Sunday Update

We had a great day at church yesterday.  It was cold and rainy, but the church was warm and friendly.  We were missing several people yesterday morning due to travels and sickness, but we still had 13 in attendance.  What a blessing.  I preached from Matthew 14, where the disciples found themselves in the midst of one of the greatest storms they ever faced.  Do you realize, it's possible to obey the Lord, to be right where the Lord instructs you to be, and yet still face storms.  Hard times come to each and everyone of us.  Storms are simply a part of life.  However, it's encouraging to know, when you're facing those storms, the Lord knows exactly where you are. He came walking to those disciples in the midst of their storm.  Jesus came walking on the sea.  No matter what you're facing today, no matter how big it seems to be to you, it's not too big for the Lord. He's got it all under control.  What an encouraging thought.  Hope you had a great day in the Lord's house yesterday.  I thank God for what He's doing here at Canaan Baptist Church in Covington, LA.

A Place to Grow

One of my goals for 2011 is to use my blog more.  It is a great tool to use to stay accountable and to help others stay informed about what is going on at the church.  I am truly excited about the church.  I believe there are great days in the future for our church.

 

This past Sunday was a good day.  We are averaging 15 people on Sunday mornings.  This past Sunday evening, I introduced our church theme for this year.  A place to grow.  I think this will be a great theme, as it is our desire to see growth at Canaan Baptist Church.  I want to see the attendance grow, of course, but I also want to see those of us that are there now grow.  I want to grow in my personal relationship with my Lord.  Each month we'll have a different area of our lives that we will focus on.  The first Sunday evening of each month will be a time I call Church Challenge. It's when we will look at those areas and how we can grow in those areas from the Bible.  It's a year long series.  It's going to be good and I am excited about it.

 

For the month of January, we considered the thought, A place to grow...in faith.  We looked at the man with the demon possessed boy in Mark 9.  I found it interesting while studying, the man approached Jesus to ask for help.  When he approached the Lord, he said but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.  Notice the word if.  If you can help Lord.  The man had little faith.  Notice then, how Jesus responded.  If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.  Jesus responded to the man by letting him know the question was not with the Lord's power or ability. It was with the man's faith.

 

How many things do we miss out on simply because we don't believe the Lord is able?  How many problems do we face because of our lack of faith?  I need to grow in faith. The man responded to Jesus by saying, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.  I believe he was saying, Lord, I believe you can heal my son.  However, there are other areas where I have trouble believing.  Help me with the unbelief that is still in my heart. 

 

I can say the same.  Lord, I believe, I trust you in so many areas.  However, there are still areas where I need to trust you more.  Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.

An Unpopular Appointment

That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.  1 Thessalonians 3:3 

 

  A thought jumped out at me this morning as I read these verses, Paul recognizes here that he is appointed to suffer for the cause of Christ.  The latter part of this verse says so, for yourselvs know that we are appointed thereunto.  Thereunto what?  The answer, these afflictions.  Paul understood his appointment was to suffer for Christ sake.  He had no problem with that.  He acknowledged that, he accepted that. He was willing to suffer for His Lord.

 

In a day of comfort, am I?  We are living in a time of comfort.  We have the most comfortable world we have ever had.  We have new luxuries and gadgets, all designed to make us comfort.  And it's carried over to our Christian walk.  We have so watered down Christianity in an effort to be a more comfortable Christian.

 

Now mind you, I'm not saying I want to suffer.  But I must search my heart and ask, would I?  Would I be willing to suffer?  Would I accept it as my appointment, something that was required of me, or would I complain and make accusation against God?  My God give us all the steadfastness of Paul, willing to accept our appointment, even when it is an unpopular one like afflictions.

Can I Be Trusted?

1 Thessalonians 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak;

 

As I was reading this morning these words jumped out at me.  I asked myself, can I be trusted with the Gospel?  You see, God when He gave me the Gospel, gave me a very precious treasure.  It is a treasure that exceeds all value of any earthly possession.  The assurance of knowing one has a home in heaven throughout eternity is worth far more than gold.  Thank God that I have that assurance, but what am I doing with it?  Have I hid it in a closet somewhere?  Have I buried it?  By doing so, I have in turn diminished its value.

 

This treasure only has true value when it is shared.  God has trusted me with the Gospel.  What am I doing with it?  Have I proven myself trustworthy?

No More Overtime

Several weeks ago, my watch fell apart.  The band on it just broke.  Now, that may not be a terribly bad thing for some people in some professions, but for a preacher, that's a bad thing.  Well, at least the people in the congregation probably think so.  I was actually starting to grow pretty fond of not wearing a watch during church.  No worry about time constraints, just go till you finish.  I was a liberating feeling.  Well, yesterday, our most faithful family in the church surprised me with a brand new watch.  Now, this wasn't a cheap, Wal-Mart watch, this was a really nice watch.  They said it was in honor of our being here a year and just to let me know how much they appreciated me and my family. That, and they were tired of me going so long. (They were just kidding about that part, I really didn't go any longer without the watch than I did with the watch.)  I was very grateful to them.  I thank the Lord for meeting needs for us when we have them.  What a blessing that He uses His saints to encourage others. It makes me want to go out and encourage someone else today.  Servant of God, just keep on serving Him.  People are watching.  God is watching.

 

It also really challenged me to be my very best for the church.  In essence, they gave me time.  They gave me a watch.  I want to invest that time wisely.  I want to invest it in a way that God can use us to do great things for His honor and glory.  I am reminded of Ephesians 5:16, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  We all only have so much time to do a work for God.  If we are going to do anything, we must do it now.  We are not promised tomorrow.

 

By the way, I did tell them last night that they did good to buy the watch when they bought it. I told them usually on Sunday evenings I just preach until it is good and dark outside.  With this weekend being daylight savings time, that would have added an extra hour to the service.

Can I Trust Him?

Sunday morning I preached from Genesis 22.  It is the account of Abraham taking Isaac up Mt. Moriah to offer him as a sacrfice, just as God had instructed him to do.  I realize that the Scriptures do not say that he thought it, but if it were me, I would have been wondering, Can I Trust Him?  Can I really trust God with this?  Why is He testing me this way?  Isn't this just a little to much?  After all, Abraham had prayed for Isaac for many years before God gave him.  Isaac was Abraham's promised child, now, God is asking Abraham to sacrifice the thing he has prayed for and desired the most?  Surely I would have thought, and you probably would have too, Can I Trust Him?

   I don't know what test you may be facing right now, but I want to assure you, whatever it is, however huge it seems to be, you can trust Him.  God has no desire to hurt you.  He loves you too much for that.  He cares for you too much, He only wants what's best for you.  Of course the answer to the question is a resounding yes, I can trust Him.  Then another question came to my mind, how?  What is it that enables me to trust Him? 

    I thought of two things, two reasons, why I can trust Him.  I have an Isaac, He has a ram.  I have an Isaac, I have a promise from God that I can trust Him.  Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Now remember, things don't always work out good.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people. However, God has promised me that all things work together for good.  I may not understand why, but it will always be for the better.  I have a promise from God that tells me so.  That is my Isaac, the promises of God.  Another Isaac I have is previously answered prayer.  I have prayed before and seen God answer those prayers.  If He can answer prayer in the past, He can surely still answer them.  He hasn't changed. He never will.  I can trust Him because I have seen Him work on my behalf in the past and I know that He still is.

     I also know that God has a ram.  You see, while Abraham and Isaac were walking up that mountain, there was a ram that would soon be Isaac's substitute, walking up the other side.  God had already prepared a substitute for Isaac, even though Abraham didn't realize it yet.  God was working on Abraham's behalf before Abraham even knew it.  I know that God has everything under control. He is working on my behalf. He is already preparing the answers for tomorrow's problems.  No matter what I may face in the days ahead, I can take comfort in knowing that He has already prepared a ram, He is working on my behalf.  Therefore, because I have an Isaac and God has a ram, I know I can trust Him.  Whatever you are facing today, let me encourage you to hold onto your Isaac, the promises and past provisions of God, and remember that God is working on your behalf.

Extravagant Love

We had a good day here at Canaan yesterday.  With it being Valentine's Day, I felt led to preach on Extravagant Love.  The word extravagant means excessively high, exceeding the bounds of reason.  We looked at the example of Mary from Mark 14:1-9, when she broke open her alabaster box and poured the spikenard on the head and feet of Jesus and washed His feet with her hair.  This was, in my opinion, a great act of Extravagant Love.  My heart was convicted as I studied and preached on it.  The question kept coming to my mind, do I love the Lord that way?  I really want to, I strive to, but do I?  You see, Mary loved the Lord so much that she gave Him her greatest possession, her alabaster box with the spikenard ointment in it.  Do I love Him enough to give Him my greatest possessions?  What about you? Do you love Him with an extravagant love, witholding nothing back from Him, not even your greatest possession?  What is your greatest possession, your car, your home, your job, your career, your children?  Would you give it to the Lord if He asked?

There were four things we looked at concerning Extravagant Love yesterday morning:
  I.  Extravagant Love is Costly - it cost Mary something to love the Lord, her alabaster box and ointment.

 II.  Extravagant Love is Criticized - anytime you do anything for the Lord, there will always be a critic in the background.  This time, it was Judas. He called Mary's act of worship a waste.

III.  Extravagant Love is Commended - what Judas called a waste, the Lord called good.  He said that she had done a good work.  I pray that my work for the Lord would be a good work.

IV.  Extravagant Love is Cited - the memorial of what this lady did has been recorded in Scripture forever.  The Lord cited her good work for eternity.  What a blessing to know the Lord is keeping a record or our labor.  The things we think no one notices down here, He notices.  He'll not forget our love and labor for Him.

 

Extravagant Love.  May the Lord help me to love Him with a greater love than ever before.  I hope you had a good day yesterday.