FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE

June 5, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord” – 1 Corinthians 1:30-31

We first observe here the source of our blessings. They are of God and in Christ. We are not righteous in ourselves, but receive the imputed righteousness of Christ. It is according to God’s purpose and by His grace that we are in Christ and that these spiritual blessings are ours.

Additional blessings are then described: not only do we have righteousness in Christ but also wisdom, sanctification and redemption. Wisdom that is not our own, sanctification that we could not effect on our own, and redemption that we could not purchase on our own. All of this is found in Christ alone.

We then look at what our response should be: glory in the Lord! What are you rejoicing in today? What are you boasting about today? We cannot boast in ourselves and we must not find our joy in this world. We are to glory in the Lord, to revel in His blessings, in His presence, and in His person.

This is the great purpose for which we have been saved — the glory of God and of His Son Jesus Christ. Are you fulfilling your purpose today? (Baptist Bible Hour)

UNFAILING COMFORT

June 4, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”2 Thessalonians 2:15–17

When we are discouraged, scared, hurting, or afraid, there are few things that are a greater source of help and encouragement than hearing from someone that they know we are facing hard times and they are praying for us. Yet the truth is that there are times when we do not receive that kind word, assurance of prayer, or encouraging note. There are a number of reasons why encouragement may fail. Many hurts are carried silently, without ever being shared with others. Sometimes people are silent because they do not know what to say. Other times the busyness of life may prevent that needed word from coming.

But in those moments when we have no human source of help, we are not without hope. While it is nice to receive encouragement from people, the ultimate resource for comfort is God. No matter how severe the challenge may be and how alone we may feel, God is always available to help us.

At one of the lowest moments in David’s life, when his possessions and family had been captured and taken away and his own men wanted to kill him, David found help in the Lord. “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). There is no challenge we face that is beyond His ability to help and no burden we carry which He does not feel.:

God never fails to provide the encouragement and comfort we need if we seek His face in times of trouble.(Daily in the Word)

A 93-MILLION-MILE LOVE

June 3, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

NOTE: Having had the experience of starting churches I know from experience what a blessing it is to have other churches rally to your needs. It is for that reason that I was so impressed by this article from Tim Challies. I have revised the article to use the KJV where the Bible is quoted.—HDS

Christians are called to love. We know this. We’ve been loved by God so we can love in return. We display proof of our salvation when we stop living self-focused lives and begin living others-focused lives. We show our love and appreciation for God in the way we turn our love outward to become “zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). We are accustomed to thinking about this as individuals, and we know our local churches are meant to be communities of people who love one another. But there is also something to be said for entire congregations loving other congregations.

We see this modeled in the New Testament, such as when the churches of Macedonia begged for the opportunity to help out another needy congregation: “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. ” (2 Corinthians 8:2). We see it another time in one of those same Macedonian churches—the church at Thessalonica. When Paul writes to them, he says, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).

Paul seems to be saying something like this: “I’ve been in touch with other churches in your region, and they’ve told me about your generosity. You have been extending love to them. You have been ensuring they know that your congregation loves their congregation.” The love of Christian to Christian within that one congregation had overflowed into love for other congregations. In fact, Paul can gauge the intensity of the love of the believers in Thessalonica by the manifestations of their love in cities across the region.

It’s like the sun on a hot summer day. You stand outside and feel the heat of the sun on your face and think something like this: “If the sun is this hot here on earth, I can only imagine how hot it is 93 million miles away on the surface of the sun.” And Paul is saying, “If your love reaches all the way to Berea and Ephesus and other churches across your region, I can only imagine how strong that love is right there in your church.” They had a 93-million-mile love that radiated far beyond themselves.

So perhaps we should be thinking about how our congregations can express love to other congregations. This may be through supporting them financially, setting aside some money to support a church that is badly missing its budget or a church that is attempting to build a new building. This may be through inviting those other congregations to shared events or to prayer meetings meant to pray for the entire city or region. This may be through asking those other churches how you can be praying for them in particular. There are a hundred ways that one congregation can express love to another.

As whole congregations love other whole congregations, we will be proving that the love within our churches is too strong to contain, too intense to remain within its four walls. We will, like the church of Thessalonica, be proving that we “are taught of God to love one another. …” and our challenge will be “that ye increase more and more;” —Think about it!

THE POWER OF PRAISE

June 3, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us ; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.“–Psalm 115:12
“But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.“–Psalm 115:18

We associate preaching, praying, singing, and giving with serving the Lord, but have you ever thought about praise as a ministry? You should! It certainly is. Read this entire Psalm and you will see that those who without God, who do not know God, will laugh at our calamity and mock our faith in the God they cannot see. It is times like these that call for songs of loudest praise. When others are doubting we need to declare our faith in God and praise is perhaps the best way to do that. When it appears that we have nothing to be thankful for there is great power in praise.

We should do so for two reasons–what He has done and what He shall do. According to vs. 12 faith looks in two directions– to the past and the prospect. Our praise should be prompted by retrospect and prospect. As the Psalmist said, “The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us”. Doing this not only awakens our adversary, it will get God’s attention and bring God’s aid. It will bring blessing to those who are burdened. Let this promise inspire you to hope when your situation seems hopeless–“trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.“(vs. 9). “Praise the LORD“!—HDS

BELIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE

June 2, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.”John 11:20–23

Outside of the disciples, Jesus had no closer friends on earth than Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. They welcomed Him into their home near Jerusalem, providing Jesus a place to rest and eat during His busy times of ministry in that city. When Lazarus took sick, Mary and Martha immediately rushed a message to Jesus, asking for His help. Yet the Lord delayed coming until Lazarus was dead and all hope was lost.

At some level, however, in Martha’s heart, there was a faith that even reached beyond the grave. Even as she expressed her disappointment that Jesus had not come to heal her brother, she expressed faith that Jesus would do the will of God. As you read this passage, you see Martha’s faith rise and fall somewhat throughout it. But she trusted that God wanted what was best for her and her family, and that He could deal with any problem she faced. In the end, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and God was glorified.

Too many Christians miss out on what God could and would do for them because they lack the faith to ask. James wrote, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). Why do we not pray as we should? While there are many reasons for prayer failure, the greatest is a lack of faith in God. No matter what we may say out loud, in our hearts we do not believe that God is willing or able to help. If our faith is limited by what seems possible to us, we will never see God work in miraculous ways.—Copied

FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE

UNFAILING COMFORT

A 93-MILLION-MILE LOVE

THE POWER OF PRAISE

BELIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE

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