God

Praying For The Election

God, World / By /

The Bible instructs us to pray for those who are in authority over us in the government, so we must also pray for the election by which those authorities are selected. The instructions of God’s Word for our prayer life are also an instructive guide on how we should vote in the election. Of course, these instructions were written in a time when the believer had no influence in the choice of their government. I am grateful to God that today we still have a choice in American democracy. However, a democracy is only a good form of government when the majority vote according to the principles of God’s Word. If the majority of the people are wrong, we will elect the wrong kind of government.

What kind of government does God want believers to pray for? In this post, I’m going to look at a passage that Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

The first thing that we should pray for in our government is that “we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” The we referred to here is the church of true believers. Government should work so that Christians may live peaceful and quiet lives. The authorities must protect us from external and internal enemies who would disrupt the peace and quiet of our lives. The justice system and the economic system must be governed to bring about this end as well. The second part of the phrase says that believers must be allowed to live “in all godliness and holiness.” Government must not interfere with the lives of believers who are living according to the principles of God’s Word. Government should not interfere with the internal workings of the church nor restrict the freedom of speech of it’s leaders as it increasingly does in America. Governments and leaders who follow these principles and actively encourage the ministry of the church will be blessed as this pleases God.

The last sentence that Paul writes shows us why this is important. God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” People who are not saved are living in a false delusion. It is only the saved that have the knowledge of the truth. When believers are allowed and encouraged to live peaceful and quiet lives by the government, then the church will grow as more people are saved. Salvation is the result that God is looking for. The expansion of the church is the result that Christians should be praying toward in every election.

Unfortunately, most people simply vote for whoever they think will personally give them the best economic benefit. One side believes that the government should give everyone all kinds of freebies and they think that they will gain more benefit than the taxes they pay. The other side believes that the government should cut taxes to the bone and in so doing, they believe that they will gain more benefit from managing their own money. Both sides are motivated by selfish greed. Christians should not align themselves with viewpoints cobbled together by unbelievers who don’t know the truth. As believers, we must align ourselves with the principles of God’s Word.

Believers need to ask the question, “Which nominee will better allow the church to grow by more people being saved?” Pray that the authorities elected will allow the church to grow unimpeded, that’s why America was founded. Vote for the nominee that will best govern by biblical principles that favor the church. What about the many unbelievers in America? The best hope, the only hope for unbelievers in America, is that the church of Jesus Christ reach them with the message of salvation. Pray that in this election, a President and Congress will be elected that will allow more people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Why Christmas Matters

God / By /

For many people, Christmas is simply a holiday season for time with family and friends. “Merry Christmas” has been replaced by “Happy Holidays” on buildings, in front yards and in various publications across America. The politically correct view is that we must not offend any non-Christians by using the word Christmas in any positive context, even though over 80% of Americans call themselves Christian. Does Christmas matter or should we just relegate it to another secular holiday?

Even though Christmas has not always been celebrated by the Christian church or in the same way we celebrate it today, I believe Christmas matters. The Bible does not teach that we should celebrate Christmas, yet it has multiple accounts of what happened at Christmas and teaches us why it matters. You see the origin of Christmas is not just about the birth of the founder of Christianity. No, Christmas is about much more than that, for Jesus was not just a good, moral teacher.

Christmas matters, because on that night in a small Palestinian village 2000 years ago, God came to earth in human form. The God who created the universe, who flung the galaxies into place, who created you, was born as a flesh and blood baby. Colossians 1:15 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see– such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. When you looked at that baby born on that first Christmas night, you saw the invisible God. The most incredible event in human history took place on Christmas.

Jesus grew up, taught us about God, died on a cross and rose back to life, so that a rebellious humanity might have an opportunity to have a relationship with their creator. You see, Jesus didn’t come into the world for no reason. He came because He loved you and wanted you to fulfill the purpose He created you for. 1 John 4:9 (NLT) God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. Eternal life is simply a relationship with God that begins in this life and lasts forever.

I think what happened at Christmas 2000 years ago is something worth celebrating, it’s something worth teaching your children and it’s something worth telling everybody you know about. Anybody who doesn’t understand why Christmas matters is missing the point of life and the point of eternity. Christmas matters. I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

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Faith That Wins

God, Message / By /

Currently we’re in a message series called “Faith Workout.” In this series we’re talking about real faith. I use the term real faith because not all so-called faith is real. There are a lot of religions in the world: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the list could go on and on. Is the faith of all these religions the same? Is it real faith that connects to God? The answer is “no.” Christianity is unique among the religions of the world in teaching real faith.

In all the other religions of the world, a person must do good works in order to become right with God or to become God. These other religions can be described by the word DO. In Christianity alone, God became man in the person of Jesus. What needed to be done to make man right with God has been completed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus our sins have been forgiven. Christianity can be summed up by the word DONE. Big difference. You don’t have to do anything to be accepted by God, just have faith, just believe.

NIV Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Notice the sequence here described in this verse. Entering into a relationship with God comes through faith not works. However, as we’ll talk about today, you were created to do good works as a believer. In this verse Paul makes it clear that faith is the root of salvation.

So today my message is entitled “Faith That Wins.” What is a winning faith? Faith that wins is a real faith, a faith that pleases God, a faith that lasts. Winning faith changes the world and leads you to heaven. We’re going to look at what the book of James has to say about faith that wins.

Some people read James as saying that you have to do good works or actions in order to have real faith. They quote NIV James 2:17 Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Is James contradicting what Paul said in Ephesians? Are you saved by actions not faith? No, James is saying that so-called faith that is not accompanied by actions is not real faith at all. Good works flow from and accompany winning faith. If those good works are not evident, it implies that the faith is dead. So this morning, let’s look at what real faith, what faith the wins is all about.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my August 26, 2007 message entitled Faith That Wins

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Your Workout Manual

God, Message / By /

Currently we’re in a message series called “Faith Workout.” A lot of people think that faith is just about something that you believe in. For example, someone might say “I believe in Jesus” and by that statement, they mean that they believe that a man named Jesus lived 2000 years ago. That’s not what the Bible is talking about when it talks about faith. No, faith involves a commitment to whatever we believe in. That faith commitment is worked out in the actions of our lives.

I’ve named this message series “Faith Workout” because true faith is always worked out in the life of the believer. A faith that is not worked out or is not visible in the actions of a person is not a true faith. In this series we are studying the book of James, a short book of five chapters in the New Testament. To get the most out of this series, I would encourage you to read through the book of James on your own.

Today my message is entitled “Your Workout Manual.” If you want to learn to workout in a gym, you need a workout manual, a set of instructions to guide you in your exercises. The same is true for your faith workout. Your workout manual for life is a book called the Bible. The Bible is an amazing and absolutely unique book. It was written over a 1500 year span by more than forty authors in different places. Yet it presents a single unfolding of a story – God’s redemption of human beings and His instructions on how we should live to fulfill His purpose for our lives.

In the past, the mark of an educated person was his knowledge of the Bible. Today, you can get a PhD in most disciplines without even being required to open the most famous book in human history. Knowledge of the Bible is at an all-time low. However, you don’t have to remain ignorant of the Bible. A wise person understands that knowledge of the Bible is one of the most important things you can have in life. NLT Psalm 119:72 Your law is more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver! Which would you pick? Winning the lottery or understanding God’s Word? The right choice is understanding God’s Word.

To use the Bible as your faith workout manual, you’ve first got to make a decision to believe whatever God tells you in the Bible. Do you believe the Bible? Do you believe in God who wrote the Bible? Faith is a choice of your will. As you choose to believe the Bible, you will begin to see wonderful results in your life. However, just like physical exercise, if you stop working out with your Bible, you will lose all the benefits you gained by using it in the past. Today, I want to look at three keys to using the Bible as your faith workout manual.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my August 12, 2007 message entitled Your Workout Manual

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No Pain No Gain

God, Life, Message / By /

Today we begin a new message series which I’ve entitled “Faith Workout.” Faith is essential to the Christian life. In fact the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. Therefore if you want to have a relationship with God in this life and for eternity, you’ve got to have faith. But what is faith? How does faith work itself out in the lives of a believer? How can your faith grow stronger?

In this message series, we’re going to learn that faith is not just a simple prayer that you pray once and forget about. Faith is not just saying you believe something and living life anyway you please. No, faith is something that you live out in your life. Faith is something that you believe in so strongly that the whole course of your life is altered. Faith is something that grows stronger as you exercise it. The Bible likens a life of faith to a race. NIV 1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. It’s not enough to begin the race of faith, you’ve got to finish it in order to get the prize. If you drop out of the face, if you don’t persevere, you miss the prize. What’s the prize? It’s eternal life with God forever. Miss that prize and you’ve lost everything.

So how should we run in such a way to get the prize? The next verse says, NIV 1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. You need to have strict training, you need to workout your faith. That’s what this series is all about. In this series, we’re going to go through the book of James in the New Testament and see how you can get a faith workout. The goal is to help each of us understand what faith is all about and to help us strengthen that faith. I want each of you to one day receive a crown that will last forever, Jesus wants you to get the prize at the end of the race.

Today, our message is “No Pain, No Gain.” Now the title is not a quote from a Bible verse, but before we’re through this morning, I think you’ll agree it captures what God is saying. No pain, no gain means that without some pain, without some testing, without some trials, there is no growth in your life. We all want life to be a bed of roses, but that kind of life does not lead to a strong faith. Therefore God makes sure that the life of His followers is not a bed of roses. He makes sure that there is some pain and trials mixed in as faith resistance training for you and me. Once you see how God is training you, just like a coach trains an athlete, you begin to understand that life is really a faith workout. Today, we’re going to look at faith exercises that will help you grow stronger and persevere in the race of life.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my August 5, 2007 message entitled No Pain No Gain

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Discerning God’s Voice

God, Message / By /

Today, I am concluding our July message series, which I’ve called “How To Hear God Speak.” In this series, we’ve been talking about prayer as not just one-way, but two-way communication. Prayer is not just about asking God for things, it is about a relationship in which God speaks to His children. If you believe that God is speaking to you about a direction for your life, then the wise thing to do is to do what He is saying. But how do you know if it really was God speaking to you? If it really wasn’t God, but you act on it, you could end up in big trouble.

Discerning whether God is really talking to you is kind of like one of the problems with email. Email is a wonderful invention. Yet, like everything else, it has it’s dangers. One of those dangers is called spam. Most spam emails are from people trying to sell you something you have no interest in. However, some spam emails are more dangerous. They are called phishing emails. A phishing email pretends to come from a respected institution that you do business with, such as your bank. It may politely ask you to click a link and log on to your bank account. However, although the site you go to looks like your bank, it is not. Within a few minutes after you’ve entered your name and password, the senders of the phishing email will have emptied your bank account. You must be very careful with emails, because it’s easy to be deceived.

It’s even more important to be careful about discerning if that impression we receive is really God’s voice or not. So today, I’m going to talk about “How To Discern God’s Voice.” Is that great idea you got as you were driving to work or as you were reading your Bible, is it really from God or not? How can you tell if the impression or idea you have is from God or not? How can you test that impression you have? TLB 1 John 4:1 Don’t always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God: test it first to see if it really is. The Bible tells us to not believe everything you hear, whether the message came from a pastor, from a book you read, from another person or from an impression you have. You need to test that message or idea.

Jesus said about His own teaching: MSG John 7:17 Anyone who wants to do His will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. So today I’m going to give you three ways to test an impression, a teaching or any other way that you think God may be speaking to you. If the impression you have lines up with all of the biblical tests I’m going to talk, then you know it’s from God. If it doesn’t line up, it’s not from God.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my July 29, 2007 message entitled Discerning God’s Voice

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