The Mystery of The New Birth

SERMON
10-21-07

MYSTERY OF THE NEW BIRTH

Mark 4:1-20
4:1 The Parable of the Sower
(Matt 13:1-9; Luke 8:4-8)
And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
3 "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."
9 And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
10 The Purpose of Parables
(Matt 13:10-17; Luke 8:9,10)
But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that
'Seeing they may see and not perceive,And hearing they may hear and not understand;Lest they should turn,And their sins be forgiven them.'"
13 The Parable of the Sower Explained
(Matt 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15)
And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."
NKJV

1. TO HEAR AND SEE INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD ONE MUST BE BORN AGAIN
John 3:1-9
3:1 The New Birth

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." YOU CANNOT SEE SOMEONE BEING BORN AGAIN, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE WIND OF THE SPIRIT BLOWING THROUGH THEIR LIVES --- YOU CAN’T SEE THE WIND, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE LEAVES BLOWING --- WHEN THE WIND OF THE SPIRIT BLOWS THROUGH YOUR LIFE, SUDDENLY YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE

THE WIND WAS BLOWING THROUGH PETER’S LIFE
Gen 1:1 - Matt 16:19

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said,"Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said,"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
NKJV

As a child I wondered where God lived in outer space and how long it would take to get there. Far beyond intergalactic space with its billions of swirling nebulae and novas lies another dimension. Some speculate it's the fifth dimension. Wherever it is and however far out, the Bible calls it the highest of heavens.
You cannot go there in a rocket ship. That's because heaven exists beyond even speeded-up time. Traveling at a zillion miles per hour might catapult you instantly to the edge of our universe, but to take a step into the third heaven requires something different, for our flesh and blood cannot enter it. You must be born again or you cannot, as Jesus warned, "see the kingdom of God."

n Joni Eareckson Tada,

Eph 2:1-13
2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

11 Brought Near by His Blood

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh — who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands — 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
NKJV
When translator Des Oatridge, working in Papua New Guinea, came to the words "born again" in John's Gospel, he asked his native co-translator to think of a good way to express it. The man explained this custom:
"Sometimes a person goes wrong and will not listen to anybody. We all get together in the village and place that person in the midst of us. The elders talk to him for a long time. 'You have gone wrong!' they say. 'All your thoughts, intentions, and values are wrong. Now you have to become a baby again and start to relearn everything right.'"
It was the answer Des was looking for. Today the words of John 3:3 in Binumarien reads "No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he becomes like a baby again and relearns everything from God's Word."

Titus 3:1-8
Titus 3

3:1 Graces of the Heirs of Grace


Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
NKJV

Yesterday morning I was on the phone with our daughter who lives with her husband in North Carolina. We were having a great conversation. I was using a wireless phone, and suddenly the phone went dead, and her voice was cut off. I heard only static. I looked at the phone. A little red light was on, and I realized the battery had run out. Suddenly there was no contact.
God created us with the capacity to hear and send signals back and forth to heaven, but sin ruined that. It deadened the batteries of the soul. And Paul, in modern-day terminology, might say we're people with dead batteries. We have the ability to commune with God, but we can't because we're dead. Someone has to recharge the battery. Someone has to put a new battery in.

1 John 5:1-5
5:1 Obedience by Faith


Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
NKJV

IT IS ALONE WITH JESUS THAT THE MYSTERIES ARE EXPLAINED TO US --- YOU MAY BE IN A CROWD BUT THE REVELATION IS GIVEN BY JESUS IN THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Mark 4:34
34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
KJV
3. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IT ALL --- NOR SEE THE PICTURE CLEARLY, CONSISTENTLY (IT IS A MYSTERY)
IT IS ON PURPOSE THAT THE MYSTERY IS LEFT

The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding.

In what way, or by what manner of working God changes a soul from evil to good-how he impregnates the barren rock with priceless gems and gold-is, to the human mind, an impenetrable mystery.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

It is not necessary that we should be able to tell where or how we have been converted, but it is important that we should be able to tell that we are converted.
Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)

The Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection: your faith and my faith must include these three mysteries. They are difficult to understand. They are not unintelligible-God understands them. But for us there is an element of mystery. The greatest error anyone can make is to think they can fully understand these three mysteries. It makes a mockery of faith.
Mortimer Jerome Adler (1902- )

-- Martin Luther in Table Talk

We gathered this past September for my mother's 80'th birthday party. She had always wanted to go to Hawaii --- So we brought Hawaii to her. That's my mom in the blue lei, sitting next to one of my sister's. She has been a blessing and inspiration to this son. I could tell a thousand stories of her love and devotion to her children. I was very mindful of my mother's yesterday, as it was Mother's Day. My other mother, Lorene MacKenzie is 86 and going strong. God has blessed me with two very special ladies in my life. Thank You Jesus!!

SERMON
5-13-07

05/11/PM

"Only be thou strong and very courageous."
— Josh 1:7

Our God's tender love for His servants makes Him concerned for the state of their inward feelings. He desires them to be of good courage. Some esteem it a small thing for a believer to be vexed with doubts and fears, but God thinks not so. From this text it is plain that our Master would not have us entangled with fears. He would have us without carefulness, without doubt, without cowardice. Our Master does not think so lightly of our unbelief as we do. When we are desponding we are subject to a grievous malady, not to be trifled with, but to be carried at once to the beloved Physician. Our Lord loveth not to see our countenance sad. It was a law of Ahasuerus that no one should come into the king's court dressed in mourning: this is not the law of the King of kings, for we may come mourning as we are; but still He would have us put off the spirit of heaviness, and put on the garment of praise, for there is much reason to rejoice. The Christian man ought to be of a courageous spirit, in order that he may glorify the Lord by enduring trials in an heroic manner. If he be fearful and fainthearted, it will dishonour his God. Besides, what a bad example it is. This disease of doubtfulness and discouragement is an epidemic which soon spreads amongst the Lord's flock. One downcast believer makes twenty souls sad. Moreover, unless your courage is kept up Satan will be too much for you. Let your spirit be joyful in God your Saviour, the joy of the Lord shall be your strength, and no fiend of hell shall make headway against you: but cowardice throws down the banner. Moreover, labour is light to a man of cheerful spirit; and success waits upon cheerfulness. The man who toils, rejoicing in his God, believing with all his heart, has success guaranteed. He who sows in hope shall reap in joy; therefore, dear reader, "be thou strong, and very courageous."

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, PC Study Bible
ONE OF THE WAYS THE ENEMY COMES AT ME IS CONCERNING MY IMPERFECTIONS --- MY WAYWARD WAYS --- AND I DON’T NECESSARILY MEAN DEPRAVED SIN --- BUT MORE MY FAILURE TO SPEND “ENOUGH” TIME WITH THE LORD IN “SERIOUS” PRAYER --- IN “SERIOUS” BIBLE STUDY
OFTEN IT IS A VAGUE FEELING OF UNWORTHINESS --- BECAUSE OF THIS FAILURE THE ENEMY COMES AT ME WITH THE IDEA THAT I AM NOT WORTHY TO RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD

THIS PAST WEEK SOMEONE WAS RELATING THE STORY OF A CHRISTIAN THEY KNEW THAT WENT TO THE BAR AND HAD A FEW TOO MANY DRINKS AND CRASHED THEIR CAR ON THE WAY HOME --- THEY RELATED TO THIS PERSON THAT THEY WERE REALLY BLESSED THOUGH THAT GOD HAD PROTECTED THEM FROM SERIOUS INJURY --- HIS COMMENT TO THEM WAS “NO” GOD LEFT YOU ABOUT THAT THIRD OR FOURTH DRINK --- ELIZABETH AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT THE INCIDENT AND OUR FAITH THAT GOD WOULD INDEED PROTECT THEM EVEN IF THEY HAD IMBIBED TO MUCH ---

Heb 13:5-6

5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say:

"The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?"
NKJV

2 Tim 2:13
13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself. NKJV
THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE CAN CONTINUE IN OUR SIN AND NOT EXPECT TO REAP WHAT WE ARE SOWING --- BUT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ACTS OUT OF LOVE TO HIS CHILDREN, HE NEVER
REACTS --- EVEN HIS ANGER IS WITH THE BEST INTEREST OF HIS CHILDREN IN MIND

IF THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR WRECK HAD INJURIES --- IT WOULD NOT BE GOD’S WRATH BUT HIS LOVE WORKING TO DRAW THEM CLOSER TO HIMSELF

IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT GOD DOESN’T GET ANGRY --- WE SEE CLEARLY IN SCRIPTURE THAT HE DOES!!

NOW I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU --- BUT I DON’T WANT JESUS ANGRY AT ME
HE WAS ANGRY AT THE PHARISEES:
Mark 3:1-6
3:1 Healing on the Sabbath
(Matt 12:9-14; Luke 6:6-11)
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." 4 Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger , being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
NKJV
1. ANGRY BECAUSE OF THE HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS
2. UNFORGIVENESS IN OUR HEARTS MAKES HIM ANGRY

Matt 18:21-35

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 And his master was angry , and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
NKJV

1. JESUS WAS ANGRY AT THE HARDNESS OF THE PHARISEES HEARTS --- EVEN IN THAT IS GOD’S LOVE --- BECAUSE TELLING A HARD HEARTED RELIGIOUS PERSON THAT JESUS LOVES THEM IS NOT GOING TO MOVE THEM --- JESUS WAS SOFT AND GENTLE WITH EVEN THE WORST OF THE SINNERS --- BECAUSE HE KNEW IT WAS HIS KINDNESS THAT WOULD BRING THEM TO REPENTANCE --- THE HARD HEARTED PHARISEES NEEDED A SLEDGE HAMMER, NOT A SOFT ARM OF COMFORT
2. GOD’S ANGER AT UNFORGIVENESS --- HIS LOVE UNDERSTANDS THE DANGER FOR HIS CHILDREN IN HOLDING ON TO UNFORGIVENESS
In his book, Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal Artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life.

n Michael Williams, Morganfield, Kentucky

TODAY IS MOTHER’S DAY AND I WAS MEDITATING ON THE LOVE THAT A GOOD MOTHER HAS FOR HER CHILDREN
1. MY SISTER AND I WENT OUT DRINKING ONE NIGHT AND WERE IN A TERRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT --- I DON’T THINK MOTHER EVEN ASKED IF WE HAD BEEN DRINKING --- SHE WAS THERE FOR US AT THE HOSPITAL TO SEE US THROUGH THE DIFFICULTY --- FORTUNATELY GOD HAD MERCY ON US AND WE HAD NO SERIOUS INJURIES
2. I LOST MY MOTHER’S FARM IN MY WHEELING AND DEALING OIL DAYS --- SHE LET ME MOVE IN WITH HER AND SHE GAVE ME HER KING SIZED BED, WHILE SHE SLEPT ON A BUNK BED --- THERE WAS NEVER A MENTION OF WHAT I HAD LOST --- NO TRACE OF UNFORGIVENESS
3. MOTHER’S ANGER CAME OUT ONCE WHEN I WAS DRINKING HEAVILY --- TELLING ME I WAS RUINING MY LIFE --- BUT HER ANGER WAS AN ANGER OF LOVE BECAUSE SHE KNEW I NEEDED A WAKE UP CALL OR MY LIFE WOULD BE RUINED

A mother is God's deputy on earth.
Rachel L. Varnhagen

A mother understands what a child does not say.
Jewish Proverb

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.
Spanish Proverb

Countless times each day a mother does what no one else can do quite as well. She wipes away a tear, whispers a word of hope, eases a child's fear. She teaches, ministers, loves, and nurtures the next generation of citizens. And she challenges and cajoles her kids to do their best and be the best. But no editorials praise these accomplishments-where is the coverage our mothers rightfully deserve?
James C. Dobson (1936- )
And Gary L. Bauer (1946- )

God can't always be everywhere, and so he invented mothers.
Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904)

In the eyes of its mother every beetle is a gazelle.
African Proverb

No man is poor who has had a godly mother.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Thank you, God,
For pretending not to notice that one of
Your angels is missing and for guiding her to me.
You must have known how much I would need her, so
You turned your head for a minute and allowed her to slip away to me.
Sometimes I wonder what special name you had for her.
I call her "Mother."
Bernice Maddux

The God to whom little boys say their prayers has a face very like their mother's.
Sir James M. Barrie (1860-1937)

A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

My thirteen-year-old daughter is perhaps having more trouble than some teens "discovering who she is" because she is adopted from South Korea and we have no idea who her birth mother might be.
Recently Amy received braces on her teeth and she was more and more uncomfortable as the day wore On. By bedtime she was miserable. I gave her some medication and invited her to snuggle up with me for awhile. Soon she became more comfortable and drowsy. In a small voice that gradually tapered off to sleep she said, "Mom, I know who my real mom is, it is the one who takes away the hurting."
Margaret H. Cobb

I HAVE HAD SOME TREMENDOUS REJECTIONS IN MY LIFE

BUT GOD HAS BLESSED ME WITH TWO MOTHERS THAT LOVE JESUS AND THAT’S ENOUGH
About 6:00 A.M. on a Wednesday morning James Lawson of Running Springs, California (in the San Bernardino mountains) left home to apply for a job. About an hour later his thirty-six-year-old wife Patsy left for her fifth grade teaching job down the mountain in Riverside--accompanied by her two children, five-year-old Susan and two-year-old Gerald--to be dropped off at the baby-sitter's. Unfortunately, they never got that far. Eight and a half hours later the man found his wife and daughter dead in their wrecked car, upside down in a cold mountain stream. His two-year-old son was just barely alive in the forty-eight-degree water. But in that death the character of a mother was revealed in a most dramatic and heart-rending way. For when the father scrambled down the cliff to what he was sure were the cries of his dying wife, he found her locked in death, holding her little boy's head just above water in the submerged car. For eight and a half hours Patsy Lawson had held her beloved toddler afloat and had finally died, her body almost frozen in death in that position of self-giving love, holding her baby up to breathe. She died that another might live. That's the essence of a mother's love.

GOD’S LOVE IS REFLECTED IN THE FACES OF MOTHER’S

REMEMBER LAST WEEK’S MESSAGE AND THIS ADMONITION
A small church's most effective tool for creating a good church reputation may be its willingness to help those in need.

A Tree Planted By The Living Water

5-7-07

Elizabeth (pictured here) and I went for a ride today. It was the only way we could look our flooded ranch over. Pictured are some trees that may be uprooted by the flooding North Fork. The Living Water, Jesus, will never uproot us if we abide by Him.

SERMON
5-6-07

Gen 1:9-13

9 Then God said,"Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
NKJV
A SIMPLE PRINCIPLE --- PEACH TREES HAVE PEACHES FOR FRUIT --- APPLE TREES HAVE APPLES AND APPLE SEEDS --- THAT PRODUCE MORE APPLE TREES --- WHAT KIND OF A TREE ARE YOU??

Matt 7:15-20

15 You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

(Matt 12:33; Luke 6:43-45)

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
NKJV

Matt 12:33
"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
NKJV

Mark 11:12 THE HYPOCRITE FIG TREE

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."
And His disciples heard it.
15 Jesus Cleanses the Temple
(Matt 21:12-17; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:13-22)
So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
20 The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree
(Matt 21:20-22)
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
NKJV

TESTIMONY OF THE NEW TREE FOUND ON OUR PROPERTY IN THE DEEP DARK WOODS
1. LEAVES INDICATE IT IS
A. BLACK LOCUST
B. BLACK WALNUT
C. BUTTERNUT (WHITE WALNUT)

2. BARK ELEMINATES THE BLACK LOCUST
3. I WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE FRUIT TO DETERMINE FOR SURE IF IT IS A BLACK WALNUT OR A WHITE WALNUT --- OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT THE COMPUTER DIDN’T TELL ME

OUR FRUIT (WORKS) IS PROOF OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST --- PROOF OF WHAT KIND OF TREE WE REALLY ARE --- A JESUS TREE OR A DEVIL TREE

James 2:14-26

14 Faith Without Works Is Dead
(cf. Gen 22; Josh 2:1)
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
NKJV

The upper galleries at Versailles are filled with portraits, many of them extremely valuable and ancient. These are the likenesses of the greatest people of all lands and ages, drawn by the ablest artists. Yet more visitors wander through the rooms with little or no interest. In fact, after noticing one or two of the more prominent pictures, they hasten through the suite of chambers and descend to the other floors. Notice the change when the sightseers come to fine paintings like those of Horace Vernet, where the men and women are not inactive portraits but are actively engaged. There the warrior who was passed by without notice upstairs is seen hewing his way to glory over heaps of slain, or the statesman is observed delivering weighty words before an assembly of princes and peers. Not the people but their actions engross attention. Portraits have no charm when scenes of stirring interest are set in rivalry with them. After all, then, let us be who or what we may, we must push ourselves or be mere nobodies, chips in the porridge, forgotten shells on the beach. If we would impress we must act. The dignity of standing still will never win the prize; we must run for it. Our influence over our times will arise mainly from our doing and suffering the will of God, not from our office or person. Life, life in earnest, life for God--this will tell on the age. But mere orderliness and propriety, inactive and passionless, will be utterly inoperative.

n Charles Haddon Spurgeon


Ps 1
Psalms 1

1:1 The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,Nor stands in the path of sinners,Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,That brings forth its fruit in its season,Whose leaf also shall not wither;And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
NKJV
1. WE BEAR FRUIT WHEN WE REMAIN CLOSE TO THE LIVING WATER (JESUS)
2. WE BEAR FRUIT WHEN WE MEDITATE UPON HIS PRINCIPLES AND LOVE THEM

Our faith becomes practical when it is expressed in two books: the date book and the check book.

n Elton Trueblood.

John 5:31-40

31 The Fourfold Witness


"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish — the very works that I do — bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
NKJV

1. JOHN BORE WITNESS
2. HIS WORKS BORE WITNESS
3. THE FATHER BORE WITNESS
4. THE SCRIPTURES BORE WITNESS

IF JESUS WAS WITNESSED TO BY HIS WORKS --- DOESN’T IT MAKE SENSE THAT OUR WORKS ARE GOING TO BEAR WITNESS TO WHO WE ARE

A small church's most effective tool for creating a good church reputation may be its willingness to help those in need.

An illustration of the balance between faith and works lies hidden within any tree. Leaves use up nutrients in the process of photosynthesis. As the leaves consume nutrients in the sap, a suction is formed, which draws more sap from the roots. Without the sap, the leaves and branches would die. But the continual flow of this sap comes only as it is used up by the work of the leaf.
Likewise, through faith we draw life from Christ. But a continual supply of fresh spiritual nutrients depends on our willingness to "consume" the old supply through our acts of obedience, through our works.

1 Tim 6:17

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
NKJV

While serving with Operation Mobilization in India in 1967, tuberculosis forced me into a sanitarium for several months. I did not yet speak the language, but I tried to give Christian literature written in their language to the patients, doctors, and nurses. Everyone politely refused. I sensed many weren't happy about a rich American (to them all Americans are rich) being in a free, government-run sanitarium. (They didn't know I was just as broke as they were!)
The first few nights I woke around 2:00 A.M. coughing. One morning during my coughing spell, I noticed one of the older and sicker patients across the aisle trying to get out of bed. He would sit up on the edge of the bed and try to stand, but in weakness would fall back into bed. I didn't understand what he was trying to do. He finally fell back into bed exhausted. I heard him crying softly.
The next morning I realized what the man had been trying to do. He had been trying to get up and walk to the bathroom! The stench in our ward was awful. Other patients yelled insults at the man. Angry nurses moved him roughly from side to side as they cleaned up the mess. One nurse even slapped him. The old man curled into a ball and wept. The next night I again woke up coughing. I noticed the man across the aisle sit up and again try to stand. Like the night before, he fell back whimpering.
I don't like bad smells, and I didn't want to become involved, but I got out of bed and went over to him. When I touched his shoulder, his eyes opened wide with fear. I smiled, put my arms under him, and picked him up. He was very light due to old age and advanced TB. I carried him to the washroom, which was just a filthy, small room with a hole in the floor. I stood behind him with my arms under his armpits as he took care of himself. After he finished, I picked him up, and carried him back to his bed. As I laid him down, he kissed me on the cheek, smiled, and said something I couldn't understand.
The next morning another patient woke me and handed me a steaming cup of tea. He motioned with his hands that he wanted a tract. As the sun rose, other patients approached and indicated they also wanted the booklets I had tried to distribute before. Throughout the day nurses, interns, and doctors asked for literature.
Weeks later an evangelist who spoke the language visited me, and as he talked to others he discovered that several had put their trust in Christ as Savior as a result of reading the literature. What did it take to reach these people with the gospel? It wasn't health, the ability to speak their language, or a persuasive talk. I simply took a trip to the bathroom. (GOOD DEEDS AND WORKS PREPARED BEFOREHAND BY THE LORD)

-- Doug Nichols, Bothell, Washington.

Getting A Bit Older Are We??

Clem is the steeds name in the picture. He is our oldest and most reliable trail horse. He is mister automatic on the ranch trails. He never bucks or raises a ruckus. The only downside to old Clem, or "Clam" as our grandson Conall calls him, is keeping weight on him. This winter we had to separate him from the rest of our horses, and pour the alfalfa cubes to him. There is an upside and a downside to every age, for horses, and for people.

SERMON
4-1-07

How old do you think you'd be if you didn't know your age?

SOMEONE ASKED BILLY GHRAHM IF ANYTHING IN LIFE SURPRISED HIM AND HE REPLIED “THE BREVITY OF LIFE” HE WAS SURPRISED BY HOW QUICKLY HE HAD GOTTEN OLD

James 1:9-11

9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation [as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God],
10 And the rich [person ought to glory] in being humbled [by being shown his human frailty], because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits. [Isa 40:6,7.]
AMP

If we fully comprehended the brevity of life, our greatest desire would be to please God and to serve one another.
James C. Dobson (1936- )

Ps 71:5-12
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;You are my trust from my youth. 6 By You I have been upheld from birth;You are He who took me out of my mother's womb.My praise shall be continually of You.
7 I have become as a wonder to many,But You are my strong refuge. 8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age ;Do not forsake me when my strength fails. 10 For my enemies speak against me;And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, 11 Saying, "God has forsaken him;Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him."
12 O God, do not be far from me;O my God, make haste to help me! NKJV


THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING EVEN OLD AGE AND ECCLESIATES TELLS US THAT EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME
Eccl 3:1
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born And a time to die; A time to plant,And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill,And a time to heal;A time to break down,And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep,And a time to laugh;A time to mourn,And a time to dance; ………….
Eccl 3:11
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.
NKJV

Isa 46:1-9
46:3 "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,And all the remnant of the house of Israel,Who have been upheld by Me from birth,Who have been carried from the womb: 4 Even to your old age , I am He,And even to gray hairs I will carry you!I have made, and I will bear;Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 "To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag,And weigh silver on the scales;They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god;They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. 7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands;From its place it shall not move.Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble.
8 "Remember this, and show yourselves men;Recall to mind, O you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old,For I am God, and there is no other;I am God, and there is none like Me,
NKJV

Age is a quality of mind.
If you have left your dreams behind,
If hope is cold,
If you no longer look ahead,
If your ambitions' fires are dead-
Then you are old.
But if from life you take the best,
And if in life you keep the zest,
If love you hold;
No matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly
You are not old.

Ps 92:12-15

12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age ;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
NKJV

'Tis sweet to grow old in the fear of the Lord,
As life's shadows longer creep.
Till our steps grow slow, and our sun swings low-
He gives his beloved sleep.
John Wesley (1703-1791)

Manhood in the Christian life is a better thing than boyhood because it is a riper thing; and old age ought to be a brighter and a calmer and a more serene thing than manhood.
Frederick William Robertson (1816-1853)

Deut 34:6-8
7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
NKJV
AND YET WE HAVE ISRAEL --- ISAAC
Gen 27:1-4
27:1 Isaac Blesses Jacob
Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son."
And he answered him, "Here I am."
2 Then he said, "Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die."
NKJV
WHETHER WE ARE VIGOROUS AND STRONG IN OLD AGE OR FRAIL AND WEAK WE CAN FLOURISH AND PRODUCE FRUIT

CORRIE TEN BOOM SHARED THAT THE MOST DIFFICULT TEST OF HER LIFE EVEN MORE THAN NAZI INCARCERATION WAS WHEN SHE BECAME FRAIL AND IMMOBILE AT THE END OF HER LIFE --- BUT A FRIEND REMINDED HER, EVEN OUR FRAILTY, IF GIVEN TO CHRIST HE WILL BE GLORIFIED

The average life span of a woman is constantly increasing, thus enabling her to stay twenty-nine much longer. (A MERRY HEART DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE LADIES)

Eccl 12:1-7
Ecclesiastes 12

12:1 Seek God in Early Life

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,Before the difficult days come,And the years draw near when you say,"I have no pleasure in them": 2 While the sun and the light,The moon and the stars,Are not darkened,And the clouds do not return after the rain; 3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,And the strong men bow down;When the grinders cease because they are few,And those that look through the windows grow dim ; 4 When the doors are shut in the streets,And the sound of grinding is low;When one rises up at the sound of a bird,And all the daughters of music are brought low. 5 Also they are afraid of height,And of terrors in the way;When the almond tree blossoms,The grasshopper is a burden,And desire fails.For man goes to his eternal home,And the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken,Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,Or the wheel broken at the well. 7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
NKJV

A description of old age in its frailty: The keepers of the house (arms) and the strong men (legs) are weak and trembling; the grinders cease (teeth) and the windows are darkened (eyesight dimmed), the doors shut (ears are deaf), the grinding low (slow and tedious mastication); the easily startled nerves, and the loss of voice, the inability to climb, and the fear of highway traffic, the whitened hair like the almond tree in blossom when any work seems a burden, and the failing natural desire, all portray the old man nearing the end of his earthly journey.
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

Lev 19:30-34 HONOR TO THE ELDERLY
30'You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.
31'Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
32'You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.
33'And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
NKJV

THERE IS A STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT --- HIS AGED FATHER WAS ABOUT TO MOUNT HIS HORSE --- ALEXANDER (RULER OF THE KNOWN WORLD) CLIMBED DOWN ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES THAT HIS GRAY HEADED FATHER COULD USE HIM AS A STOOL TO MOUNT HIS HORSE

Acts 2:14 ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
NKJV
JUST AS WITH OUR HORSES, THERE IS A PLACE FOR THE YOUNG, AND THE OLD

Between the ages of seventy and eighty-three Commodore Vanderbilt added about 100 million to his fortune.
Kant at seventy-four wrote his Anthropology, Metaphysics of Ethics, and Strife of the Faculties.
Tintoretto at seventy-four painted the vast Paradise, a canvas seventy-four by thirty feet.
Verdi at seventy-four produced his masterpiece, Otello; at eighty, Falstaff; and at eighty-five, the famous Ave Maria, Stabat Mater and Te Deum.
Lamarck at seventy-eight completed his great zoological work, The Natural History of the Invertebrates.
Oliver Wendell Holmes at seventy-nine wrote Over the Teacups.
Cato at eighty began the study of Greek.
Goethe at eighty completed Faust.
Tennyson at eighty-three wrote Crossing the Bar.
Titian at ninety-eight painted his historic picture of the Battle of Lepanto.

THIS IS EDITORIAL SO TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT --- BUT ONE OF THE REASONS I BELIEVE WE DON’T HAVE MORE ELDERLY PEOPLE EXCELLING TODAY IS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF HONOR GIVEN TO THEM AND THE GENERAL LACK OF EXPECTATION OF WHAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE

MY DARLING WIFE WROTE THE FOLLOWING LETTER TO GOD
March 31, 2007

Happy Birthday, Cherry, Heather!

This morning I was looking through a couple of magazines that I’d missed. One was Mother Earth and had interesting articles about solar heating. The other was Perfect Horse with a large article on longeing and another on paddock care. It used to be (or in the words of an Oklahoman -- use t’ could) that I would be very enthusiastic about trying these wonderful ideas, but now… It tires me to even look at the pictures. I must be feeling my age – probably good preventative medicine!

Maybe, if I’d spent more time in front of the mirror over the past years, I would be better prepared for this aging “thing”, but being one who was in too much of a hurry to worry much about appearance or make-up application, I didn’t take the time to become familiar with all my wrinkles and sagging skin. Now, it comes as a shock to see an old lady look back at me when I catch sight of myself in a mirror.

And, now, my joints and muscles are starting to make their presence known in painful ways. Lifting heavy objects has become a thing of the past except when I forget and put my back out. My right hand is swollen and in pain from some forgotten obligation put upon it (probably in conjunction with misusing my back muscles). I’m getting used to having an arthritic toe, but it took several years to admit that it was not going to get better.

Oh, I can still do most household chores – never my favorites! – but the fun stuff, like building pens and things, is getting beyond me. Fortunately, with the help of my little “Bad Boy Buggy” and its winch, I can still move stock panels. I can still drive the tractor, but to fill the front end loader with feed I must now use a smaller bucket and it takes forever. Opening feed sacks, amazingly enough, is one of the hardest things on my right hand!!

God, how did I get so old without knowing? What wonderful new projects do You have in store for me? I know that I will never retire from Your service and I know it will always be exciting, fulfilling work. Help me to come to terms with my diminishing physical strength, to know my capabilities. Help me to let go of the things that are beyond me, now.

Help me to learn and practice new skills. Please, Lord, give me a desire and a talent for organizing the office, paying bills, registering horses and then selling them, scheduling services like hoof trimming, vetting, feed delivery, purchasing feed, planting, etc. Help me to find enjoyment in organizing the housekeeping for accommodation and help me to get excited about restocking supplies. I know this sounds impossible, when at the moment canoeing, paintballing, riding, go-carts and playing in the woods seem like far more fun, but, God, You can do the impossible.

And, Lord, help me to find the time to write: to You, to my children, my devotionals and even a book, if that’s Your will. Also, help me to get my journals sorted and edited. I think I actually, finally, have everything here in Oklahoma – let my globe of the Earth remind me of that when ever I look at it!! (Lord, where is my print from the Yukon?)

God, You are so patient with me. You must really love me. Give me more opportunities to express my love to You and to share Your love with others. I love You, God – with all my heart, my soul, my mind, my strength. Help me to love others as myself, to put their needs before mine.

In Jesus name, Amen.

PS Father, what shall I do with Shadow? (OUR STUD HORSE) Geld him? Sell him as a stud? Advertise him standing at stud? I know – put an ad or several, for that matter, on Tradio!!

God Is a Jealous God and a Consuming Fire

OUR CATTLE ARE PRETTY TAME CRITTERS, BUT I WOULDN'T ADVISE GETTING BETWEEN A MOTHER COW AND HER CALF

SERMON
2-11-07

Thou no gods shalt have but me.
Before no idol bow the knee.
Take not the name of God in vain.
Dare not the Sabbath Day profane.
Give to thy parents honor due.
Take heed that thou no murder do.
Abstain from words and deeds unclean.
Steal not, for thou by God art seen.
Tell no willful lie and love it.
What is thy neighbor's do not covet.
-The Ten Commandments In Rhyme

One who trusts in Christ alone [will] completely give up his idols, horoscopes and other such practices of his old life that go against Christ's Lordship. When a true believer is made aware of any area of his life that is not yielded to Christ, he will yield it. When he is made aware of a Christian principal to be followed, he will follow it whatever the cost.
So when a new believer finds out that a follower of Christ should love his enemies, he will do so, even though that seems sheer folly in today's society. When he finds out that a follower of Christ cannot pay a bribe, he will stop paying bribes and pay dearly for it as far as his success in society is concerned. When finds out that a follower of Christ treats both high and low caste people, both rich and poor people as equals, he will do so, however hard that may be for him.

Hos 5:3-6:1

3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from Me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot and have worshiped idols; Israel is defiled.
4 Their doings will not permit them to return to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is within them and they know not the Lord [they do not recognize, appreciate, give heed to, or cherish the Lord].
5 But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies before his [own] face. Therefore shall [all] Israel, and [especially] Ephraim [the northern ten tribes], totter and fall in their iniquity and guilt, and Judah shall stumble and fall with them.
6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord [inquiring for and requiring Him], but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly and treacherously with the Lord [their espoused Husband], for they have borne alien children. Now shall a [single] New Moon (one month) devour them with their fields.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah and the trumpet in Ramah [both lofty hills on Benjamin's northern border]. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven: [the enemy is] behind you and after you, O Benjamin [be on your guard]!
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of rebuke and punishment. Among the tribes of Israel I declare what shall surely be.
10 The princes of Judah are like those who remove the landmark [the barrier between right and wrong]; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water. [Deut 19:14; Prov 22:28.]
11 Ephraim is oppressed; he is broken and crushed by [divine] judgment, because he was content to walk after idols (images) and man's [evil] command(vanities and filth).
12 Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim and like dry rot to the house of Judah [in My judgment against them].
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to [Assyria's] great King Jareb [for help]. Yet he cannot heal you nor will he cure you of your wound [received in divine judgment].
14 For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will rend and go on [rending]; I will carry off and there will be no one to deliver.

Hos 13:7-8

7 "So I will be to them like a lion;
Like a leopard by the road I will lurk;
8 I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The wild beast shall tear them.
NKJV

15 I will return to My place [on high] until they acknowledge their offense and feel their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction and distress they will seek, inquire for, and require Me earnestly, saying,

Hosea 6

6:1 COME AND let us return to the Lord, for He has torn so that He may heal us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up.
AMP

1. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (MOTHER BEAR FISHING WITH HER TWO CUBS)

I was watching a program the other day and this mother bear was teaching her two cubs how to fish. As they were fishing along comes a huge male. He wandered toward the cubs, but the mother bear was watching. She let the male know that she wasn't happy. Even though he was much bigger than her, he backed down, because he knew she would fight to the death to protect her young.

2. COUGAR PROTECTING HER YOUNG FROM A GRIZZLY

I watched in dismay as a cougar drove off a huge bear who was threatening her cubs.

YOU ARE IN EXTREME DANGER IF YOU POSITION YOURSELF BETWEEN A GRIZZLY AND HER CUBS OR BETWEEN A LION AND HER YOUNG OR EVEN BETWEEN A COW AND HER YOUNG CALF

THE SAME CAN BE SAID IF YOU POSITION YOURSELF BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE ---
1. CLERGY
Jer 50:6-7

6 "My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray ;
They have turned them away on the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill;
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who found them have devoured them;
And their adversaries said,'We have not offended,
Because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice,
The LORD, the hope of their fathers.'
NKJV

James 3:1
3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers , knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
NKJV

My father doesn't know Christ, and my sister and I have been praying for him for twenty plus years. Recently he lost his wife to heart failure even though she was much younger than him. I hurt for him, but did ponder the possibility that she was coming between my father and Jesus. I am not proposing that was the case, but I did wonder.

IF GOD HAS HIS TARGET ON SOMEONE --- YOU BETTER NOT GET BETWEEN GOD AND HIS SOON TO BE CHILD

NOW EVERYONE HERE IS A CHILD OF GOD === AT LEAST AS FAR AS I KNOW BUT CARRYING THIS IDEA IN A LITTLE DIFFERENT DIRECTION THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS (IDOLS) IN YOUR LIFE THAT STAND BETWEEN YOU AND GOD

Deut 4:23-24
23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
NKJV

HE IS MORE FIERCE THAN ANY GRIZZLY BEAR ---- MORE FIERCE THAN ANY LION --- IF THERE ARE IDOLS IN YOUR LIFE THAT ARE PREVENTING YOU FROM TOTAL SURRENDER TO HIM --- WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE IDOLS --- THEY ARE GOING TO BE DESTROYED

1 Sam 5:1-5
Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon . 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon , fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon , fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
NKJV

GOD IS NOT GOING TO SHARE THE STAGE WITH DAGON OR ANY OTHER IDOL
HE IS NOT GOING TO SHARE YOUR HEART WITH SOMEONE OR SOMETHING ELSE
GOD ISN’T MEAN BUT HE KNOWS THE STRENGTH OF THE IDOLS IN OUR HEARTS AND THEIR EFFECT
When I was a little girl my mother would often say to me, "Edith, I know just who you've been playing with today." She knew because I had become something like the other little girl, whichever one it was, enough like her that the girl could be identified by my changed accent, my mannerisms, and other telltale changes. Children often copy other children quite unconsciously. So do adults. We are affected by the people we spend time with, in one way or another. God makes clear to us that not only is it sin to bow down to idols and worship or serve them, but that there is an effect which follows very definitely. People who worship idols become like them.

Rev 9:18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed — by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
NKJV
HE WILL LOVE YOU ---- COMFORT YOU ---- BE PATIENT WITH YOU --- INSPIRE YOU TO GIVE UP YOUR IDOLS, BUT HE WILL NOT PERMIT YOU TO CLING TO YOUR IDOLS

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate'er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne,
And worship only thee.
William Cowper (1731-1800)

Gen 1:1 - Deut 17:19

"When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say,'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you,'You shall not return that way again.' 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

18 "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,
NKJV

SOLOMON

Solomon's Sins. Solomon's reign brought changes not only to Israel but also to his own life. Near the end of his life, the king lost the ideals of his youth, becoming restless and unsatisfied. His writings in Ecclesiastes, proclaiming that "all is vanity," support the view that the world's wisest man had become a pathetic figure in his old age.

Solomon's greatest sin was his loss of devotion to the God of the Hebrew people. In this, he fell victim to his own trade agreements. By custom, beautiful women were awarded to the most powerful member of a treaty to seal the covenant. The constant influx of wives and concubines in Solomon's court led eventually to his downfall. Thus, Solomon broke the Mosaic Law and violated the warning not to stray from the path of his father David.

The large number of foreign women in Solomon's court made many demands upon the king. He allowed these "outsiders" to practice their pagan religions. The result was that Jerusalem, and even its holy Temple, was the scene of pagan practices and idol worship (1 Kings 11:1-13).
Solomon's own faith was weakened. Eventually he approved of, and even participated in, these idolatrous acts. The example he set for the rest of the nation must have been demoralizing. This unfortunate error was a severe blow to the security of Solomon's throne and to the nation he had built.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

SOLOMON WOULD HAVE WRITTEN A COPY OF THE LAW INCLUDING THE COMMAND OF THE KING TO NOT MULTIPLY WIVES TO HIMSELF --- HE DISOBEYED GOD AND MULTIPLIED WIVES TO HIMSELF --- I AM SURE HE JUSTIFIED IT BECAUSE OF THE TREATIES THAT HE WON THROUGH THESE MARRIAGES

HIS DISOBEDIENCE LED TO THE WORST SORT OF IDOLATRY

KEEP YOURSELF FROM IDOLS BECAUSE THEY WILL BE RIPPED FROM YOU LIKE A BEAR RIPS A RIB CAGE FROM ANY ANIMAL THAT GETS BETWEEN HER AND HER "LOVED" CUBS
1 John 5:21
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols . Amen.
NKJV

The Still Small Voice

SERMON
2-25-07

SERVING

All across America amateur weather observers cooperate with the National Weather Service by providing information on daily weather conditions in local areas. Some years ago the White House honored a Nebraska farmer, Edward H. Stoll, who recorded daily weather conditions for seventy-four years. This is what Stoll said: "You owe service to somebody else, not just yourself. Service is the rent that you pay for the space that you occupy as you go through life."

YESTERDAY I WAS THINKING EARLY IN THE DAY WHAT I SHOULD DO ---- HOW I COULD PLEASE HIM (GOD)TODAY
1. GO TO THE JAIL AND VISIT WITH AN EX-EMPLOYEE
Matt 25:31-46

31 The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand,'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
NKJV

2. GO TO THE NURSING HOME AND VISIT WITH ONE OF OUR CONGREGATION
James 1:26-27
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
NKJV

HERE I AM THINKING ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT I MIGHT BE A BLESSING IN SOME "MAJOR" WAY TO GOD AND HIS KINGDOM AND MY WIFE HAS THE AUDACITY TO ASK ME TO TAKE THE TIRE FROM HER BAD BOY BUGGY OFF AND TAKE IT IN AND GET IT FIXED --- I KEPT MY FRUSTRATION TO MYSELF (A MIRACLE IN ITSELF) AND FED THE ANIMALS THEN TOOK THE TIRE OFF AND TOOK IT IN TO GET FIXED --- AS I WAS DRIVING THRU THE GATE ON THE WAY OUT WITH THE TIRE I FELT LIKE GOD MINISTERED TO ME --- THIS IS WHAT I WANTED YOU TO DO FOR ME --- AND LATER THIS SCRIPTURE CAME TO MY MIND
2 Kings 5:1-14
2 Kings 5

5:1 Naaman's Leprosy Healed

Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy." 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."
5 Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel."
So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,
Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."
8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times , and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.' 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
NKJV
I AM PRONE TO MISS HIM IN THE SIMPLICITY OF LIFE --- I USUALLY THINK IN TERMS OF SAVING AFRICA RATHER THAN HELPING MY WIFE

Matt 20:20-28

Greatness Is Serving IN OBEDIENCE

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
21 And He said to her, "What do you wish?"
She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."
22 But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
They said to Him, "We are able."
23 So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."
24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
NKJV

In the heart of Cartagena, Colombia, stands the church of San Pedro Claver, his bones enshrined beneath the altar. Once Cartagena was the largest slave market in the world. That was when Father Claver came to care for the sick, and to teach and baptize. He called himself the "slave of slaves."

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD THING TO GO SEE THE PRISONER --- EVEN ACCORDING TO THE WORD --- IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD THING TO GO SEE THE LADY IN THE REST HOME --- EVEN ACCORDING TO THE WORD --- BUT IT WAS A BETTER THING TO LISTEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BE A “SLAVE” IN OBEDIENCE TO THE STILL SMALL VOICE

1 Kings 19:11-13

11 God's Revelation to Elijah
Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
NKJV
The day of small things can become the life of biggest and best things. A small word spoken at the right time may set a whole life straight. A gentle smile may brighten the way for the man with a heavy load. The small bit of time with the Book and the knee bent will hallow the day's task. The still, small voice listened to may turn the world's tide. "The small in God's hand becomes big."

-- A. J. Gordon in The Bent-Knee Time


EVEN JESUS HAD TO LEARN OBEDIENCE
Heb 5:7-11
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek,"
NKJV
BETTER TO FOLLOW THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS STILL SMALL VOICE THAN TO OFFER GOD A SACRIFICE OF WORKS
1 Sam 15:10-23

10 Saul Rejected as King

Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 11 "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night. 12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal." 13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him,"Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
15 And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night."
And he said to him, "Speak on."
17 So Samuel said,"When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
20 And Saul said to Samuel,"But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
22 So Samuel said:
"Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,As in obeying the voice of the LORD?Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,He also has rejected you from being king."
NKJV

IT IS MUCH BETTER TO LISTEN AND OBEY THAN TO OFFER UP THE MIGHTIEST SACRIFICE TO THE LORD --- DOES HE NOT ALREADY OWN THE CATTLE ON A THOUSAND HILLS --- HOW THEN WILL HE BE IMPRESSED BY YOUR SACRIFICE --- NO MATTER HOW GREAT IN THE EYES OF MEN
When local magistrates sentenced [John] Bunyan to imprisonment unless he promised them he would not preach, he refused, declaring that he would remain in prison till the moss grew on his eyelids rather than fail to do what God had commanded him to do.

Deut 28:1-2
28:1 Blessings on Obedience

(Lev 26:1-13; Deut 7:12-24)

"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
NKJV

BETTER TO SERVE YOUR WIFE IN OBEDIENCE TO THE LORD THAN VISITING ALL THE WIDOWS AND PRISONERS IN THIS VAIN WORLD UNLESS DIRECTED BY THE LORD

More spiritual progress can be made in one short moment of speechless silence in the awesome presence of God than in years of mere study.
A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

Prostrate before thy throne to lie,
And gaze and gaze on thee!
Frederick William Faber (1814-1863)

Silent worship seems to “Friends” (QUAKERS) to be their natural method. It is healing; it is uniting; it cleanses, challenges, stimulates. It helps us to get down to those deeper currents of the soul that are so often neglected in life's hurry and bustle; it enables us to center down into fellowship with the Eternal and to hear the still small voice of God.
Gerald K. Hibbert (1872-1957)

What Seeds Are YOU Sowing???

2-4-07

The weather this winter has been particularly harsh. When you look across the 50 acre wheat field at the lodge, it doesn't look like anything would ever grow there. But, it is now February, and this is the month the "experts" say you plant oats. I think I will wait a few weeks into the month before I plant, considering the frigid temperatures. What seeds are you sowing, this month??

Gen 1:11-13

11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind , whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind , and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind . And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
NKJV
THE SEEDS YOU SOW TODAY WILL BEAR FRUIT --- YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR FUTURE BY THE SEEDS YOU SOW "TODAY"

Lev 19:19

19'You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
NKJV
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO NOT BE SOWING TWO KINDS OF SEED --- IT IS VERY CONFUSING TO THOSE THAT NEED TO SEE JESUS, THROUGH THE WITNESS OF YOUR LIFE

James 3:10-12
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
NKJV

Gal 6:7-10

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap . 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
NKJV

By 7 p.m. on October 20, 1968, at the Mexico City Olympics Stadium, it was beginning to darken. It had cooled down as well.
The last of the Olympic marathon runners were being assisted away to first-aid stations. Over an hour earlier, Mamo Waldi of Ethiopia had charged across the finish line, winning the 26-mile, 385-yard race looking as strong and as vigorous as when he'd started.
As the last few thousand spectators began preparing to leave, they heard police sirens and whistles through the gate entering the stadium.
The attention turned to that gate. A sole figure, wearing the colors of Tanzania, came limping into the stadium. His name was John Steven Aquari. He was the last man to finish the marathon in 1968. His leg was bandaged, bloody. He had taken a bad fall early in the race. Now, it was all he could do to limp his way around the track. The crowd stood and applauded as he completed that last lap.
When he finally crossed the finish line, one man dared ask the question all were wondering. "You are badly injured. Why didn't you quit? Why didn't you give up?"
Aquari, with quiet dignity said, "My country did not send me seven thousand miles to start this race. My country sent me to finish."
So it is with God. God didn't just send you to start this race. He didn't just send you to begin a noble task or a noble relationship. God sent you both to start and to finish.

KING DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART, SOWED SOME BAD SEED AND REAPED A TERRIBLE HARVEST
2 Sam 12:1-25
2 Samuel 12

12:1 Nathan's Parable and David's Confession

Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.'"
13 So David said to Nathan,"I have sinned against the LORD."
And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.
The Death of David's Son

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!"
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?"
And they said, "He is dead."
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food."
22 And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
24 Solomon Is Born

Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. NKJV
WHAT A TRAGIC EXAMPLE OF A MAN OF GOD (A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART) THAT SOWED THE WIND AND REAPED THE WHIRLWIND
Hos 8:7

7 "They sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind .
NKJV

WHAT IS TRUE IN THE POSITIVE CONCERNING SOWING AND REAPING IS ALSO TRUE IN THE NEGATIVE --- DAVID’S ONE SIN REAPED MANY TRAGEDIES IN HIS CHILDREN:
ABSALOM --- TRIED TO OVERTHROW HIS FATHER
AMNON --- RAPED HIS HALF SISTER
ADONIJAH --- REVOLTED AGAINST HIS FATHER’S CHOSEN ONE SOLOMON

WHEN YOU SOW A SEED --- THE PRINCIPLE IS --- IT MULTIPLIES --- IT BEARS MANY OF ITS KIND --- IF YOU ARE SOWING GOOD SEED TODAY, YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT HARVEST

Many of you saw the movie Chariots of Fire back about ten years ago. It was the true story of Eric Liddell, a man who ran for Scotland, then went on to become a missionary. You may recall that he refused to run on the Sabbath, forfeiting some of the awards he probably would have won in the 1924 Olympics.
Well, there was another scene in that movie that may have appeared like Hollywood fiction, but it was also true. One year before the pivotal event in the movie, Eric Liddell ran in a meet between England, Ireland and Scotland. He ran the 100-, 220-, and 440-yard events.
In the 440, he got off to a bad start. When that gun sounded, there was a lot of shoving to get in front to the inside lane, the advantageous position.
Liddell tangled feet with J. J. Gillies of England and tumbled to the track. He sat there dazed for a moment, not knowing whether he could get up, when the official screamed, "Get up and run!"
He jumped to his feet and took off after the pack, which was now a full twenty yards ahead of him. In a quarter mile, that's a big distance to try to make up. In his unorthodox style of running he took off after the pack. He pulled into fourth place ten yards behind the leader, J. J. Gillies.
With forty yards to go, he pulled into third place, then second. Right at the tape he passed Gillies, stuck his chest out, won the race, and collapsed to the track in total exhaustion. Medical personnel had to assist him off the track that day.
An article appearing the next day in The Scotsman newspaper said, "The circumstances in which Liddell won the race made it a performance bordering on the miraculous. Veterans whose memories take them back thirty-five years and in some cases longer in the history of athletics were unanimous in the opinion that Liddell's win in the quarter mile was the greatest track performance they had ever seen."
There's something glorious about getting up off the track after you've been knocked down and running again. Win or lose, you didn't stay down.

YOU ARE SOWING THE SEEDS OF YOUR FUTURE TODAY --- ELIZABETH HAS A SAYING THAT IT IS NEVER TO LATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING --- YOU CAN’T UNDO THE PAST, BUT YOU CAN BEGIN “TODAY” TO SOW GOOD SEEDS --- YOU MAY HAVE TO ENDURE SOME BAD HARVESTS, FOR THE SEED ALREADY SOWED, BUT GOD WILL BE YOUR LOVING FATHER, FRIEND, AND COMPANION HELPER IF YOU GET UP OFF THE TRACK AND BEGIN TO RUN A HEROIC RACE “TODAY”

HERE IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE SOWING TERRIBLE SEED --- SEEING THE ERROR OF HIS WAY AND STEADFASTLY SOWING GOOD SEED THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE
Acts 7:57-8:3

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul . 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice,"Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 8

8:1 Saul Persecutes the Church

Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul , he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
NKJV

Acts 9:1-22
9:1 The Damascus Road: Saul Converted
(Acts 22:6-16; 26:12-18)
Then Saul , still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul , Saul , why are you persecuting Me?"
5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?"
Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"
Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Ananias Baptizes Saul

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias."
And he said, "Here I am, Lord."
11 So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight."
13 Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."
15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul , the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
20 Saul Preaches Christ

Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said,"Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?"
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
NKJV
THE REST OF PAUL'S LIFE WAS DEDICATED TO SOWING THE SEEDS OF CHRIST
1. WROTE 2/3DS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
2. BROUGHT CHRIST TO THE GENTILES
3. EVEN TOOK HIM TO ROME --- THE CENTER OF CIVILIZATION AND POWER

IF YOU WANT HOLINESS, PURITY, PEACE, AND JOY AS YOUR FUTURE YOU HAVE SET BEFORE YOU “TODAY” THE CHOICE AND ABILITY (BY THE POWER OF GOD) TO SOW GOOD SEEDS

Readiness For the Future
Throwing Away the Past

In an essay titled "Good Guys Finish First (Sometimes)," Andrew Bagnato told the following story:
Following a rags-to-riches season that led them to the Rose Bowl--their first in decades--Northwestern University's Wildcats met with coach Gary Barnett for the opening of spring training.
As players found their seats, Barnett announced that he was going to hand out the awards that many Wildcats had earned in 1995. Some players exchanged glances. Barnett does not normally dwell on the past. But as the coach continued to call players forward and handed them placards proclaiming their achievements, they were cheered on by their teammates.
One of the other coaches gave Barnett a placard representing his seventeen national coach-of-the-year awards. Then, as the applause subsided, Barnett walked to a trash can marked "1995." He took an admiring glance at his placard, then dumped it in the can.
In the silence that followed, one by one, the team's stars dumped their placards on top of Barnett's. Barnett had shouted a message without uttering a word: "What you did in 1995 was terrific, lads. But look at the calendar: It's 1996."
It's great to celebrate the accomplishments of the past. But with God, our best days are always ahead.

-- Chicago Tribune Magazine (9/1/96).

Phil 3:13-1413 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. NKJV

YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST --- MOVE ON --- TOWARDS JESUS THE SON OF GOD