"What's in it for Me?"

Life in general is always in survival mode for most folks and rightly so. This is the reason we will hear the question so often asked, “What's in it for me?” when approached to do something for or with someone. People want to know what they are getting into and how it is going to benefit them. To a certain extent there is nothing wrong with wanting to know the blessings or consequences of your decision making. After all, what we are today is due to what we did yesterday and what we are tomorrow is due to what we do today. Makes sense, right?

Here is a prime example of self preservation. A devout believer in astrology, French king Louis XI was deeply impressed when an astrologer correctly foretold that a lady of the court would die in eight days' time. Deciding, however, that the too-accurate prophet should be disposed of, Louis summoned the man to his apartments, having first told his servants to throw the visitor out of the window when he gave the signal. "You claim to understand astrology and to know the fate of others," the king said to the man, "so tell me at once what your fate will be and how long you have to live." "I shall die just three days before Your Majesty," answered the astrologer. The shaken king canceled his plans! [Today in the Word, July 16, 1993.] 

 

It wouldn't hurt for us to remember the words of Warren Wiersbe dealing with preserving oneself. “Self-preservation is the first law of physical life, but self-sacrifice is the first law of spiritual life.” So are we thinking with the spiritual or the carnal mind when it comes to self-preservation? Good question to ask ourselves on a regular basis. The apostle Paul struggled with the flesh/carnal mind and this is what he had to say about it. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom. 8:5-8) Surely all of us want to be pleasing to God and it is required of us to do so if we love Him and want to keep His commandments.

Paul further tells us in 1 Cor. 3:3, for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? So, do you have any of these problems? Remember, to be pleasing to God we cannot have a carnal mind. We must never forget that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. (2 Cor. 10:4) We all have those nagging strongholds in our life that need to be destroyed, mainly because they are carnal, not spiritual. With God's help these strongholds will be destroyed once and for all. The question is, “Are you willing to let Him do it?”

Goodness of God

...not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 

One of God's faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God." [Allen Gardiner]

Surely we can identify with Mr. Gardiner that God is good. We've even made the statement, “God is good,” more than once ourselves. We read in Exodus 34:6 where Moses proclaimed that the Lord was abounding in goodness and truth which tells us that His goodness is abundant even for us today. The psalmist lets us know that His goodness is great as well. Oh how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You...(Psalm 31:19a) The psalmist also writes that God's goodness is enduring, satisfying and universal. Why do you boast in evil, O might man? The goodness of God endures continually (Psa. 52:1). Blessed is the man whom You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house (Psa. 65:4). The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works (Psa. 145:9). So God's goodness is described as being abundant, great, enduring, satisfying and universal.

We see God's goodness manifested in several things too. Take for instance material and spiritual blessings. Matthew 5:45 is a prime example of His material blessings. “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” And how about His willingness to forgive sins? For You, Lord are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You (Psa. 86:5).

Maybe you can relate to God's goodness through this story. Often I have heard people say, "How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!'" Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. "No, Corrie," said Betsie, "He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: 'For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.'" Corrie concludes, "There is an ocean of God's love available--there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love--whatever the circumstances." [Corrie Ten Boom]

If we found ourselves in Corrie and Betsie's situation, would we have the same attitude as Betsie about God's goodness? If one truly knows and loves God, then and only then will they realize God's goodness no matter what their circumstances are in life. Amen? We need to come to grips that God is still in control and He wants nothing but good for His creation. It is and has always been man that has messed up His plans. 

 

Can you be counted on today to start looking for God's goodness? If so, can you also be counted on to help others find it too? Just think how much better off the world will be if we all have Betsie's attitude in life! God's goodness does abound and I'm sure we have already witnessed it today. Keep looking for it and see how your life will be changed for the better and how every day will have a silver lining, not a rain cloud. This is what happened in the life of Ezra. Let's see how!

Service

Most people wish to serve God -- but in an advisory capacity only.

Quoted in Sunday Express, London.

Franklin Roosevelt's closest adviser during much of his presidency was a man named Harry Hopkins. During World War II, when his influence with Roosevelt was at its peak, Hopkins held no official Cabinet position. Moreover, Hopkins' closeness to Roosevelt caused many to regard him as a shadowy, sinister figure. As a result he was a major political liability to the President. A political foe once asked Roosevelt, "Why do you keep Hopkins so close to you? You surely realize that people distrust him and resent his influence." Roosevelt replied, "Someday you may well be sitting here where I am now as President of the United States. And when you are, you'll be looking at that door over there and knowing that practically everybody who walks through it wants something out of you. You'll learn what a lonely job this is, and you'll discover the need for somebody like Harry Hopkins, who asks for nothing except to serve you." Winston Churchill rated Hopkins as one of the half-dozen most powerful men in the world in the early 1940s. And the sole source of Hopkins's power was his willingness to serve. [Discipleship Journal, Issue 39 (1987), p. 5.]

Now let's examine two types of service and try to determine which one best describes us when it comes to serving God and our fellow man.

Self-righteous service comes through human effort. True service comes from a relationship with the divine Other deep inside.Self-righteous service is impressed with the "big deal." True service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large service.Self-righteous service requires external rewards. True service rests contented in hiddenness.Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results. True service is free of the need to calculate results.Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry.Self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims. True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need.Self-righteous service is temporary. True service is a life-style.Self-righteous service is without sensitivity. It insists on meeting the need even when to do so would be destructive. True service can withhold the service as freely as perform it. Self-righteous service fractures community. True service, on the other hand, builds community. [Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, "The Discipline of Service."] 

 

God's word reminds us that...

“You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24)

“And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:27,28)

...but through love serve one another. (Gal. 5:13)

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. (Col. 3:24)

 

One of the best ways we can serve God and our fellow man is to become very acquainted with God's word and be willing to share it when the opportunities present themselves.

Preaching for God's Glory or Self Glory

When it comes to preaching we know that Jesus was the greatest of all preachers. He was definitely one that heralded God's message. Another would be the apostle Paul. Paul saw himself as Christ's herald. When he describes himself as an appointed preacher of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:11), the noun he uses means a herald, a person who makes public announcements on someone elses behalf. When he declares "we preach Christ crucified," the verb he uses denotes the herald's appointed activity of declaring abroad what he has been told to make known. When Paul speaks of "my preaching" and "our preaching" and lays it down that after the world's wisdom had rendered the world ignorant of God "it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe," the noun he uses doesn't mean the activity of announcing, but the thing announced, the proclamation itself, the message declared.

Paul, in his own estimation, was not a philosopher, not a moralist, not one of the world's wise men, but simply Christ's herald. His royal master had given him a message to proclaim; his whole business was to deliver that message with exact and studious faithfulness, adding nothing, altering nothing, and omitting nothing. And he was to deliver it not as another of people's bright ideas, needing to be beautified with the cosmetics and high heels of fashionable learning in order to make people look at it, but as a word from God spoken in Christ's name, carrying Christ's authority and authenticated in the hearers by the convincing power of Christ's Spirit (1 Cor. 2:1-5). [James Packer, Your Father Loves You,  Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.] 

 

Today we find a lot of preachers preaching what people “want to hear,” not what they “need to hear.” This reminds me of an episode in the life of Theodore Epp, founder of Back to the Bible radio ministry. He had been used to receiving critical mail from the sermons he preached. One day he realized something was wrong when he stopped receiving this type of mail. He was convicted that the was not challenging the flock enough so he changed his preaching. He stated, "I'm afraid that when I'm pleasing everybody, I'm not pleasing the Lord," he later said, "and pleasing the Lord is what counts." Every preacher needs to evaluate his messages to make sure he is striving to please God, not man. This, in and of itself, is a real challenge for any preacher, but something that must be done in the course of his ministry. This is not to suggest that a preacher is only successful when he is upsetting people! But he must not be apologetic either when this occurs when preaching the truth of God's word. A preacher must first and foremost be faithful to the One he serves because he is fulfilling a divine commission through his messages. Therefore, before a message is delivered, it should be laid at the foot of God's throne with one question: "Is it faithful to You, my Lord?"

There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me something." "Well, what is it? I don't know that I can explain anything to a preacher." "What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all." Macready's answer was this: "This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction." [G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 36.]

 

What Macready told the preacher could be very true of many preachers today. It can be even true of the pew sitting Christian. If we believe the truth of God's word but are not willing to live it, then we can see why we are not filling the pews in our church building. Are we living a fiction or non-fiction life when it comes to heralding the word of God? Something to give credence to for sure!

Doing Your Part In Doing What Is Right

Doing what is right is on most people's agenda for any given day. Of course there are those who have determined to upset the status quo by doing what is wrong. We don't want to go there this morning. Instead we want to talk about doing what is right. In doing so, we have to consider others in the equation, just as Jesus did. We know that in John 17 Jesus prayed for unity and we truly should be seeking to know what this unity is and why it is so important. It definitely has to do with doing what is right in the sight of God.

Let's first take a look at what Paul says about keeping unity in Ephesians 4:1-3. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We, as Christians, are urged to live the moral and spiritual life which is characteristic of true religion. We are to be united! The things that unite Christians are the one body, the one Spirit, the one hope, the one Lord, the one faith, the one baptism, and the one God and Father who is over all. Christians grow to be full-grown when they are involved in the work of the church. We all have different abilities, but we all have ability to work in the church.

When it comes to God's word we definitely want to be following it as closely as possible. Of course none of us know everything about God but we should be trying our best to know what He requires of us to live a successful and joy filled life in Christ Jesus. In order for this to happen, we sometimes need the help of others who have learned truths that we are now ignorant of and need a push in the right direction so we will not remain ignorant. This is remnant of the Ethiopian eunuch who needed the help of Philip to understand his reading of the scriptures from Isaiah 53. Once he was taught the meaning, he went on his way rejoicing and now an Ethiopian Christian (Acts 8:31, 39). It is simply amazing how the truth of God's word can help us do our part in doing what is right. If we were to keep all these truths to ourselves, we would be doing a grave injustice to our fellow man.

Can we now see how important Bible studies can be to assist us in doing good. If we continue to assemble with believers (Heb. 10:25), we will more than likely stay in the Word and continue to do what is good and acceptable in the sight of God (Rom. 12:2). Of course if we choose to leave the company of believers and allow ourselves to get back into the world, expect bad things to happen. Staying in close contact with those who believe like you, worship like you, have compassion like you and are convicted like you, will help you do your part in doing what is right. Make sense? Absolutely!

We should all be encouraging each other to do our part in doing what is good. God wants what is best for us, therefore we should be seeking to do those things which are pleasing to Him. Reading God's word, as well as reading devotionals, on a daily basis are excellent ways in seeking out what you should be doing to aid you in staying on the path leading to the straight and narrow gate which will lead you to eternal life (Matt. 7:14). Since so many are choosing to travel the broad way leading to destruction, we can clearly see the need for us to do what is right. Just remember that we will reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7). Let's make sure we sow to the Spirit so to the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8b).

Paul further encourages us to do our part in doing good by saying this, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). Are you doing your part? If not, why not? This morning we will learn how to determine if we've done our part where baptism is concerned. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Prov. 14:12). Do right and no worries!

Are You Self-Righteous?

Is it possible to be self-righteous and not even know it? Are you self-righteous? How many times have you ever been asked that question? For some of you this will be the very first time. Self-righteousness is usually a very bad attribute to have but just like everything else, there are some exceptions.

According to Wikipedia, self-righteousness (also called sanctimoniousness, and holier-than-thou attitudes) is a feeling or display of (usually smug) moral superiority derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person. The term "self-righteous" is often considered derogatory particularly because self-righteous individuals are often thought to exhibit hypocrisy due to the belief that humans are imperfect and can therefore never be infallible. 

 

So far you are probably thinking, “I sure hope I'm not a self-righteous person, because those folks don't sound like a good group to hangout with.” Well you would be absolutely correct about that! No one likes a hypocrite and will try to avoid them anyway they can. We all know at least one person we would consider to be this way and most likely we are not calling them up to see if they want to hang out with us.

Moses reminded the Israelites of their rebellion in Deut. 9:4-6 when he said, “Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. Here we see that self-righteous can be described as objectionable. 

 

In Job 9:20 self-righteousness is described as self-condemned. Thou I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; thou I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. We see that self-righteousness is condemning because it cannot make pure. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness. It is condemning because it cannot save. Jesus said, For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Now this is some serious business! Lastly we can see in Rom. 10:3 that self-righteousness rejects God's righteousness. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. So self-righteousness is condemning because it is objectionable, self-condemned, cannot save and rejects God's righteousness. Do we need to say more? Are you self-righteous?

Let's continue. God's word continues to describe self-righteousness as unprofitable. I will declare your righteousness and your works, for they will not profit you. Isa. 57:12 It is also as filthy rags. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isa. 64:6 Most self-righteous people do not realize these things about themselves. Remember the Pharisee in Luke 18:11, 12? He prayed thanking God that he was not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even like a tax collector. He reminded God in his prayer that he fasted twice a week and gave tithes of all he possessed. This type of self-righteousness would be described as boastful. 

 

We should all come to the same conclusion as Paul in Phil. 3:4-9. He saw that no matter how he saw himself and what he had accomplish in the name of God, it was very much insufficient. He counted everything but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord, not having his own righteousness, but instead that which is through faith in Christ. Are you still feeling self-righteous? Let's hope not!

Area-Wide Sing

 Area-Wide Sing

 

COME ONE - COME ALL

Just a heads up to let all of you know about the area-wide sing on January 26th at 7 pm hosted by the Ridge Avenue church of Christ in Tifton, Georgia.  Join us in singing praise to God and His Son Jesus Christ.  You will be so glad you made this a part of your weekend activities.  The address is 1625 North Ridge Avenue Tifton, GA 31794.  Phone: (229) 382-2737

Are You A Dreamer?

Do you dream? I'm not talking about while you are asleep, but rather dreams that you would consider plans or visions for the future. If we are not dreamers, then all is lost! The prophet Haggai has this to say about our visions. “Consider your ways! You have sown much and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earn wages to put into a bag with holes.” Haggai 1:5b-6 Basically the prophet is saying, even though many times we get what we want, we are never satisfied. Are you feeling that way today? If so, what is it going to take to fill you up?

Walt Disney was a remarkable man of vision. This is what we have been talking about in the last few lessons together – Vision! He never gave up. Early in his career a newspaper fired him because they thought he had “no good ideas”. Go figure! That just made Mr. Disney try harder. When he first started out he couldn't sell cartoons to anyone. Some hinted that he had no talent, but Walt Disney had a dream, therefore he set out to conquer his foes. He found a minister who paid him a small amount to draw advertising pictures for his church. Disney had no place to stay, so that church family let him sleep in the mouse-infested garage. One of those mice which Disney nicknamed, you guessed it, Mickey, became famous – as the world now knows. The early days were tough, but that remarkable, creative visionary refused to give up. Like Mr. Disney, we Christians need to dream big and trust in God for the impossible.

Do we have a vision for our church family? Do we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is able to to the impossible? Jesus had a talk with the rich man and told His disciples that it was “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Matt. 19:24 The disciples then asked Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt. 19:26 Amen! 

 

Our God is the same God, therefore, we are in good hands, hands that will not let us down if our intents and desires are genuine and according to His will. We want our away members back because we know the destiny of their souls if they remain unfaithful. We also want to see new faces in our congregation because we also know of their fate if they remain in the world and outside of Christ. Both are good reasons, therefore we must wait on God and allow Him to work through our small number of able bodies to see this come to fruition. If we continue to plant and water, He will definitely give the increase! 1 Cor. 3:6

We are blessed to be called Christian and to know our eternal home is in heaven with our Lord Jesus and our heavenly Father. But we must have a plan for His church and we must all be willing to do our part to make it grow and prosper in our community. People's souls depend on our faithfulness to the call of the great commission. Are we doing our part? We know God is doing His. We need to have a vision and see it through the best we can.

Adding to or Taking from - Does It Matter?

Everyone likes a good book. For those of you who are avid readers, what would happen if one day you pick up your favorite book to read it again and the chapters were different. The book had been shortened or lengthened and the author's name had been changed. Would this matter to you? Would it change the content of the book to maybe make it read completely different? Any change to the book would alter its meaning and could change the whole outcome of any story.

God has written a book called the Bible. Over the years man has re-written it and called it a paraphrase. Is a paraphrase the same thing as the original text? Webster defines a paraphrase as a free translation or explanation. What about a translation? To translate means to render from one language into another: interpret. Don't you like this terminology is a lot better than paraphrase? This means that the many scholars that translated the Old and New Testaments took it from the Hebrew and Greek and put It into English so we could read it ourselves. Does this mean that some of the original meaning could be lost? There is a chance that this could happen but if God knew this translating was being accomplished so that more of the world could hear the gospel don't you think He would have put a stop to it if it was being translated incorrectly? Just a thought!

Over the years, man has put some very unusual twists on different portions of God's word. For example, some say that all a person has to do to be saved is believe or have faith or just confess Jesus. We know that all these are true but none of them alone has saving power. Would you say that man has added to or taken away from the word simply by misinterpreting It? 

 

We need to know what God's word plainly states about adding to or taking away from His inspired word. Here are a few scriptures that will aid in this matter: Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; Jer. 26:2; Rev. 22:18, 19 and Gal. 1:8, 9. If you have ever wondered about these scriptures, hopefully you won't any longer with a little study on your part and the Holy Spirit being your guide to truth. Have a blessed Lord's day & always remember that God is in control!

A Work in Progress

Surely you have heard of the song, “He's Still Working on Me.” It is usually sung with the younger children in the church family, but it applies to every Christian, or it should.

CHORUS:

He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be, He's still working on me.

1. There really ought to be a sign upon the heart,
Don't judge her yet, there's an unfinished part.
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hands.

CHORUS:

2. In the mirror of His Word reflections that I see
Make me wonder why He never gave up on me.
He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the Potter, I'm the clay.

CHORUS:

As God's children we want to acquire a greater knowledge of Him and His word. This is accomplished by reading and studying His inspired word on a regularly basis. We need to realize that God is willing to work with us as long as we allow Him to do so. He will not force anything on us that we do not want but He will always strive to give us what we need as we search the scriptures daily with a ready mind (Acts 17:11). How awesome is that? 

We shouldn't beat ourselves up because we are not growing spiritually at our pace. It could be that God is not ready to reveal to us some truths or aspects of His word because we can't digest them yet. We must be patient and wait on the Lord! We must also be careful not to bind on others what we think should be, because it might be contrary to the word of God for them and we are doing it out of ignorance. Of course our motives are pure, but so was Paul's in the persecution of Christians. We have to put trust in our fellow man as well and pray for each other on a regular basis.  Are you praying and putting trust in your fellow man?

Carelessness

Benjamin Franklin was wrote, “For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy; and for want of care about a horseshoe nail.” This truly was a small matter from the start, but had severe consequences. Are you about to lose or have you already lost the nail in your possession?

Come, let's take a look at a few examples of what can happen if we are careless with our nail. In Isaiah 47:1 & 8-11 we see that Babylon was destroyed because they were careless in taking care of God's people. God had given them to the Babylonians, but they were very careless with God's goods and they suffered for it. Remember that you are God's! Are you being careful with what is His or careless with your nail?

In the days of Ezekiel the prophet, God chose to destroy Egypt because they too were careless with their nail. They had mistreated God's people and He had had enough. “On that day messengers shall go forth from Me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great anguish shall come upon them, as on the day of Egypt; for indeed it is coming!” (Ezek. 30:8)

Once again we read of God's judgment upon a people because of their carelessness. God is very serious about taking care of what is His. In this example we see the inhabitants of the coast lands of Magog and Magog itself will be destroyed because of their actions against Israel (Ezek. 39:6). Are you taking care of you own nail?

In Zephaniah we read of the judgment against north Assyria, which included the city of Nineveh. They declared, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” (Zeph. 2:15) They nor you can declare, I am it and get away with it. God is a jealous God and will not tolerate carelessness with your obedience to Him. Do you feel your nail coming out?

In Isaiah 32:9 we see where the women of Jerusalem had become complacent. Their complacency had allowed them to become very careless. So careless that their livelihoods would be taken away. Do you have a job today? Do you want one tomorrow? Are you gambling that you do not need God in your life and that you can do everything by yourself. Have you become very careless with the nail God has placed in your hand?

Let's look at one last example found in Acts 18:12-17. You can become careless with your nail when you choose to sit by and do absolutely nothing as did Gallio in the case of Paul. Is God calling you to action and you are choosing to sit by idle thinking He does not notice? Remember that God is omnipresent. He sees and knows all. You cannot go unnoticed and He will find you out.

There is yet another nail that needs to be mentioned here. Not just one nail, but three. Jesus Christ was not careless when it came to His nails. He bore each one and He did it for YOU! We are asked to take care of one nail. To make sure it stays obedient and faithful to one God and one Savior. How are you doing with your nail?

Are You Believable?

Are you an individual that others can believe in? Belief is a very strong connection and not one to be taken lightly. It involves trust, confidence and action. It is a trait that is learned and practiced to keep it in check. All of us put our trust in someone or something, therefore it is important that you know you can be believed in order to be heard. Communication is imperative for belief.

Effective communication is essential in business and in everyday life. The most powerful communicators reach not just our minds, but our hearts. They win our trust. Are you this type of person? If so, GREAT! If not, you can be. Anything worth having is going to take some effort on your part. Are you willing to put forth the effort and energy it will take to be believed? There are not many feelings to be experienced in this lifetime over that of being able to win the trust of others.

A starting point is going to be belief in yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, then how will others believe in you? Hundreds of thousands of people fail to live the life they have always wished to live. They fail to realize their ambitions and give up on their big dreams as soon as they encounter the first obstacle. One of the strongest causes for this attitude is that they do not believe in themselves. Believing in yourself is all about being sure that you are going to do whatever you want even if others are against you. Usually, when you decide to take a big challenge or to do something that people failed to do you will find that everyone is putting you down or saying that you will not be able to do it. Been there and done that too, right?

Under the pressure of criticism some people start to doubt their own abilities and eventually give up. The few people who manage to believe in themselves and who continue moving along the path they've chosen are the ones who succeed. Surely you know of others that you have believed in and trusted and now see their successes in life. What made you believe and trust in them? It is apparent that they had the ability to convince you that what they were going to do would happen. In other words, they had the confidence in their abilities to see their objective through and at the same time take you with them because of your belief in them as well. You can be just as convincing in your actions as them, if this is what you want. 

 

You need to stop thinking that other people's opinions are so important and start building self-confidence in your own judgment. No one ever succeeds without being rejected. If people think that you are wrong or that your efforts will yield no results then just go against them by either convincing them with your point of view right away or by waiting until they believe in you by force when they see your success. How many times has this happened in your life with those you didn't believe? How many times after seeing their success you had wished you believed them? Too many times to count, right? Happens to all of us! The importance is learning from those experiences.

Belief in God is where ultimate belief begins. If you truly believe you can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13), then you will be a success and you find that others will start believing in you as well. Living a Christian life is as true as one can get on this earth in order to have others put their trust and dependence in you. People need to see your faith and they need to see your works too (James 2:17). You don't want to be dead in your efforts before you ever begin.

Did you know that even Jesus had a hard time getting others to believe in Him? His own family didn't believe and this could be your situation today. This morning we will see what Jesus did to make them believe so we can follow His example for our lives. It is important that others believe us if we are going to be effective servants in His earthly kingdom.

Prospecting

When you hear the term prospecting, what first comes to mind? Is it gold, silver or diamonds? If you are a sports enthusiast, it could be baseball, basketball or football, in which recruiters would be prospecting for new players. Either way the term is usually associated with mining of some sorts in most cases.

What does it actually take to prospect for one of these valuable minerals? Let's take gold for instance. First you need to know a little about it. There are two kinds of gold prospecting. Difficult to find is hard rock gold. The flakes are so small they have to be crushed and leached out of the hard rock. The big companies do this kind of mining. The kind of gold most small prospectors search for is called placer gold. There are four ways the gold is distributed in nature. The first is called residual. That is where the vein of gold has weathered out of a cropping and remains "in place" hence the name "placer gold". The second is eluvial. The gold has traveled a short distance from weathering out of the matrix but is not yet in the streams or other water sources. The third distribution is alluvial. The gold has traveled and come to rest in streams and rivers. Usually, being a heavy metal, the gold lies on or near the bedrock. The fourth kind of placer gold is beach placers. Small gold particles from the river make it all the way to the ocean. Wave action produces black sand layers containing fine gold. 

 

Because it's easier most individual prospectors start out looking for flakes and nuggets of free placer gold. It's exciting to find gold and the term "gold fever" is quite accurate once you find your own gold. Some health benefits are getting out in the outdoors, getting some good exercise, plus the value of whatever you might find, gold or not. By the way, here are some very helpful tools that will aid in your prospecting: gold pan, shovel, bucket & maybe a metal detector. If you look in the right places and use the right tools, then you should have success. Having an experienced prospector alongside won't hurt either! 
 

The kind of prospecting we want to talk about here is the prospecting for souls. If a soul has value to you then you should know that the same soul has value to God. Do you have a way to reach these souls? If so, how do you know it will work? Here's how! “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) If soul winning is a priority in your life, then God will see fit that you will have success. It's a matter of “want to.”

There are thousands of souls needing to be harvested by the Lord, but we have to first plant the seed and do some watering. Just think what would happen to your yard in the Summer time if it never had a drop of water. That's right, it would burn up. A soul that has not obeyed the gospel will have the same result. And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thes. 1:7, 8) Surely you do not want to be held responsible for someone burning in hell when you had the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Now, today, is the day to make up your mind that you will do your part to help bring at least one person to a saving knowing of Jesus Christ this year by sharing the gospel message with them. To know what the gospel is, in case you have forgotten, just go to 1 Cor. 15 and read verses 1-4. This is the gospel you need to share.  How exciting is this news? Let's get busy starting yesterday!