FORMING FAITH

January 26, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.”–Job 22:21

The situation is serious, your flesh is frail, and your heart is fearful. What do you do? Facing our fears we are forced to see our need of faith, and we long for it, but fail to find it. Why? We try to muster up the courage to confront the challenge, but we keep coming up short. We try to “keep a stiff upper lip”, “scotch our feet”, “square our shoulders”, etc. but fear has us in its grip– a strangle-hold, squeezing the life out of us. And we can’t find faith. Where is it?

A.W.Tozer wrote: “How then shall unbelief be cured and faith be strengthened? Surely not by straining to believe the Scriptures, as some do. Not by a frantic effort to believe the promises of God. Not by gritting our teeth and determining to exercise faith by an act of the will. All this has been tried–and it never helps. To try thus to superinduce faith is to violate the laws of the mind and to do violence to the simple psychology of the heart. What is the answer? Job told us, Acquaint thyself with him and be at peace; and Paul said, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. These two verses show the way to a strong and lasting faith: Get acquainted with God through reading the Scriptures, and faith will come naturally. This presupposes that we come to the Scriptures humbly, repudiating self-confidence and opening our minds to the sweet operations of the Spirit. Otherwise stated: Faith comes effortlessly to the heart as we elevate our conceptions of God by a prayerful digestion of His Word. And such faith endures, for it is grounded upon the Rock.”

Dear friend, you can’t just wait until it’s needed and then find faith, like a pill in a bottle. Faith is something that is formed over time as we feed on God’s Word (Rom. 10:17). The crisis is sure to come so it is essential that we prepare for it by giving our undivided attention to the Word of God. Some of you are struggling and unable to cope with your crisis simply because you have neglected to do what is needed to build your faith so as to face fears such as this. However, it is not too late to start. Your experience is evidence that you can’t escape what has come upon you, but you can endure it. Although you might be struggling due to your past neglect, you can shift your focus from your failure and fears to the Word of God and your faith will begin to grow, enabling you to face the future with a faith that gives you a peace that passeth all understanding. Don’t make the same mistake twice! –HDS

THE ROOT OF OUR FAILURE

January 12, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

No doubt you’ve heard the saying, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven”. I’ve yet to meet anyone who denies that first part–“Christians aren’t perfect”. That’s the truth. We all fail– some more than others and all too much. Thank God for forgiveness–we sure need it. However, although we are forgiven, we sometimes fail and our failures can create many serious problems. The good news is that God not only pardons us He also provides what we need to prevent us from falling. Please read 2 Peter 1:3-10, which ends with these words-” if ye do these things, ye shall never fall “.

So then, considering that God has provided all we need to live victoriously, how is it that we fail so often? That can only be attributed to the fact that we fail to appropriate what God made available. When we do that the outcome is predictable—we fail. And that’s a big deal! Even “little” failures lead to big problems and greater failures. We prevent this by practicing what is commonly called the Christian disciplines— Bible study, prayer, etc. Make no mistake about it, any Christian who neglects these things will fail. The fact is, and please listen, they have failed already in that they neglected these things. But they will fail even more because of it. I guess you could say, they fail before they fail.

One of the biggest and most common problems with Christians is that they generally fail to associate their “small” failures to the neglect of these things– these “big” things that are treated as minor matters. In other words they don’t see the seriousness of neglecting the things that would have prevented their failure. We just don’t realize the danger of neglecting these things or the value of doing them—at least not until it’s too late. It’s a bit like not brushing your teeth—it’s no big deal until your teeth start rotting.

It would make a big difference if we all understood that when God issues a command, sets forth a principle, or gives a warning it is for our good. As has been said, When God says,”Don’t” He means, “Don’t hurt yourself”, and when He says,”Do”, He means, “help yourself”. So when God instructs you to read the Scriptures and pray He does so for a good reason. We do ourselves good when we obey. We do ourselves harm if we don’t. We cannot ignore these things without suffering the consequences.

Now, think of all the various ways in which we fail— a covetous attitude, a bitter spirit, a sour disposition, angry outburst, unkind words, prideful boasting, etc. We ought to see these as failures rather than mere weaknesses. But we should also see them as something more. It is a sign of neglect and an evidence of rebellion. It is a refusal to do as God commands. To put it bluntly– it is sin!

To keep from repeating these sins we must deal with the cause. Merely apologizing for the wrong might seem to settle the dust for a while, but unless we deal with the cause we will soon repeat ourselves. Getting to the cause and establishing prevention requires getting back to the basics of Christian living– back to the Bible, prayer, etc. Until we do we that we’re just dealing with the fruit, rather than the root, of our problems. To achieve victory we have to avail ourselves of everything God provides. There is great preventive power in God’s Word, but it is of no benefit to those who don’t read it.

It is a sad thing that so many people go through their entire lives troubled by the same things, failing over and over again. And most of them always have an excuse. The hot tempered man says,”I’m Irish”. The covetous person says, “We were poor”. The person with a sour attitude says, “If you had been in my shoes”. And the list goes on and on. They always have an excuse for their failure. But the reality is that the cause for every failure is the same— the neglect of things that produce Christian character. Stop using the Bible as a paper weight and read it. Start spending quality time in prayer. Confess every known sin immediately. Get busy doing as God commands. Then you will notice a change in your attitude and actions. Keep doing what you’re doing and you will get what you’ve got. Hopefully you’re not satisfied with that. God has something better for you. You can live victoriously if you will stop limiting what God wants to do in you, for you, through you, and with you. Pay attention to what you have been considering “little” things and you will soon notice a big difference.–HDS

COMFORTING OTHERS

January 12, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God”— 2 Cor. 1:3-4

No doubt you’ve heard it said, “Hurt people hurt people”. While that is often true, it is also true that sometimes hurt people help people. They, in fact, are the best helpers. They use their misery as a ministry. Having been comforted they want to comfort. Paul is a good example of this. Although he had been hurt he hoped to help those who were hurting. He wanted them to experience what he had experienced. The point is that sometimes our heaviest burdens become our happiest blessings.

From Paul’s story we are reminded that, while life is difficult, God is able to sustain us. Although many things are against us God is for us. Because of that we can have courage in a crisis, comfort in calamity. God enables us to succeed rather than fail. But that’s not the end of the story. God is willing and able to comfort us, but He also wants us to comfort others.

Life is difficult for everyone, and extremely so for some. Many of them will never tell you about their problems or even complain, yet they carry a heavy burden or harbor a fear that weighs heavily on them. God wants to use you to help them find confidence, comfort, and courage so that they might carry on. You know from experience what God can do, now use your suffering to serve others.—HDS

SUBMIT YOURSELVES

January 12, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. “James 4:7

Shortly after the Civil War, General William T. Sherman’s army was scheduled to march in a victory parade… The night before the parade, Sherman called General Oliver Howard to his room and said, “General, you were at the head of one of the divisions that marched with me through Georgia, and you should rightfully ride at the head of your division in the parade tomorrow. However, I’ve been asked to let the general who preceded you in command represent the division.”

General Howard replied, “With all due respect, sir, I think I am entitled to represent my division, since I led them to victory.”

Sherman said, “Yes, you are. But I know you’re a Christian, and I was wondering if you would yield your rights for the sake of peace.”

Quickly, Howard responded, “Of course I’ll yield.”

“All right,” General Sherman said, “I will arrange so, and I want you to report to me in the morning at 9:00 a.m. You will be riding with me at the head of the parade.”

General Howard’s willingness to yield his position to his commander led to an even greater position of honor. Just the same, God blesses those who are completely submitted to Him. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Pray that God would give you a submissive spirit, so that you can fully be used by Him.-( Senior Living)

The biggest troublemaker in the church is pride– it is the cause of contention. The first step in getting things right is humility– the willingness to admit we are guilty.–HDS

PRESSING ON

January 9, 2017 By Pastor David Stone

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:12-14

While the dawn of a new year prompts us to think about things we should or desire to do, the passing of the old also reminds us of what we have done–or, as the case may be, haven’t done. In other words, not only do we think about the challenges ahead, we also are reminded of our past failures– thus the resolutions. I guess you could say that is good and bad news. Most of us don’t like to be reminded of our short-comings. Yet the hope of improvement depends on exactly that. There must be a willingness to take a good long hard look at ourselves.

If we break our arm patting ourselves on the back and refuse to acknowledge that we’ve failed the possibility of progress comes to a screeching halt. When we deceive ourselves into believing all is well when it isn’t growth stops. Seeing ourselves as we really might not be pleasurable, but it is profitable.

A. W. Tozer wrote, “Some Christians hope in a vague kind of way that time will help them to grow better. They look to the passing of the years to mellow them and make them more Christlike. This is such a tender and pathetic thought that one hesitates to expose its essential error. But we had better know the facts now while we can do something about them rather than go on moist-eyed and dreamily hopeful–and wholly wrong. A crooked tree does not straighten with age; neither does a crooked Christian.”

Paul was a wise man. He didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t. He was honest enough to admit that he had not arrived and humble enough to acknowledge his need to advance. Wherever you are in your spiritual life there is still room for growth. Until that glorious day when we stand in the presence of the Lord in the likeness of the Lord we will have a need to grow. But before it can happen we must admit it needs to happen. Press on my friend! —HDS

FORMING FAITH

THE ROOT OF OUR FAILURE

COMFORTING OTHERS

SUBMIT YOURSELVES

PRESSING ON

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