MORNING MANNA 2-9-21

February 9, 2021 By Pastor David Stone

MORNING MANNA 1- 9-21

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

“ Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, aand to keep his commandments, as at this day.”- 1 Kings 8:61

It’s common to hear someone say “Are you serious?” That’s a question that might be asked in disbelief, disappointment, or in genuine sincerity. Some things are so outrageous that we feel compelled to make such an inquiry. But this is also a question that we Christians need to ask ourselves. Are you serious?

It’s obvious that some folks aren’t as serious about serving God as they want you to believe. I saw an example of this about 50 years ago when I pastored a church in Fairgrove, Mo. The wife of a dairy farmer made a profession of faith and united with the church. Her husband who owned a large dairy farm was an alcoholic and refused to attend. He would have been a wealthy man had it not been for his drinking, but he couldn’t stop. Repeatedly his wife asked me to talk to him and pray for him. But he didn’t want anything to do with me or the church, and everytime I drove up he would hide. On one occasion, after he threatened to kill himself I literally chased him on foot all over the farm, but to no avail. Finally one day I caught him off guard while he was busy in the barn. I pulled up, parked the car, and waded through the mud and the other stuff you expect to find in a barnyard, and caught him. To my great surprise he listened as I shared the gospel with him and then made a profession of faith. Afterward he was baptized and started attending church regularly and tithing. Then a strange thing happened. His wife stopped attending! Her explanation was that he was getting too serious about religion. He wanted to attend every service and tithe and that was more than she was willing to do. She wanted him to stop drinking and wasting money, but had no real interest in his spiritual welfare, nor hers evidently. Point is, she wasn’t nearly as serious as she pretended to be when she requested my help.

While not everybody goes to her extreme, it’s clear that a great many people aren’t really serious about serving God. They treat Christianity like entertainment or a hobby. They don’t mind attending church occasionally and they might even enjoy it, but they aren’t interested in getting involved by way of service – in their mind that’s getting too serious. They set strict limits on just how far they are willing to go for God.

In some cases what appears to be faithfulness to God is nothing more than fun for them – the fulfillment of their selfish desire rather than devotion to the Lord. They attend church because they love the singing, enjoy the preaching, and look forward to the fellowship. They attend all the services and activities, and even invite their friends. They are well respected and respectful to others. However, their interest is more for self-gratification than for the glory of God. Genuine concern for God’s glory is manifested by loving cheerful obedience to His will. So, unless we are “doers of the Word” we aren’t justified in saying we are serious about our relationship with God. The question then is, “Are you serious?”. Think about it! – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA 2-8-21

February 8, 2021 By Pastor David Stone

MORNING MANNA 2-8-21
STUDYING THE SCRIPTURES
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thought shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8

The wise pastor both desires and urges people to spend much time studying the Bible, and most of the time he can tell if they are doing so. Just as a person with anorexia eventually shows signs of if by weight loss, you can tell whether or not a person is a serious student of God’s Word by their character and lifestyle.

Professor Howard Hendricks said, “You are either in the Word, and the Word is conforming you to the image of Jesus Christ—or you are in the world, and the world is squeezing you into its mold!

The first reason for studying Scripture is that it is a means of spiritual growth. There is no growth apart from the Word. It is God’s primary tool to develop Christian character.

The Word of God is able to transform your life, but you must probe for its wisdom. You have to penetrate the surface with more than just a cursory glance.

The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity, but to conform you to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner, but to make you like the Savior. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts, but to transform your life.

The will of God is found in the Word of God. The more a person grows, the more he begins to think instinctively and habitually from a divine perspective.” HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA 2-7-21

February 7, 2021 By Pastor David Stone

MORNING MANNA 2-7-21

FROM HEARTACHE TO HOPE

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”- Rom. 15:13

One of the great burdens of the ministry is dealing with heartaches. One of the great blessings is delivering hope. Seeing people go from heartache to hope is indeed a blessed event. But that seems like a journey too far for some folks. They are in a deep dark pit of depression from which they see no hope of deliverance. For them life is doom and gloom. It’s a pitiful picture.

This might describe you. Your dreams have been dashed to pieces and you are tormented by your trials from daylight to dark. You’re reached the place where help, healing, and happiness doesn’t seem possible. To sum it up, you are heartbroken and hopeless. But, believe it or not, that can be a good place to be. I’m not trying to minimize your misery – heartache hurts there’s no doubt about it. I know it isn’t a pleasant place to be, but it can be profitable if that’s what it takes to take you to God. Your time of trouble can be the turning point in your life.

Most people are not where God wants them to be and will never look up to Him until they hit rock bottom or are flat on their back. They keep resisting Him until all their strength is gone. They don’t look for deliverance until they are desperate. Not until they come to their wits end do they seek answers from God. Only after their self efforts are exhausted and offers from others have failed do they seek divine deliverance. Finally they acknowledge God’s rule over them, agree with His wisdom concerning them, accept what He has allowed, and surrender themselves to His will. They stop resisting and start resting upon Him who never fails. It is then that the God of all comfort, peace, and grace fills them with hope and makes them happy. He has done it for others and He will do it for you. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA 2-6-21

February 6, 2021 By Pastor David Stone

MORNING MANNA 2-6-21

THE SECRET TO SUCCESS
“I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”- Psa. 16:8

Sometimes there are certain scriptures that not only catch our attention, they capture our thoughts, captivate our heart and control our actions. For me this is one of those verses. It expresses a need we all have and explains how we can stand rather than fall.
This is a verse that fits perfectly with Heb. 12:2 which says, “Looking unto Jesus” – a verse from which I could preach every week for months. It is a subject of far greater importance than most people realize. It is as inspirational as it is instructional. I believe it’s the Christian’s key to success.

Our text sounds so simple, sensible, and serious you would think it wouldn’t be a problem for anyone, but the truth is it is a problem for everyone. We live in a world of distractions. They come at us from all directions and take many forms. Sometimes we’re distracted by things that are pleasurable and sometimes it’s things that are painful. Satan will use anything to keep our attention on anything other than Christ. That alone tells us that this must be important.

Modern day technology has compounded this problem. Whether it’s TV, computers, i-phones, or a dozen other things, there’s always something to distract and divert our attention. And obviously the media is on a mission to capture our attention. There is always something in our face that threatens to keep us from keeping our eyes on Jesus. So, to keep the LORD “always before” us requires effort. It requires action, something we must do, because it doesn’t just happen. We must discipline ourselves to do this or we will be defeated. Sadly many refuse to make any effort to do this. They are so occupied with self-interest that they forget God and forfeit what they need most.

a
Our text is made up of three phrases, the last of which would be impossible without the first two. The phrase “I shall not be moved” is meaningless chatter, or at best a nice resolve, unless we can truly say, “I have set the LORD always before me”. It’s easy to sing “I shall not be moved”, but it’s another thing to live up to the claim. And when we fail others are affected and the cause of Christ is hindered. To avoid that we must keep looking unto Jesus, the One who is “Altogether Lovely”. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA 2-5-21

February 5, 2021 By Pastor David Stone

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” – 2 Chro. 7:14

I just read the following quote from Vance Havner, published In 1966, the year I started preaching. As I read these words I couldn’t help thinking about how much more we need this warning today.

I have heard of a town-dweller who raised a pig for some meat of his own. When the time came to slaughter that porker, he sent a note to his butcher which said, “don’t send me any more meat – I’m butchering myself.”

“It will not be necessary to wait for communism from without to destroy American-we are butchering ourselves. Give us a little more rope and we’ll do our own hanging. Day and night the foundations of our fathers are being dug up, the principles on which we started are being blasted, and a new order is emerging which is not even a reasonable facsimile of the original. Most Americans are under such heavy sedation that they are not aware of what goes on. The same process goes on in the professing church and any man who speak against either movement is smilingly ignored or outlawed as a disturber of the peace. The country is overrun by cliques and clans in state and church, with their panaceas for bringing in the millennium. Some of us have examined these groups and wouldn’t be caught dead in any of them. All we need is a mighty stirring among old-fashioned Americans and old-fashioned Christians who seem to be bewildered at the moment. We believe there is a sizable number of both still in the land. There are more than seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. There are a few voices that have not been silenced but no leader of sufficient caliber is discernible on the horizon as of now. We would do well to pray that, if our Lord tarries, God might favor us with a John the Baptist in this wilderness. There is no time to lose.“

The great need of our nation is spiritual and the Lord’s church is the only hope for America. We can’t blame our demise on the times nor on a certain political party. The church is to be salt and light, the pillar and ground of the truth and if it fails the fabric of society unravels. May God help each of us do our part to help the church fulfill its God given purpose.- HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

MORNING MANNA 2-9-21

MORNING MANNA 2-8-21

MORNING MANNA 2-7-21

MORNING MANNA 2-6-21

MORNING MANNA 2-5-21

Welcome to Lakeway Baptist Church

Latest Posts

Upcoming Events

Breakfast Fellowship

Sunday School

Morning Worship Service

Choir Practice

Evening Worship Service

Master Clubs

Midweek Bible Study

Recent Announcements

Latest Sermons

Service Times

Sunday

Wednesday

Thursday