March 19, 2008

• Peace by Pastor Don

  Pastor Don began his sermon by telling us that it is time to make a decision. He told us that Joshua said, Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

  We have to choose if we want to serve baal, an idol, or God.

  For us, the only choice is God because only he can provide peace. He separates us from the rest of the world, and has told us, John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

  We can have that peace. Yet many of us have a spirit of fear that resides in us. We are afraid to travel, to go out, to eat, to drink, of friends, in the Body of Christ. Yet He has promised us peace, and we let the devil rob us of that peace.

  Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

  And we rest in His presence.

  We are not perfect. After King David, a man after God’s own heart, sinned, he laid down by a stream of water and asked God to not take His Holy Spirit away.

  Our battles are about to intensify. We have to make choices of what do we believe.

  With the coming of Easter, we have to make a choice about if the Bible is the Word of God or not. With the Word of God we are armed and dangerous.

  Pastor Don asked the question (which he said he will go into in greater detail later), about why does Easter not fall on Passover. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, celebrated Passover. He did not celebrate a holiday with pagan roots, which Easter is. Pastor Don challenged us to read his book Christianese pages 139-146 about the pagan roots of Easter. You can read the book online by clicking on the link. put in page 139 on the bottom of the page and you will be brought there.

  In times like these we need the Bible. The Church as it is on the planet now is not the Church that He is looking for. What is coming out of many of the pulpits is amazing. We need, as the song says, to “Be very sure that our anchor holds.” And when we have Jesus in our lives, our anchor will hold and we will have peace.

  Leviticus 26:6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.

  We can have the peace God provides as a gift by asking.

  We may not be able to change our situation. We may not be able to stop our husband from picking a fight, but we can have peace in the midst of the situation.

  Numbers 6:23-26 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

  That is the Aaronic blessing.

  Pastor Don told us that when each child is born, the child should be brought to his father, and have the father speak words of blessings over the child. Subsequent generations should pass the blessing onto the next generation.

  Pastor Don says that when his sons are home he is often telling them, “I love you man.” We have to tell our children that we love them, that we are proud of them, even for simple things. As we speak blessings over them, we are helping them become what they can be in the Lord.

  We really have to watch what we say.  We need to speak peace into our relationships. Even about those who are our ex’s, we need to speak blessings. They aren’t around but we can still keep the unhappy influence in our house if we are speaking curses about them.

  We have to fix our old relationships so that we can function better in our current ones.  God looks for restoration, reconciliation and peace.

  We are supposed to live in peace, walk, talk, and feel peace and love.

  We then spent time in Psalm 4, which I am going to save until tomorrow to share.

  Praying you have a peace that passes all understanding, and walk in His peace no matter your circumstances.

  Tomorrow we take my daughter and a few of her friends to a local large mall and let them shop and watch a movie – it is her desire for her birthday.

  Have a blessed day,

  Heather

  • 10:55 pm
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