The Weekend Sermon -- "Faithfulness -- Conclusion"

      I hope that everyone is preparing their hearts during this Lenten season for the glorious time of Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He is alive, and because He lives, we will rise with Him when He comes to this earth. 

     Today, I am going to conclude our series of messages about the subject of faithfulness. We will then move into Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter with our messages. After that, I have several different things planned out for the remainder to the year. 

     As we close out our series on faithfulness, I want us to look at the importance of being faithful in studying about and carrying out the way of Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, and today and forever. It also tells us that we are to look to Jesus and keep our eyes on Him. We are to follow Him in the way that He has shown us to go. 

     In order to be able to faithfully follow Jesus, we have to know what Jesus taught us. We have to learn about His way. One of the ways that we do this is by diligently and faithfully studying the Bible. I urge each of you to read, read and re-read the Gospels. Find out what Jesus said and how He lived while He was here on this earth. I would especially urge you to read what I call the core teachings of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and the Sermon on the Plain recorded in Luke 6. Also read and study extensively the Upper Room Discourse found in John chapters 13-16.

     When we know what it is that Jesus taught and what He did, it is then up to us to be faithful in doing the things that Jesus told us to do, and we must act like Jesus here in this world. We cannot just be hearers of the Word, we have to be doers of the Word as well. 

     One of the teachings of Jesus that I have placed a lot of emphasis on is the Golden Rule. Jesus called us to do unto others as we would have done unto us. If we would all be faithful in following this important teaching of Jesus, the entire world would be a much better place than it is right now. 

     The core of Jesus' teaching is that we are to love God with all that we have within us, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus was all about loving others. We are to be faithful in sharing the love of Jesus with others and loving this world just as Jesus did. 

     Let all of us be faithful in following the Lord Jesus. He is the Way. He will always be with us as we faithfully do His will in this world. Amen. 

  Prayer Requests

     So far, the storms have not caused any problems where I live. I thank the Lord for this. Please keep praying that my health will continue to improve. 

     Pray for those in Myanmar and Thailand who have been affected by the earthquake. Pray that they will receive the help and the aid that they need to recover. 

     Continue to pray for those recovering from storms on Mayotte. 

     Let us all keep praying for peace. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan and the other troubled areas of this world. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Pakistan and Chad. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I will post the message on Friday as usual. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Something I Want To Say

      I've posted this verse before, but it is very appropriate right now with what is going on in the United States. Leviticus 19:36 -- "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born." That means that everyone is entitled to the due process of law in this country.

Verses For The Week And Prayer Requests

 Before I post the verses, I have two prayer requests. Please pray that the severe weather predicted for my area this evening will not be too bad. Also, pray for the people in Myanmar and Thailand that they will get the help that they need to recover from the earthquake. 

Psalm 46:10 -- "Be still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 96:9 -- "Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness, tremble before Him all the earth."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Faithfulness -- Part 5"

      Thank you once again for reading the weekly message. I hope that all of you are well. I am finally starting to recover from my illness. I thank the Lord Jesus that I am doing better. 

     Today we will once again focus our attention on the topic of faithfulness. In our message for today, I want us to look at an important commandment given to us by the Lord Jesus, and how we are to be faithful in carrying out what the Lord has asked us to do. 

     Just before Jesus ascended back into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us as our advocate, He gave His followers then and now an important commandment to follow. We read about this in both Matthew's Gospel and in the first chapter of the book of Acts. Matthew 28:19-20 states, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

     Jesus has called all of us who are His followers to go out into this world and proclaim the message of His love and forgiveness. The command wasn't just for people back then. It is applicable to us now just as much as back then. 

     The Lord Jesus wants everyone to be able to know about Him, and He has called us to be the ones to spread the good news. It is not just the pastor's job or the evangelist's job. It is the command to all of us to do what we can to tell others that they can have a new life in Jesus Christ. 

     I know that every one of us can find some way to be witnesses for the Lord where the Lord has us in this world. We can be faithful in carrying out the Great Commission in some way. 

     One way to carry out the Great Commission is to find ways to talk about God and the things of God at work and in your social gatherings. Don't ever hesitate to tell others about what Jesus has done for you. We can all share our faith with our friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues. 

     Another important way to share the faith is to live in such a way that people see Jesus working in you. We are called to live according to the values of Jesus and not according to the ways of this world. When people see that we are doing good and following Jesus, they will see our good works and give glory to the Father in Heaven. 

     Maybe the Lord has a specific ministry in mind whereby He wants you to spread the message of the Gospel. Maybe He is calling you to be a pastor, teacher, missionary or evangelist. If He is, heed the call. Do what God has called you to do in order to make a positive impact for Him in this world. 

     However we chose to be faithful in fulfilling the Great Commission, we must know that we can't do in our own strength. We can only tell others about Jesus and be His witness in this world through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts, Jesus told the faithful to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. Then, when they were filled with the Spirit's power, they would be able to be witnesses for Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the world. 

     Jesus is with us when we are faithful in telling others about Him. He will never leave us, and He will never forsake us.  With that in mind, let us all be faithful in telling others about Jesus and how He can save them from their sin and give them an abundant life now and eternal life in the world to come. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     As I mentioned, I am feeling better. Please keep praying that I will make a full recovery. Also, please pray that things will go better at work. Thank you. 

     Keep praying for peace. Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Israel, Yemen, Lebanon, Chad, Congo and Haiti all need our prayers right now. 

     Pray that some leaders in this world will stop wanting to take over other people's lands. 

     Unfortunately, many nations are cutting back on aid to other countries. This is causing much heartache in the world. Pray that this gap in funding will be able to be made up so that people who are in desperate conditions can get the help that they need. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Indonesia and Eritrea. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will conclude our series on faithfulness. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Titus 2:11 -- "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people."

John 1:16 -- "And from His fulness we have all received grace for grace."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Faithfulness -- Part 4"

      I am sorry that I was not able to post the verses this week. I have been very ill with a lung infection. I am doing a little better, but I am still not that great. I have to go back in to see the doctor on Tuesday. Please pray that I will get to feeling better. I do hope to get back in the swing of things on the blog this week starting with the sermon being posted today.  I hope that all of you are doing well. 

     For the past three weeks or so, we have been studying some of what the Bible has to teach us in regard to faithfulness. We've looked at faithfulness in sacrifice, faithfulness in holiness and we saw that God is always faithful to us and to His word even when we lack in our faithfulness to Him. 

     Today, I want us to look at what the Bible has to say about being faithful in doing what is good. First of all, the Bible is quite clear that those of us who have been redeemed by the grace of God are called to do good deeds in this world. Ephesians 2:10 states, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  This means that when we are born again, we are called by God to go out and do good in this world and make it the best that it can be until the day when Jesus returns to this world in power and great glory. 

     Just for added emphasis on the fact that those who are in Christ are to be out trying to do good in this world we have the passage from the book of James that let's us know that faith that does not produce good works is a dead faith. It is an example of an empty profession of faith and not a true possession of faith. 

     What type of good works should we be faithful in doing. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:16 that part of being faithful in doing good is sharing what we have with others. This verse states, "And do not forget to do what is good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." 

     We also know from the teachings of Jesus what type of good works that we are to be doing in this world. We are to be faithful in doing good to the least of those among us. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and help the vulnerable and hurting people in our society and world. Jesus told us that when we have done it unto the least of those among us, we've done it unto Him. 

     Just as a side note, there is a movement among conservative Christians right now that is saying that empathy for others who are hurting is a type of a sin. This is false in every way. Jesus in His ministry was all about empathy. He felt the pain and hurt of others, and He worked to alleviate it. That is what He has called us to do. We are to weep with those who weep. We help the broken and hurting in the name of Jesus because that is what He did. 

     Jesus was clear, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to treat others in the same way that we want to be treated. When those claiming to be Christians try to get you to stop helping the hurting and vulnerable in society, what they are really trying to do is provide a religious justification for greediness and oppression. 

     In Galatians, the Bible tells us to never be weary in doing good. There are many problems in this world, and there are many people in this world who need our help. Christians must be at the forefront of helping this world be as good a place as it can be for everyone until Jesus returns. 

     During this Lenten season, and beyond, try to find ways to help others and to do good. As St. David the patron Saint of Wales said. we need to do be faithful in doing the little things. We need to in our own individual small ways contribute to the overall good in society. Each small good deed adds up into making a great world of difference. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Once again, please pray that I will get to feeling better. Thank you. 

     Pray for peace on this earth. Fighting has resumed in Gaza, pray for peace. Pray for release of the hostages. Pray for peace in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Pray for peace in Chad, Congo and Sudan. Pray for peace with justice in Ukraine. 

     Continue to pray for those recovering from natural disasters. Pray for those in Mayotte. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Maldives and India. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

The Weekend Sermon -- "Faithfulness -- Part 3"

      This is the day for the Weekend Sermon, and I am thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to post it. I hope that you are all doing well and having a very good week. 

     Last week, we continued with our series on faithfulness. Since it was the week that was the beginning of the Lenten season, we focused on the theme of being faithful in our sacrifice for the Lord. For today, I want us to continue with the theme of faithfulness, and I want us to focus on the theme of being faithful in holiness. 

     I don't often quote from the book of Joshua here on the blog, but one of the verses I want to bring to your attention today comes from Joshua 24:14 that says, "Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord."

     One of the major parts of being faithful to the Lord is obedience and holiness. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:14 that, "without a life of holiness, no one will see God." The Lord expects those of us who believe in Him to live our lives in accordance with what He has told us to do. Those who are not willing to make the attempt to follow the way of the Lord are like those we read about in the book of James who only had a profession of faith. They did not have a true possession of faith. They said they had faith, but they did not have the works in their lives that demonstrated that they really had faith and really had the desire to live the life of holiness that God had called them to live.  

     When the Lord calls a person to follow Him, we are called to leave the old ways and the old life of sin behind us. Hebrews 12 tells us that we are to lay aside the sin that easily besets us, and we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. 

     We know that living a life of holiness means that we are to lay aside sin, but what does it mean on a deeper level? First of all, the Bible says that sin is failing to do what we know is good. We read this in James 4:17. We know what is good and right from the life and the teachings of Jesus, that is why the Bible tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus. He lived a holy and sinless life. He is our example in this world as to how to live a life that is pleasing to God. If we follow the teachings and the commandments of Jesus, we will be able to do what is good as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. 

     The Bible tells us that there are some things that lead us astray. Sin is following these things that are the opposite of the way of the Lord. In I John 2:16 it states, "For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - come not from the Father but from the world." Seeking to gratify the flesh, being filled with greed and selfishness, and being prideful lead us away from God and into sin and immorality. 

     The Lord Jesus calls us to be faithful to Him and follow Him. Jesus told us succinctly what it takes to live a life of holiness. He told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus said on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. 

     During this Lenten season and beyond, let us strive to be faithful in living lives of holiness. We can do it as the Spirit gives us power. Amen.

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that we won't have bad storms again in my area this week. Thank you. 

     Pray that there will be peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and wherever war and conflict are present in this world. 

     Keep praying that aid will reach those harmed by natural disasters. Please keep praying for Mayotte. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in the nations of Kyrgyzstan and Libya. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Now for an announcement. I am currently working on my new blog book project. I am calling it 30 weeks of Psalms. If you remember a couple of years ago, I posted a short message on 30 Psalms for 30 straight days. This year, it will be a little different. On the Wednesday after Holy Week, I will post a short message on a Psalm for 30 weeks. I hope you will read the messages. The Psalms will be different than the ones I previously wrote about. 

     Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.