OPENESS

Ps 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. NASU
** How brave David is here. I wonder how many people there are who would ask God to search their heart and find any bad in it? This is not for the sake of God however, it is for David’s sake…. God already searches our hearts, but this statement shows us that David had a open heart and life for God to do whatever He wanted to do. God is searching our hearts every day and yet that’s just the beginning of change. The great change is when we say “Search me, O God and know my heart.” So if we are allowing Him to search us will we allow Him to take out everything that hinders our walk with Him?

DEFECTERS

1 Chron 12:20-22
20 As he went to Ziklag there defected to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai, captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. 21 They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor, and were captains in the army. 22 For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God. NASU
** I’ve often said that I don’t want transfer growth in our church but I want new converts to raise up as a great army to reach this city for God. However, as I read this scripture and being that just a few months ago there was a prophecy given to me from a church that doesn’t know what we need here at CFC, I know that God sometimes helps thru transfer growth. The reason David was getting transfer leaders and fighting men was because Saul’s life and kingdom was corrupted and men and women want to follow the truth. I mean, what if there are churches in this town were the leadership is corrupt? Where are those people suppose to go? I will accept transfer growth with caution as David did and make sure it is because they are looking for the truth and to join a church that is righteous and willing to see this city changed by the power of God. Now I want to share with you two things. First, I was in Wenatchee taking a couple of days off and I got up at 5am to attend their morning prayer group and as I was praying with them, a young man came up to me and gave a word to me that said God was sending leaders to fight with us and to advance the ministry at CFC. Those leaders would be able to fight along side of our leaders enough to give them relief from the battle they have been fighting. This to me does not mean unlearned immature people or new converts. That is why I now accept transfer growth. Second, I had a dream the other night (after the word from God), and I was talking to Jack Hayford (the president of Foursquare) and he began to prophecy over me and our church. I couldn’t understand or make out what he was saying until he said this: “what was promised will come to pass.” I am excited! God is doing great things among us in our services. I’m glad he’s in control and I wait on His promise to be fulfilled!

LOVE HIM MOST

Matt 10:37-39
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. NIV** This is so amazing! I’m using this verse during the message this Sunday. I woke up this morning with this verse on my mind and ran up stairs to write it down so I wouldn’t forget it for the message notes and when we got together this morning to do our life journal together….. THERE IT WAS! I wrote it down earlier but didn’t know where it was found so I didn’t put the text with the scripture and as we were reading….. wow! Jesus isn’t asking us to hate everyone and love just Him, He’s helping us line up our priorities…. “I must be FIRST in your life above everything else.” I have to continue to examine my life and each day I put so much stuff into it and often times I find I don’t have time for Jesus. This Sunday I will share this verse because God wants our first and best love above everyone and everything else. As we prepare for His return we must take off everything that is not wedding clothes and put on His wedding garments for the up and coming wedding! Even so COME QUICKLY JESUS!

WHO YOU EATING WITH?

Matt 9:10-13
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." NIV
** It’s so easy to find a group of people to hang out with all the time and find that comfortable place with friends. Who was Jesus’ friends? Well, He definitely had His disciples but in the midst of hanging out with His disciples He always had time for the hurting and wounded and downcast. These people were people who the church called “sinners.” But who are we to help? The helped? The well? The Christians? Well….. according to this verse…. No! It’s time for the church to get out of their comfortable groups and allow the “sinners” to come and hang out with us and us with them. We need more church mixed in with the world now than ever before in history. Christians, churches, people who have hope should be in bowling leagues, softball, soccer, volleyball…. Etc so we can salt the world around us. This is the catch though…. We’ve got to play to win but not fall if we don’t…. that means all feelings must be checked in at the door. I’ve seen Christians blow up too many times because they put their feelings of competition first before their heart of evangelism! It’s our time to be light and be salt…..
Matt 5:13-16
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. NIV

HE IS.... I AM

Matt 8:16-17
16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." NIV
** Jesus is the great I AM! I’ve talked to people who say that Jesus doesn’t heal anymore today and they use the scripture of Isa. 53 as a spiritual healing. However when you look at the above scripture, you can see very clearly that it says “He healed ALL the sick TO FULFILL WHAT WAS SPOKEN THRU ISAIAH… Chapter 53.” Jesus has not stopped healing today. According to Heb 13:8 “He is the same yesterday and today and FOREVER!” I’m glad that He did not stop healing. I’m glad that He cares for us just as much as He did for them during the bible times. I’m glad that He is the great I AM not the great has been. I’m glad HE IS…..

YES MAN

Matt 4:19-22
19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
NIV** Anymore we Christians wait too long to answer the call of God for our lives. I just watched a movie last night “yes man.” (We have a editor that takes out all the foul language and sexual content…. Thank God!). As I watched the movie I thought how interesting it would be to just say yes to anything that God would put out in front of us. Yes to following Him, Yes to feeding the poor, Yes to tithing, Yes to doing the work of the ministry at our churches, Yes to volunteering in different areas in the church that are struggling…. Yes, Yes, Yes!!! Now pastor, what about balance? I believe in balance, but what I’m seeing today in the churches is a decline in people stepping up to the plate and saying yes to God. I see them saying yes to all that the world has to offer but when it comes time to immediately drop their nets and follow Jesus, they are too busy or have too many worldly responsibilities so they don’t have time to give God anything. If you’ve been asked to volunteer at your church for something, just say Yes! Look that person in the eye and let them know that Yes, you would like to give them 6 months of your time to teach and train those children and Yes they can count on you to do it to the best of your ability. Anyone can do anything for 6 months. Do it immediately, don’t whine, don’t complain while you do it, just commit to it and give it your best and I know that you will be blessed!

TWO FACED

Matt 3:7-8
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. NIV
** Here John is talking straight with the Pharisees and Sadducees. He speaks to them clearly and says “if you claim to be holy then show it in your actions.” Today the church is filled with many Pharisees and Sadducees. Everywhere you turn you can see people who claim to be Christian, doing things totally opposite of what a Christian is suppose to be like. I’m not talking about someone who makes mistakes and as they follow Jesus. I’m talking about people who know the path they are to follow and yet the clearly disobey and do what they want to do even if it defiles themselves and God. If you wonder what they look like, just check their fruit and see that they do not produce the fruit that comes from God.

SAVE THE CHILDREN

Matt 2:16
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. NIV
** Who will rescue the innocent children? They didn’t even have a choice. When satan knew that God was doing something great and it would come thru the children, he put it in the heart of the administration to destroy babies. Even so, today God has promised to do something great before His return and satan has returned with the same old tactic he did back then. Satan has put it in the heart of our administration to kill babies. I can’t wait to see what is going to come out of all these murdered babies! What great leader will lead us in these last days that God protected thru all the abortions? It should be interested….

DO I HEAR BLEATING?

1 Sam 15:13-14
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" NIV
** My goal in life is for Godly people to NOT hear bleating of sheep in their ears when they talk to me about my obedience to God. It’s so easy to accomplish most of what God has told me to do. Why do I hold out and not do it all? There are many reasons. First of all it’s often times easier to please man instead of God. It’s not that we don’t love God or anything like that but that we don’t have to look God in the face so to speak and so we let things slip and we so MOST of the things He has laid on our lives but not all of it. So, when people pressure us into doing what they think is best for our lives and we know we don’t want to or are not suppose to do it, we do it anyway because we can’t say no. Another reason is because of pride. I CAN DO IT! We say. And we press on doing things we are not suppose to be doing because we feel if we don’t do it or finish it, we are a failure. I’ve done it and I’ve seen people do things so far away from the plan has for our lives only because we felt it would be a failure to quit and go the right direction. Later Saul is told that “to obey is better than sacrifice.” What has God told you to do? Are you doing it to the letter? If He was to show up and look you in the eye, would you know that you are doing what He told you to do? Or do I hear bleating in the background?

FAITH BRINGS CHANGE

1 Sam 1:17-18
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. NIV
** This is a perfect picture of how faith in God works. Hannah was downcast and sad and her countenance was visibly seen. All it took was a word from the man of God for her to walk away and change her countenance. She decided by faith that if God said it would happen then I’m going to walk as if it has already happened. We need to take this example of faith and apply it to our own lives.

THE POWER OF LUST

Judg 16:15-16
Then she said to him, " How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is." 16 It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.
NASU
** Oh the power of a woman! Many many men throughout the bible and in history have fallen, given up kingdoms, lost everything even their lives over the power of lust and sex. Great men, who are wise and have seen the past and the sexual faults of other great men, fall into the hands of lust.
As I read thru this story of Samson once again, I still am amazed at how struck he was over this one woman. Will it ever change? I don’t think so. Men will still struggle and be tempted again and again and we will fall time after time because we have no idea how to control that desire of lust that dwells deep inside of us. Paul made a statement that clearly describes this: “the things I want to do, I don’t do and the things I don’t want to do, I end up doing. Who will deliver me from this body of death?”Often times I feel this very same way. However Paul finishes by saying “but thanks be to God thru Jesus Christ my Lord.”

GOD'S CHARACTER TESTED

4-1-09 – OUR TEST ON GOD

Judg 11:39
39 At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man.
NASU
** This is one of those stories in the bible that people argue about and discuss frequently. Why would this man make a stupid vow like this? Many people believe that he sacrificed his daughter because of his vow and many believe that he gave her to a life as some would put a nun. Now there is one thing I do know and that is God did not look kindly upon people who sacrificed their children to other gods such as Baal etc. Matter of fact, He sent Israel out and destroyed complete countries and cities because they were offering their children to their gods. This shows the true character of God. Why then would God give Jephtha victory over his enemies if Jephtha’s vow was totally against the character of God? Why would God let Jephtha win if He knew Jephtha would go home and slaughter his daughter. If God knew that Jephtha was going to kill his daughter and let him go thru the motions like he did Abraham and Issac, then I would understand this clearly because GOD DOESN’T KILL CHILDREN FOR HIS OWN GLORY! I however think that It’s sad that a father will sacrifice his own children’s freedom and future and not offer himself up first. Go figure, that we would read something like this on April fools day…. J