August 7, 2006

• Thank you so much for your prayers. The Bible study went well and people were blessed by it. I think that many came away seeing the love of God in the midst of their tests. 

  
  

  I still am amazed at how much God has done in my life. Five years ago if you would have seen me, you would not have recognized me. I most certainly would not have thought that God would have helped me to reach people and yet he does use me. I know that if He can use me with my past, anyone can be used by Him to reach others.

  
  

  Pastor Don talked about his trip today. He went to two conventions, one in Louisiana, and one in Ohio.  When he was in New Orleans, he met with people who survived hurricane Katrina. He stated that there was a vast difference between the testimonies of the ones who had God in their lives, and the ones who did not have God. The believers were praising what God had done in their lives, the others were complaining and griping. Often the same situation would be looked at so differently by believers and non-believers. Many had lost all, and yet they were thankful that God had prospered them. Without God the people had no frame of reference to pick up and go again. Those with faith knew that, even though circumstances were tough, God is still God.

  
  

  Pastor Don told us to watch our mouths, our attitude, and our performance under stress. Be like Job and say, “I know my redeemer lives.”

  
  

  The workers down there told Pastor Don that 40% of the people who lost their lives lost them because of their pets. And he told us that we need to keep praying and helping those who are there to recover. It was sad to see the houses so marked to indicate water damage, loss of life, etc.

  
  

  Pastor Don said that you can’t complain your way to success.

  
  

  Then Pastor Don talked about the two different conferences he attended. One was a traditional church convention and the other was a fundamentalist, spirit-filled believer convention. And what Pastor Don noticed is that the traditionalists would snicker and laugh and make judgements about the fundamentalists. Then when he got to the fundamentalist church convention, they did the same thing about the traditionalist.
  
  Pastor Don said that this had to stop. We can’t draw a line in the sand and put an end to communication between different churches. We can’t say we won’t fellowship with them because they do not believe what I believe,the way I believe it. We can’t write off other churches and denominations. God’s kingdom is going to have believers from all denominations, and it is God who is going to decide. We cannot say all Catholics, all Jehovah Witnesses, all of any faith is not going to make it. God knows our hearts, and God knows who is a believer or not.

  
  

  The question is, where does Jesus draw the line. Pastor Don then talked about how his wife and he attend conferences. She goes to some meetings and takes notes, he goes to others so that many of the meetings in a conference are attended. His wife came to him troubled because of what a traditionalist said, a person who is well known, a teacher in a university, with many degrees stated that we can’t be sure that all the words written in red in the Bible are really Jesus’s words. And his example was John 17 where Jesus was alone in the garden, and so how did those words get written, how could John know Jesus said them?

  
  

  Pastor Don said that it was a good question. And he disagreed with the speaker who said that for he knows the red words are Jesus’ words. He then stated that he believes they are true because of it being a similar situation as him and his wife. Our puzzled expressions had him explain that his wife tells the truth, and she wrote down notes and showed him her notes, and later the speaker was a keynote speaker and he said the same things his wife had put in her notes, and by putting all that together Pastor Don knew that his wife gave a true report of what was said, even though he wasn’t at the meeting.

  
  

  Then Pastor Don had us look at John 17 to see what criterion Jesus had for believers.

  
  

  This prayer was said in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion.

  
  

  John 17:1-3 “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

  
  

  The first criterion is that we may know God and Jesus whom God has sent. We need to realize that the God of the New Testament is the same God as the God of the Old Testament. We can’t come into relationship without knowing that the Jewish Testament was fulfilled with the Greek. But to know one without the other is loss and confusion.

  
  

  John 17:4-6 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

  
  

  The next criterion is keeping God’s Word. God, the Father, gave His son the Word to share with us. He obeyed God’s Word, and we are to obey God’s Word.

  
  

  John 17:7-8 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from you, for I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

  
  

  The next criterion is that we believe God sent Jesus. And that we are to pray for those whom God has given Jesus, and the basis of praying for them is that the Father determines who comes to the Son. Pastor Don then said, “And Glory!!!!! He prayed for me!!!!!” and he prayed for you. Pastor Don pointed out that when Jesus came for him, he wasn’t looking for Jesus, Jesus pursued Him. And it is the same with us all.

  
  

  (Heather’s note)  I know for sure that He came for me when I wasn’t looking for Him. Didn’t want any part of Him, but He kept lovingly pursuing me.

  
  

  John 17:10-11 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

  
  

  Jesus prayed that we would be one like He and the Father are one. All are called by the Father to be one, to the same glory, communion, relationship, faith that the Father has with the son. The unity of the Body of Christ was important to Jesus, and we do not have that unity as a church today. This unity is a picture of a marriage – just like in Genesis, where two become one.

  
  

  We don’t even have unity in our own personal bodies. Our bodies fight with ourselves, and often we want to do one thing, and our body another. I want to go here, and our body says we are too tired to go. Sickness is a war between healthy and unhealthy. Husbands and wives don’t always get along, they don’t always agree. There is honor for those who do not separate and divorce.

  
  

  Being in unity does not mean that there is a lack of disagreement. Peace is not defined by what is going on, but by the resolution of what is going on.

  
  

  If you look at a pond, the surface may be mirror smooth, but underneath minnows are running away from bass, and that is not a peaceful situation.

  
  

  We can believe that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in agreement, but the Body of the Church seems to keep not agreeing.

  
  

  John 17: 12-14 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

  
  

  Again notice the emphasis on KEPT YOUR WORD. We are to be keepers of God’s Word. That often means that we are not of this world. As Christians we are not to fit in, often if we try to blend with the world, we are out of agreement with God. We do not agree with all that is in the World, but we have to agree with Jesus. There was a commercial about Hebrew National Hot Dogs, where it said that “We have to answer to a Higher Authority.” Well, we too have to answer to a Higher Authority.

  
  

  We are not to be “mixed meat, with stuffing and other fillings, and bread in our personal hot dog lives.”

  
  

  We are not to be too Republican, too Democratic, too denominational, we are to be TOO JESUS.

  
  

  John 17:15-17 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.

  
  

  We had to repeat several times YOUR WORD IS TRUTH. In an effort to find truth, the Word of God sanctifies you, cleanses you.

  
  

  Even though some of God’s words are being altered today about things that God has said are not good. God’s no means NO. God will never change His word to let us do something that is not good for us. God’s truth comes from a place that is outside of time, outside of our limited understanding. If God says, “Don’t do it.” he means, “Don’t do it.” If we do what we are not to do, we will have a bad effect. He loves us so much that he tries to protect us through His Word. And we know HIS WORD IS TRUTH.

  
  

  The next part of Pastor Don’s sermon was SO PHENOMENAL that I want to save it for tomorrow. It stands on it’s own and is mind boggling. It will answer the question of whether or not we can trust that the red letters are Jesus’ words. Talk about a faith-filled, faith-building sermon. My husband told my brother-in-law that he had tears in his eyes hearing the sermon, and he seldom cries. It was that good.

  
  

  Have a blessed night.
  Heather

  • 12:16 am
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