in a Bible preaching church. Cover it all in meeting with God regularly in prayer & you will find that your relationship with Him will grow & you will experience less fall in your life.

Pastor Richard