The Candidate That Peace Church Endorses   Revelation 5:1-10

A journalist was talking to the Chaplain of the United States Senate. He said “I’ll bet that every morning, you enter the Senate chamber, look at the Senators, and pray a heartfelt prayer for them.”

The chaplain said, “No. Every morning, I look at the Senators, and I pray for the country!”

That’s what a lot of people are doing right now. They look at the leaders we have on Capitol Hill, and they’re saying “Oh, God! I think we need some divine intervention! We need help from a higher power! We need wisdom from above!”

How many of you agree that our nation needs prayer? How many of you are finding it harder and harder to trust elected officials? How many of you are concerned with the direction the nation is heading?

There are still people who don’t know who they’re going to vote for on November 4th. So today, I’m going to introduce you to the one person who IS worthy of your confidence. I’m going to introduce you to the One Person who deserves to be elected by every American. I’m going to introduce you to the Leader who is endorsed by Thompson Memorial EMC!

We meet Him today in Revelation chapter 5. Normally we think of Revelation as a wild book about the end times. And to a certain extent, it IS a wild book about the end times. But the real message of Revelation is about the sovereign power of God and Christ over things in heaven and things on earth. In Chapters one through three, we see the sovereignty of Christ as He walks among the churches of Western Turkey.

And in chapters four and five, the scene switches over to heaven. In chapter four, we see that God is worthy to rule over heaven and earth because he created us – that’s in Revelation 4:11 – And here in chapter five, we’re going to see that Christ is worthy to reign with God over heaven and earth because He redeemed us!

Revelation 5:1 says “Then I saw in the right hand of God a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.” Scrolls were made from thin strips of papyrus that were laid end to end. Then they were glued together to form a strip of paper.

And it was very unusual to write on both sides because the ink would often bleed through to the other side. God says “I have so much to tell you about the power of Christ over the forces of evil that I’m gonna jam as much stuff in here as I can!”

You should see me when I pack a suitcase. I hate lugging around a whole bunch of suitcases when I go on vacation. So when it’s time to pack for a trip, I try to jam everything into one suitcase. I’ve got sweaters piled up on this side. I got pants piled up on that side. I’ve got shoes and socks tucked in over there. I got a few books smashed in over there.

And if I can’t get the suitcase zipped shut, I stand on top of the suitcase and start jumping! I want to get as much stuff into that suitcase as I can.

That’s what God did for us when He gave us the book of Revelation. He loaded it with stuff about the awesomeness of Jesus Christ. How do I know that? Because in Revelation 1:17, Jesus says “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

And in Revelation 11:15, when the seventh trumpet is blown, there were loud voices in heaven shouting “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

And in Revelation 17, the forces of evil make one last ditch effort to unseat the Lord Jesus Christ. But verse 14 says that the Lamb will overcome them because he is the Lord of lords and King of kings.

And in Revelation 22:13, before the last page is turned, Jesus says “13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

So we shouldn’t just read Revelation to get a blow by blow description of the end of the world. We should read it because it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. We should read it because more than almost every other book, it lifts up the name of Jesus. We should read it because the same One who has power over the devil and the beast and the harlot has power over the forces of evil today.

Some of you are deeply worried about the economy. You don’t know if your money is safe. You don’t know if it’s going to be there when you retire.

But Revelation reminds us that the problems of this life are no match for the power of Jesus Christ. The same God who cares for His people during the darkest moments in human history is able to care for the needs of His people today.

And some of you are worried about school. Volleyball is almost over. Basketball is coming up. And you wonder “With all my sports and all my chores, how in the world am I going to find time to get my schoolwork done? How am I going to stay on top of things?”

But Revelation reminds us that the problems of this life are no match for the power of Jesus Christ. The same God who cares for His people during the darkest moments in human history is able to care for the needs of His people today.

And that’s why the scroll is loaded up on both sides. To give us the encouragement of knowing that as long as Christ is number one in our lives, we win!

But the writer of Revelation doesn’t know this yet. Beginning with Revelation 5:2, an angel says “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But when no one comes forward, John starts weeping. The angel says “Do not weep, because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed. He alone is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

And then John turns around, expecting to see a lion. But he discovers that the lion of Judah who conquers the bad guys at His second coming is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world at His first coming (John 1:29)! Both of these compelling images come together in the Revelation to give us a complex portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Reminds me of the story about the mom who notices that her six-year-old son is trying very hard to draw and color an elaborate picture. She says “Honey, what is that?” The boy says “I’m drawing a picture of God.” She says “That’s very nice, dear, but you know, no one really knows what God looks like.” The boy says “They will now!”

The apostle John has given us a picture of what God is like through His description of Jesus Christ. And verse six says that He has seven horns. Seven is the number of completion. And the horns are symbols of strength. So Jesus has complete strength.

And verse six also says that He has seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God. So Jesus has complete strength and complete authority over the Holy Spirit.

Just as God the Father is presented as the complete package in Revelation 4, Jesus Christ is presented as the complete package in Revelation 5. That’s why you don’t need to worry about what your finances are going to look like. You don’t need to worry about what your job situation is going to look like. You keep doing your best for God, and God will continue to do His best for you!

And then in verse seven, everything is quiet. The Lamb approaches the throne of God and takes the scroll from God. This symbolizes the transfer of authority from God the Father to God the Son. We see the same thing in Daniel 7:13-14.

As soon as Jesus takes the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fall down in worship. They say “You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Right now, America is looking for leadership. Some people are saying “Boy, I hope Barack Obama can give the middle class a tax break. I hope Barack Obama can provide health care for the people who need it.

And some people are saying “I hope John McCain provides experienced leadership during these difficult times. I hope John McCain can get Roe vs Wade overturned and save the unborn children.”

And let me say that it’s perfectly all right for Christians to vote the way the Spirit of God is leading them to vote.

But as citizens of God’s kingdom, we need to remember that Jesus Christ is the President over all other presidents. Jesus Christ is the King of all kings! Jesus Christ is the One that Peace Church endorses. He’s more wonderful than Obama. More wonderful than McCain.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the One we should campaign for! The Lord Jesus Christ is the One we should be stumping for! The Lord Jesus Christ is the One we should be telling our friends about. He’s the One we should elect as the President of our lives. He loves you. He died for you. He lives for you. And Matthew 28:20 says that He will be with you always, even to the end of time. I’m Pastor James, and I approve this message. Let’s pray.

Our GREAT Hope
Romans 8:24-25,
Hope is one of the three primary characteristics of a Christian. It is joined to faith and love. Now Hope, by definition, means that we do not yet possess that which we hope for, and in fact, that we have never actually seen what we hope for, but we believe it’s there nonetheless. Everything that makes you a Christian is centered upon the fact that you have a great Hope.

Unbelievers do not have this hope that you have. They may claim it and desire it, but until they come to truly know Jesus, they have a hope that is without foundation and will not stand. For Hope to be real it must have a solid foundation and that’s found only when your hope is placed in Jesus Christ and his shed blood and standing upon the unchanging Word of God.

Your Hope is a living hope. It does not break down when the winds of adversity and tragedy come against it.
For we are saved by this Hope. Hope alone is the cause of salvation, but the means by which souls are brought to the enjoyment of it; salvation is the object of that hope.

To a Christian, the Hope that we have is not a “Pie in the Sky Vision” like you may have when you someone promises you something that is too good to be true. Have you ever had that in your life? It’s something that would be so good that you want to believe in it, but your common sense tells you that it’s all a lie and that there is always a catch to it somewhere.

Because we know that our Hope is real we are willing to patiently wait for it to come to pass. We count it as certain and real, as something valuable,; something that will be satisfying, and that will be received with great joy.

I love this verse that says that God searches the hearts of his children. This is something that only God can do. Angels, demons, nor even devil himself has access to search the heart of a man. God alone has that power!

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" The prophet answers his own question in the very next verse.
Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

I’m glad that God can truly know my heart. Even when I’m being rebellious, and even when doubts, fears and questions arise, God still knows the heart and what our deepest desires are, and he helps us.


When the scripture says that God knows the mind of the Spirit, it’s not just talking about the spirit of a man, but the Spirit of God in that man. When the Holy Spirit groans within us, interceding in us, God hears that groaning, and he moves upon our heart to bring us into compliance with what we need to overcome, adapt and become what he wants us to be.

This is our reason for praying. We know that God is listening and that he has the power to help us. But quite often we don’t know what, or how to pray, or what to believe in. that’s when the groaning of the Spirit of God in us takes over and helps us.

Have you ever wondered whether you were praying for something in the will of God? Did you ever think that you might miss God’s will? It’s certainly possible to do that, but think now about what the scripture says.

The Holy Spirit in you is ever making intercession in your life according to the will of God. By bringing us in line with God’s will then the Holy Spirit also helps us to be in the place where we can receive the blessings of God. How can we help but overcome and be blessed when the Holy Ghost is leading us right under the spout where the blessings come out?

Now you can more understand what is said in the next verse that we love to quote so much in times of adversity.

Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."


Because the Holy Spirit groans within you, leads you and guides you, and because Jesus Christ is ever interceding for you, then everything that happens to you will ultimately lead you to the place where God wants you to be when this life is over. That doesn’t mean that all things will seem good, or even be good, but they will all lead to your ultimate good in the end. What a great and precious promise that is!


We know that all of this is true by not only the witness of the Spirit in us, but the examples given us in God’s Word. The lives of Jacob, Joseph, Job, David, Moses and others, and our own experiences tell us that this is going to come to pass. Somehow, everything that happens to us ultimately brings us closer to Jesus if we just allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to have its effect upon us.

The two prerequisites to having all things work to our good are that we truly Love God and that we are called according to his purpose in our lives. If you love the Lord and you are allowing the Holy Ghost to lead you, and the Word of God to change you, then you are ready to receive that promise.

Romans 8:29-30, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

God knows your heart so well that he knew before you were born that you would be one who would heed his call upon your life. Therefore he has predestined that you should hear the gospel, respond to it and come to know Christ as your Savior.

He has already designed a path for you follow that will bring you into conformity with Jesus. He has already predestined you to be adopted into his family, to justify you through the blood of Jesus and give you a glorified body and place in his eternal Kingdom. All of this was set into place from the moment of your conception. God searched your heart and knew that you could be one of his children if you chose to, so he called you out by name, and through His wonderful grace, lifted you out of the miry clay and is leading you every step of the way. Unless you decide to reject that call of God upon your life, there’s no way you can fail to make it all the way. Choose to serve the Lord and you can’t fail. Choose to reject the Lord and you can’t win.

Psalms 37:23-24, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand."

God wanted you to be his Son or Daughter, adopted and given the power of the resurrection life, following his only begotten Son who was the firstfruits of resurrection life. Because Jesus lives, we shall live also. God’s family is going to consist of a lot of Sons and Daughters, brothers and sister’s of Jesus Christ, equal in love, authority and glory to Christ in Heavenly City. That’s God’s plan, his design and his will for you.

Romans 8:31-32, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

If God has already predestined you to be his adopted child, and he has already predestined you to spend eternity in Heaven with Him, then who can be against you and cause you to fail? The only one is yourself for nothing outside of you has the power to stop God’s purpose from coming to pass if you don’t allow it to.

No sickness can keep you from winning in the end. No temptation has the power to overcome you and steal your victory if you resist it. Satan cannot stop you for you have been power to resist him and make him run. Demons have no power to possess you and can oppress you only as long as God allows and he will never let you fall because of oppression. Other men have no power over your heart. They may control the body but they can never arrest the spirit within, or limit the ability of the heart to soar.

If God is for us, and He really is, then who can stop us, or be against us and win? The answer is nobody, no how! Nothing can separate us from God’s predestined plan. Even the worst enemy we have, death, has no power to stop God’s plan. In fact, it only speeds us to receive the reward of the hope that is in us.

If God was willing to allow his only Son to die for us so that we could be saved, then why would he allow us to stumble and fall over every little thing that comes against us. He wants us to make it to Heaven and God is making the way that it will come to pass so don’t be afraid of missing Heaven. Just put your hope and faith in Jesus Christ and then trust God and you’ll make it all the way.

There is more here that I could give you but for the sake of time lets skip down to verse 35.

Romans 8:35-39,
This isn’t talking about our love for Jesus, but His love for us. We can separate ourselves from the Love of Jesus, but He will love us just the same. That doesn’t mean that we can’t backslide or lose out with God, but it does mean that God will love us in spite of our sin, but will also have to judge us according to that sin.

His love is set aside by his holiness, righteousness and justice, so if we rebel, it’s not his love we will see in the judgment but his justice.

But unless we separate ourselves, nothing else has the power to separate us from Christ. The Holy Spirit within will continually help us to know Jesus even more and to love Him more every day.

Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and war – none of these things has the power to separate us from Jesus and cause our love for him to fail. We have the power to overcome them all, given to us by God.

Though we live under the constant threat of death, or the every present knowledge that each moment could be our last on this earth, that has no power to separate us from Jesus. It only serves to drive us closer to Christ, expecting that at any given moment we finally receive that great Hope and go to be with him in Heaven.

Let this message help you to believe like Paul did, that nothing can separate you from the Love of God and that you will allow nothing to separate you from loving God in return.

Nothing of this world can stop you. All of Heaven is working on your behalf. God has predestined you to live with him in Heaven forever. That ought to be grounds for shouting “Hallelujah” and marching on in victory.

God wants you to win.
He’s designed a plan for you to win.
He’s made a way for you to win.
He’s laid a path before you that will lead you to victory.
He’s given you His Word as a lamp to light the way.
The Holy Ghost in inside of you prompting, teaching, leading and interceding for you so you can win.
God has already constructed a mansion for you in Heaven.
He’s already set a place for you at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Jesus is ever defending your innocence before the Father in Heaven.

How can you lose? Rejoice people of God, and lift up your heads. Your Redemption draws closer every day. You will receive the Hope that you have been waiting for and what a day that’s going to be.

Do you have that Great Hope this morning? Do you know and love Jesus? Are you one of those that God has predestined to live in his Heavenly City? You can be if you give your heart and life to Jesus today. God wants you to be there. Do you want to go?

Remember that sin cannot enter Heaven’s gates. You have to be washed in the Blood of Jesus and allow him to be the Lord of your life. Most of the people in this world won’t make it in, but you can. Why not give your heart and life to Jesus right now as we close this message. Make your way to this altar and surrender your life to Christ. He’s waiting for your decision.

Preached Sunday Morning August 30th 2008

In Spite of the Storm     Matthew 14:22-32
Jesus was the Miracle Working Man from Galilee. He was The Great Hope of the Jews. To many who watched him perform miracles, signs and wonders, Jesus was the Great Messiah, the Deliverer. For many of them he was the answer to their prayers, the hope of their future and the shining light of a brand new day.

Yes, he was all of these things, but the one thing about Jesus that very few of the Jews really understood was that Jesus was the Very Son of God, the Jews never fully understood that Jesus was Very God in their midst.

Because of their carnal thinking, Jesus knew that the crowds were going to try press him into action but this was not his purpose in coming to the earth so he had to stop them. He began to try to disperse the crowd, sending them away; and then he began to get the disciples to forget the excitement of the moment and to move on for there was much left to do.

Matthew 14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
Matthew 14:23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

It took some persuasion to get the disciples to leave. After all, they wanted a King too. They still hadn’t understood who Jesus really was or what his true purpose was. They were still looking for a Messiah, and desired Jesus to fulfill that role. Jesus finally convinced them to get into a boat. He “constrained” them; forced them; compelled them; probably physically pushing them and holding them back; restraining them and ordering them into the boat.

At the same time Jesus was ordering the crowds to go, but many would not leave. They were determined to stay and make him their King. Finally he was able to get away from them by going into the mountains, leaving them waiting there by the seashore for him, and his disciples to return.

We must also never forget that Jesus was also a man in every way, and though he never sinned, there is no doubt that the human nature within him battled with the idea of being praised as the King of Israel.

 Some of you might think that Jesus couldn’t have those kinds of feelings but the Word of God says otherwise. Would not that be tempting to you? When others praise your efforts and want to lift you on a pedestal tell you how great you are, isn’t that something that we all want; to be liked; to feel needed; to feel important to someone?

Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

It is not sin to be tempted; sin becomes sin when we act on those temptations and give in to them. The thought of robbing a bank doesn’t make you a robber. But if you think on it enough and you walk in with a gun and a ski mask, then you are guilty. The thought of being too tired to do what you are supposed to do for the Lord isn’t sin, but when you fail to obey him then it becomes sin.

But alone with the Father, on that mountain, Jesus rebuked those thoughts and feelings and stayed true to his purpose. He prayed nearly all night, until the 4th watch of the night, sometime between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM. Many of us have trouble praying for 3 to 6 minutes, much less all night.

Matthew 14:24
The disciples hadn’t gone very far from the shore, probably no more than 2 or 3 miles, before the wind and waves kicked up on the shallow Sea of Galilee. They couldn’t go ahead because of the contrary wind; and they couldn’t go back because they had been told to meet Jesus on the other side; and the little ship was being swamped by the waves and broken by the rough waters. They fought this storm a long time, but hope was fading fast.

Matthew 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

Then, in the darkest hour of the night, after he had finished praying, Jesus walked out onto the waters of the Sea of Galilee. The wind and waves were crashing, but he didn’t pay them any attention. The storms of life are no storms at all if you learn to have faith in the power of God to bring you through. They are mere annoyances at best. The same storm that threatens to destroy you is nothing but trouble that is under his feet.

There’s a song that says this, “Whenever you’ve waded out too far in waters too deep; remember when the waves are over your head, they’re under his feet.”

The Bible says, in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

Now since the disciples had not received the Holy Spirit, and because they had their hearts set on earthly things, they didn’t truly think of Jesus in spiritual terms. They though of him as a great man and a prophet of God, or even as a Messiah, but not as God in the form of a man.

So when they saw Jesus walking on the water in the darkest hour of the night, and watched as he appeared in between the waves, with the wind blowing his robes, and dim moon light reflecting off of him, they didn’t have the mind of the Spirit at all. They thought Jesus was a spirit but not a spirit that they wanted to see.

Matthew 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

Let me tell you that when you’re in the midst of the storm, and the winds of adversity, and the waves of troubles and trials are over your head and threatening to send you under for the last time, it’s hard to keep your mind on the things of the Spirit and sometimes we forget that Jesus is the Lord of the storms, the winds and the waves too. We talk about having faith, trusting God and knowing that he can do all things. But when the storm is blowing with all its fury, we sometimes doubt and cry out in fear.

Matthew 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

The instant they cried out in fear, Jesus heard their cry. He spoke to their hearts, to their minds and to their spirits saying, “Don’t worry; I’m here now and there’s nothing to fear.”

Jesus hears your cry to instant you call out to him.

Isaiah 59:1, "Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:"

But I want you to notice something here. Even though Jesus spoke these words of comfort and cheer, the storm wasn’t over. He wants you to have faith in the midst of the storm, not just when it’s over.

Some of you have been through some real storms in your life lately. Some of you are in the midst of a terrible storm right now. The winds of trouble are blowing you around like a feather and the waves of life are tossing your family and your home around like a matchstick on the ocean. You don’t understand why things happen the way they do. You don’t know why God allows these things to come your way. Perhaps there are even questions and doubts arising on whether God even cares.

But Jesus cares and he is there with you in the midst of the storm and he is trying to get you to hear him say, “Don’t worry; I am here with you and all is well”.

We have to get our minds on Jesus and off of the problems if we are going to survive. The storms of life are meant to bring your faith to a higher level, not to bring us down to despair.

But we allow our eyes to get off of Jesus, they have the power to destroy us too. Thank God that Jesus always comes in the nick of time to save us and won’t allow us to go down for the last time. He always makes a way of escape. He lifts us up and helps us to walk on the water with him.

Matthew 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Matthew 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Peter recognized Jesus, heard his voice and stepped out into the water with Jesus. His faith was alive and his eyes were set on Jesus as he stepped out of that boat and into the very seas that were threatening to drown him.

But notice something once again. Just because Peter’s faith was strong, and he was able to walk on the water, didn’t mean that the storm was over. What that is trying to tell us is that in spite of the storm; in spite of the winds of adversity; in spite of all the troubles; in spite of the doubts and fears; in spite of it all – You can walk over it because Jesus can lift you above it all and hold you up through it all; and he will put it all under your feet too, if you’ll just keep your eyes on him and not on the storm.

Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Though faith may become strong and you begin to rise above your circumstances, the time can come when the storm looks bigger than Jesus.

But my friend, there is no time in this life when you need the help of Jesus to keep you from going under than when you are standing on the sidelines, helpless.

Thank God, that’s the time when Jesus reaches out his hand and catches us, then lifts us up and helps our faith to be strong enough to trust him no matter what. That’s what he did for Peter that night out on the Sea of Galilee.

Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Even when Jesus lifted Peter up, the storm still didn’t cease. It was still blowing and crashing but now Peter had hold of Jesus’ hand and he knew that he could not fall. All he had to do was just keep on holding on to Jesus and everything would be all right. Let the winds blow and the waves crash, Jesus is here and that’s all that matters.

Matthew 14:32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

I want you to think about something here. I believe that the boat itself can be a type of the church. Without Jesus in the church, we are just tossed about with every little wind of doctrine that comes along. Every new fad will make us go with the flow.

Every new doctrine is added to the already confused mess that the church calls its own. We need Jesus in this ship. When Jesus is in the church, peace will reign. When Jesus is in the church, fear goes out the door, faith arises and the joy of the Lord makes us strong.

How do we get Jesus in the church? We are the church and we must have Jesus in us before we come together. Then Jesus will be in our midst.

Matthew 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Think about this – Why didn’t the disciples and those in the ship worship Jesus before he calmed the storm; and before he entered the ship? We need to learn to worship Jesus in the midst of the storm, and even when we can’t see him or feel him. We need to learn to worship and serve the Lord all the time, not just after he performs a miracle for us.

If you’re in a storm right now – worship Jesus in spite of the storm.
If you’re finally having a time of peace and the storm is ending – worship Jesus for the victory.
If you aren’t in a storm right now, worship Jesus anyhow, because the next storm for your life is just over the horizon.

Learn to worship Jesus all the time. Keep you eyes upon him. Trust in him and have faith in him, and the storms of life won’t feel so bad after all. Jesus will help you walk above it all if you will only worship him.

God’s Purpose For Your Life                       Ecclesiastes 1:1-12

A woman took her husband to the doctor. After the exam, the doctor said privately to the woman, "Your husband is suffering from a serious illness. But there is hope. You just need to reduce his stress. Do all the cooking. Do all the cleaning. Never yell at him. And most importantly... do whatever he asks you to do. If you can do this for your husband for the next 12 months, I think your husband will make a complete recovery. But if you don’t do this, he’s going to die.
Later on, the husband asks, "What did the doctor say?" His wife said, "He says you’re going to die!"
Truth be told, there’s a 100% chance that someday, we’re ALL going to die.

And so one of the things we need to do while we’re alive is to discover WHY we’re alive! What is God’s purpose for my life? Why did He put me on this earth? What does He want me to do with the years He has given me?

The book of Ecclesiastes wrestles with all these questions. Solomon is saying “There’s gotta to be more to life than studying and working and partying. There’s gotta to be more to life than saving all your money so that you can die and leave it for someone else. There’s gotta to be more to life than watching righteous men get what the wicked deserve and watching wicked men getting what the righteous deserve.”

And so today, we’re going to look at the book of Ecclesiastes. And we’re going to discover God’s purpose for our lives.
The main theme of Ecclesiastes is that life is meaningless without God. And it takes Solomon all of two verses to figure it out. In Ecclesiastes 1:2, he says
The Hebrew word translated ‘meaningless’ appears in Ecclesiastes 35 times. It refers to the fruitlessness of all human enterprise and endeavor apart from God.

And throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, you can feel Solomon’s frustration as he tries to figure out the meaning of life. One, I was trying to install a router in Randy’s house so that he could enjoy wireless internet. And for three hours, I followed the instructions word for word, and the thing still didn’t want to work! I was so frustrated. If I had hair on my head, I would have pulled it out!

How many of you have ever felt so frustrated that you feel like screaming?
That’s how Solomon feels in Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 1:8, he says

The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time."

He’s saying, "People write about the same things. They talk about the same things. They aggravate me with the same things. Life is just the same old same old.”
I was talking to my Mom a while back. She reads a lot of books. She reads 3-4 novels a week. I said “That’s great! You’re quite a reader!”

She said, “There’s nothing else to do. You can only read so many books before all start sounding the same. I got a book from my own library last week. I started reading it. After ten minutes, I said “I read this one already!”

Like Solomon says, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

And so in chapter two, he tries to find meaning in life by experimenting with earthly pleasures. He says "I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." I tried cheering myself with wine.... I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I amassed silver and gold for myself.”

And then he goes on to say in verse 11 “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
In other words, ’I’ve done everything possible to fill the hole in my life. And the hole is still there! I feel so empty on the inside! Something’s missing from my life!

Jack Higgens, the best selling author, was asked by a reporter what he would have liked to have known as a boy. And Higgens said, "I wish I would have been told that when you get to the top, there’s nothing there." Like Solomon, he accomplished everything he set out to do in life. And he found it less than satisfying.

The apostle Paul felt the same way before he got saved. In Philippians 3, he talks about all the cool things that happened to him before he became a Christian.

But then beginning in verse eight, he says “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul is saying “I’ve had a lot of experiences in my life. But nothing is more satisfying than having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! Nothing is more satisfying than knowing the Creator of the universe and having His resurrection power in my life!”

If life ever seems meaningless, it’s because without a relationship with God, it IS! I gotta be honest: I can’t imagine trying to get through this life without God. I can’t imagine living life and not having a relationship with the One who GAVE me life. I can’t imagine not having the security that comes from knowing that I have eternal life in Christ Jesus my Lord.

And so after years of futility and frustration, Solomon finally discovers the meaning of life, and he shares it with us in chapter 12. In Ecclesiastes chapter 12:1, he says “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” The word for remember means “to recall something so that you continually keep it in the forefront of your mind.”
Solomon is saying “I want you to remember the Lord so that you’ll continually be thinking about how you can serve Him with your life.

So before you go back to school, you can say “Lord, help me to make new friends so I can be a witness for Jesus Christ. Help me to do the best I can with my studies. Help me to be a walking and breathing example of Your love at work in the world. I love you, and I am choosing to remember my Creator in the days of my youth.”

And Solomon says “Remember your Creator before the days of trouble come.” Some people ignore God for 35 years. And then when something bad happens, all of a sudden, they say “Oh, God! I need you so much! You gotta help me get out of this situation!”

And Solomon is saying “Remember the Lord BEFORE situations like that happen! If you read your Bible and pray to God in the days of your youth, you will have the spiritual fortitude to face WHATEVER life throws at you!

I see the wisdom behind Solomon’s words all the time. The people who lean on God are better able to handle the ups and downs of life then the people who don’t lean on God. I remember being in the hospital last year and Jeff coming over. And while he was there, we formed a circle in the hospital room. We held hands. And we took turns praying about the situation. And when we were done, we felt better.

And when Jeff left we were saying, “Man, that was so cool! It’s an awesome thing to see us turn completely to the Lord. Psalm 112:7 says that a righteous person “Will have no fear of bad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

And in Ecclesiastes 12:2-5, Solomon uses metaphorical imagery to drive home the importance of remembering God early in life. He says And then in verse 6, it says
Solomon is saying “Remember the Lord before your life comes crashing to the ground.Then he sums everything up in verse 13:    

I was reading about Mark Brunell, who is now the backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. He said, “I accepted Christ at a young age. But when I got to high school, I started getting drunk on the weekends because I thought it was the cool thing to do.“When I was in college, I had a bad injury. There was a chance I might never play football again. And because I wasn’t walking with Christ, I wasn’t ready to handle the emotional fallout of being on the disabled list.

Mark went on to have a successful career in the NFL. He says “The Lord didn’t give me ability to play football just so I could enjoy myself. "He allowed me to play this sport so I have opportunities to share my faith and be an example for Christ."

What is the purpose of life? The purpose of life is to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and to help other people develop their own relationship with God. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me." You won’t find meaning and purpose for your life anywhere else. You’re not going to find it by working lots of overtime. You’re not going to find it in a bottle of beer. You’re not going to find it in social activism. The only way you’re going to find your purpose in life is by fearing God and keeping His commandments!

And every day, pray “Lord, open my eyes, so that I can see what you want me to see.” Once you start doing that, you will be able to reconnect with God’s purpose for your life.

This message was preached Sunday Morning April 5th 2008

The Secret of Success for Christians         Deut. 5:24
1 Corinthians 9:9, "For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?"
The verse he quoted is found in Deuteronomy 25:4, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn."

I want to point out to you that the secret for success, for every Christian, whether called to pulpit ministry, or to work in the church, can be found in these verses. God’s Law is given as a schoolmaster, a teacher, to bring us into the fullness of Christ and to help us know what is required to be successful in from God’s point of view, and that is very often, quite different from what the world considers as the means of being successful.
If you can grasp the truth that is hidden in this simple law, then it will change your life forever. Perhaps you will see the Lord with a new perspective. Maybe you will set free from some things that have kept you limited or held back from being all that you can be in God’s army.

First, let’s look at that word “Muzzle”. What does that mean?
It is a device or a blocking apparatus that is placed over the mouth to limit or stop speech, expression of opinion, or even certain types of actions. In other words, it means that something is there that “bind the mouth.

Paul continues with a question and says, “1 Corinthians 9:9-10, "… Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes?
God, in his righteousness and justice, determined that it would be inhumane to force an ox to work all day in the corn mill and not allow that ox to eat some of the corn that he milled.

Jesus said in Luke 10:7 that, "…the labourer is worthy of his hire”, and now we can see that this goes even for ox who are yoked to perform hard labor.

Jesus also said in Matthew 11:29-30, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." So we can see that these verses are talking about much more than an ox. They are talking about every one of us who become disciples. We are all identified with that ox that is treading out the corn, and God is telling us that while we carry the yoke that he places upon us, to do a work for him, that we are to be free from the muzzle and free to be filled with faith and hope that is present in our work.

In 1 Corinthians 9:10 Paul answers his own question, "… For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope."

We see so many Christians today who just don’t see themselves ever being truly successful in their work for the Lord.
Too often we hear preachers who preach what they have not experienced. How many preach being filled with the Spirit but the only they are full of is themselves? How many are teaching others how to be victorious in their Christian walk, and yet their own lives are wrecked by the storms of sin and shame? Their vision has died, their dreams have faded into the past and their hope for success has been shattered.
Most of the time this happens because we allow ourselves to become muzzled in one way or another. Maybe we allow people to bring us under bondage when we are afraid to speak the truth because they might not like it. We allow ourselves to come under bondage that creates doubt and fear when we are more concerned with what man wants than what God wants.

All kinds of things can enter into our lives, into our minds and into our spirit that tend to muzzle us. They bring doubts and fears that make us wonder if God is really with us, or is he against us.

How can we be successful if we aren’t certain that God is with us in the midst of the battle, or if we aren’t sure that we are walking in his perfect will? Can you see the muzzle?

If we look at the 25th chapter of the Book of Matthew, we can see where Jesus gives us the Parable of the Talents. This story depicts the condition of the disciple who has been muzzled.

Matthew 25:14-25, The first two servants stand before their Lord with joy. There is a certain amount of pride for having been faithful and doing what was expected of them. Now they could expect their master to approve of them. They had doubled what had been entrusted to them and their harvest was great. They weren’t blocked in their work for their master by worrying about whether they were doing the right thing. They had no mental or spiritual blocks that said, you can’t do it, so don’t even try.

They didn’t listen to the stories of what would happen when they failed. They didn’t use excuses about how the world would mistreat them and steal what they invested. They didn’t complain about being in a hard place to bring a harvest. They had their purpose and they had faith, but most of all, they didn’t let circumstances, the taunting of Satan or of other people or any other difficulty stop them from moving forward and reaping the harvest in spite of it all.

But what about that 3rd Servant, did he stand there with joy? NO, he stood there in shame and disgrace; and why was that? Why didn’t he share in the same feelings that his fellow servants had?

He was a muzzled servant and stood there empty handed. What do you think caused him to become muzzled? What was it that left him standing there that day with nothing to give back to the master except excuses? This whole scenario reminds me of the day when all men shall appear before the judgment in Matthew 7:22-23 where Jesus says, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

You see, either we are being productive for the kingdom of God, reaping a harvest, or we are living in sin, doubt, despair, and fear and allowing those things to muzzle us.

If the statistics hold true, it seems that 1/3 of all those call themselves Christians will stand before the master one day with nothing but excuses and each one will hear him say, “depart from me, I never knew you.”

What does it take to be muzzled? There are three things that allow us to become bound and gagged in the spirit. Three things happen in the life of a disciple that act as muzzles to keep him from doing what God wills for his life. We need to look at those three things and be careful not to get caught up in them.

1) We develop a wrong relationship with Jesus and a wrong view of who and what he is to us.
2) This wrong relationship always breeds the second thing which is “a Fear Complex”

In Matthew 25:24, the 3rd servant gives us the first step. He said, "...Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man." And then in verse 25 he confesses, "And I was afraid,"
The first two servants had already showed that their master wasn’t such a hard man, but to this servant, his master was hard.

I see a lot of people who look at God with this perspective. I was one of them for a long time until I came to realize that I was wrong. My whole outlook on serving the Lord changed. So many today are not serving the Lord anymore simply because they think that it’s too hard to do so; that God demands more of them than they can give; and that if they don’t give all that God requires, he will somehow get even with them.

The devil is a tricky fellow. He doesn’t try to trap us with temptations that he knows won’t work. He can’t fool us into stealing, into doing something immoral, or to indulge in the pleasures of sin. So what does he do instead? He gets us to think that we serve a fire-breathing, dictator of a God who is ready to smite disobedient children with bolts of lightning out of the sky every time we fail.

Some people grow up in churches that never allow you to feel saved. You’re taught that every time you fail, you lose your salvation, and if Jesus were to come right then, you wouldn’t make Heaven your home. You can’t live without committing sin every once in a while, no matter how hard you try, and so you think, “Why Try? I can’t be perfect and God will accept nothing less than perfection. I’ll never be good enough so I quit.” Our community is filled with relics and wrecks of souls that once served the Lord and gave up because of this kind of thing.

We become fearful of God, and we think of him as an overbearing father rather than a loving father. That causes us to doubt his real love for us and to fear his wrath at any moment. I know because I’ve been there. I’ve experienced this for myself.

He was vengeful when I wasn’t good and his love would be replaced by evil things that came my way to teach me a lesson.
For a long time I thought that bad things that came my way were the result of my own faults and failures, and that God sent them to get my attention.

How many times have I thought, and prayed, God, don’t do anything to my wife; don’t let her or the kids get sick or injured because of my stupidity. Let me pay my own price, but don’t take it out on them.

I’ve even had those same thoughts as the pastor of this church, and I’ve had a few good church members who reinforced those thoughts by saying, “It’s your fault we aren’t growing. If you did this, or did that, or a harder worker, or whatever, then the church would grow. It’s your fault.” And, of course, I would take their words to heart because I know that the buck stops here and that there was probably a certain amount of truth in what was said.

You see, all this serves as a muzzle. If we fear God and doubt his love, or we expect his correction, then it tends to make us less of a servant. How can you really be faithful and do your best when you expect to be reprimanded at every turn for making mistakes?

There are times when we have these fears driving us to do things that God never called us to do. We get so caught up in pleasing the Lord that we neglect our families and our homes. God never intended for the yoke that you carry in serving him to become a yoke that drowned you in church work and took away from your relationships with your family.

1 Timothy 5:8, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
So, do I ignore the work of the Lord and provide for the family, or do I ignore the family and do the work of the Lord? The answer is that you don’t ignore either one and make sure that you do both. That means that we must have a delicate balance between our church work and our home life. One without the other is a disaster waiting to happen.

We need to quit thinking of God as an overbearing father with a big stick and a bolt of lightning to strike us down and start thinking of him as a loving father who only wants to help his children grow and be all that they can be. Yes, sometimes that means a trip behind the spiritual woodshed, but most of the time it simply means that we ask for forgiveness and then move on. We have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ stands there as my lawyer in the courts of Heaven, defending me against every accusation of the devil, because I’m forgiven, I’m covered by the Blood of Jesus and I’m a new creature in Christ. Even when I fail, I can walk on in victory, knowing that all is forgiven and Jesus has given me a fresh start. His love will not let me falter, and his love will lift me up, as long as I keep going back in repentance, he will never stop forgiving.

Our hope is in the love, mercy, grace and forgiveness of sins that are in Jesus. God is love and don’t ever forget it.
Psalms 130:3, "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"
Psalms 103:14, "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."
Psalms 103:4, "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;"
1 Chronicles 16:34, "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."

3) The third thing that muzzles a Child of god is an obsession for Safety and Security
Matthew 25:25, "And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine."
That unfaithful servant had no spirit of adventure. He wasn’t willing to take any chances because he feared failure and then feared the wrath of his master for losing his investment.

He was afraid of the competition in the market place. He was afraid that others with greater abilities and talents would steal what little he had been given. So instead of taking a chance, using faith and having clear direction, he decided to “play it safe” and hide his talents.
Does that sound like us sometimes? You bet it does. We get the idea that since I don’t think I can be what God wants me to be, then I won’t risk anything. I’ll keep silent rather than be seen as a hypocrite or a failure. But then, that’s what we really become isn’t it?

Paul wrote these words pertaining to these last days in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them…”
When churches, ministers, teachers get comfortable with the status quo, their ministry is on the way out and will soon die. If we aren’t ready to risk all, then we will have nothing in the end. We have to learn to launch out into the deep, let down the nets and expect a huge catch, or we will come to Heaven’s shores empty handed.

If we never move in faith, expecting a miracle in spite of the circumstances we can see, we will never accomplish much for the Kingdom of God.
For a few hours I wondered if we could survive it all. But God kept saying, “Move on. Take the next Step.” And I kept asking, “But Lord, where do I put my foot? I don’t see a step.” So, by faith, not knowing whether we would sink or rise again, we took one step at a time. So many of those little steps in the beginning seemed to take us to another dead end.
He has provided and multiplied until we just have to stand back and look at what God has done with amazement. It’s all God – he did the work. All we did was to keep walking by faith.

But every step of the way, Satan was saying, “You’re an idiot. Nobody makes it when this happens. You’re going down for the last time. You aren’t even called to be a preacher much less a pastor. You will be the laughing stock of the community. Thompson Memorial is no more.”
I want you to think about this for a moment. How many things never get done in God’s Kingdom because we trade our vision and our dreams for security?
We are more worried about building a “nest egg” or putting away enough for those “rainy days” and we allow the walk by faith to die. We want security, never mind the life of faith and trust in God to provide for our needs.
Cut off that muzzle of security and safety. Step out in faith and watch God move in your life. He won’t show you the victory, and he won’t give you a bigger vision or dream until you step out in faith, believing him for victory in the small things.

So what is the secret of success for the disciple of Jesus Christ? How can we ensure our success in the eyes of God?
1)We must have a right relationship with God based on mutual love and communication with him through prayer and praise.
2)We must break free from those things that hold us in bondage such as fear, doubt and mistrust. Get to know God’s perfect love because perfect love casts out all fear.
3)We must be reckless and step out in faith, believing God for miracles, knowing that God is faithful and will not let us fall. Every great work that God has raised up in the earth was accomplished because somebody wasn’t afraid to take a chance or to risk everything to fulfill the call of God upon his life.
Take off the muzzle and become the man or woman of God that God has called you to be!

This message was preached the last Sunday in Feb. 2008

Words You Never Want to Hear        Daniel 5:1-28 
In the Book of Daniel there is an interesting story about one of the richest and most powerful kings that ever lived. His name is Nebuchadnezzar and he was ruler over the first great world empire known as the Babylonian Empire.

He did a lot of wondrous things during his reign including the construction of the great capitol city of Babylon. The outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Inside the walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel that seemed to reach to the heavens. It was a testimony to man’s defiance of the God of Heaven and it was used as a temple to the god Marduk.

Marduk is normally referred to as “Bel”, which means, "Lord". Later his name became better known as “Baal” and now you can see why the God of Heaven hated Baal worship. This Babylonian god was an idol whom men worshipped and put in the place of the One True God.

In addition to all of the temples, fortresses and great city, Nebuchadnezzar also built one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.                                                                    
When money and power are given to a man, there is no limit to what he will do to make his own life better. It’s no different today, is it?

Even people who claim to be ministers of the gospel will abuse the money and power in their hand to build lavish lifestyles. God will judge those who abuse his provisions in such a manner. God never intended for a preacher to own jet planes just so he wouldn’t have to wait in an airport terminal with everyone else. And if he did, he certainly wouldn’t want preachers to use them to take vacations to Tahiti or Hawaii.

I don’t believe that God ever intended for a preacher to have Hummer just to ride around in the pasture to check out his herd of cattle, or to have a mansion to live in, plus several more as vacation homes.
You can tell me that it’s all “gifts” from people who admire you, but that doesn’t make it right in the sight of God. Those gifts are meant not just for the man of God, but for the work of God. I believe in prosperity, but only as your soul prospers in your relationship with God. A soul wrapped in greed and selfishness isn’t prospering, no matter how much money you have and God will judge those who abuse the provisions that are meant for the work of the Lord.

How many souls could be saved through the funding of missionary efforts instead of buying another vacation home? How many people could have received medical aid if we had send medicine and doctors to care for them instead of buying $3000 suits and Hummers? How many churches could have been built for the price of a private jet? Woe unto that preacher when he stands before God on judgment day and has to answer for his avarice at the expense of the gospel!

King Nebuchadnezzar was a great man, and a powerful, rich king in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God he was an idolater whom God used to bring about God’s own will in the end.

Nebuchadnezzar defied God and lost. Daniel 5:20-21,
My friend, God knows how to get your attention. The question is, how far will you go before you decide to hear him?

It seems that people do not learn from the past. They simply refuse to learn from the experiences of others. We are all bent on doing things our own way at all costs. Our attitude is much like that of Admiral David Farragut during the American Civil War.

During the Battle of Mobile Bay, the south had mined the harbor and the bay to keep Union ships away. It went something like this, “[forget] the torpedoes, full speed ahead”!

We are in a spiritual warfare all the time. The battle never ends. And all too often we have Farragut’s attitude. When we refuse to heed the warnings given by the Word of God, and we refuse to keep right with God, and we choose to go full speed ahead in spite of all that God can do to stop us – then we are going to suffer the consequences of that decision. Farragut finally conquered Mobile and won the battle, but my friend, you will not win the battle of defiance against God’s Word and his law. An eternal price will be paid.

Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way, but his son, Belshazzar, refused to learn from his father’s mistakes. He inherited everything that his father had built and his father’s beliefs, but he didn’t learn to humble himself before the God of Heaven. Instead, Belshazzar shook his fist in the face of God Almighty and dared God to interfere in his life.
Daniel 5:1-5, It was bad enough for Belshazzar to be an idolater. It was bad enough when he defied God and refused to learn from the experiences of this father. But now he was taking the very things that God had provided for His own temple in Jerusalem, those things that were used to worship the One True God, and for the spreading of his knowledge through the whole world, and for the saving of the souls of men, and Belshazzar was using them to worship idol gods.

God said, “That’s enough!” Then the Lord God stepped into the life of Belshazzar in a way that made history and became an example for everyone who defies the Living God.
My friend, God is getting ready to step into the lives of preachers who defy him and waste that which is meant to spread the gospel and save souls. Judgment must begin at the House of God, and woe to those on whom that judgment falls.

The handwriting is upon the wall for false preachers and false teachers.
The handwriting is upon the wall for everyone who calls himself Christian and yet does not serve the Lord.
The handwriting is upon the wall for every sinner who refuses to bow his knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The handwriting is upon the wall for everyone who defies the Living God.
We had better take heed to the warning and make sure that all is right between us and God for judgment is surely coming, and coming very soon!

Belshazzar saw the hand, but no arm and no body. Yet the writing was there. Out of nothing but thin air a hand appears and begins to write God’s appraisal of Belshazzar’s life and his kingdom.

Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine the absolute fear and the panic in the hearts of sinful men? That’s the same fear and panic that will fill the heart of every man, woman and child, above the age of accountability, as they stand before God on Judgment Day!

Pride, arrogance, selfishness, greed and every sinful thought will suddenly be replaced by fear and panic and that feeling will never go away, for eternity. Hell will be a place filled with fear, with panic, with pain, with darkness and with everlasting fire. You don’t want to go there so learn from the experience of others and avoid it at all costs.
Belshazzar promised scarlet robes, golden necklaces and a powerful place in the kingdom to anyone who could interpret the writing on the wall. But none of the priests of his idol gods could do it. When God writes, only the Spirit of God can fully interpret. So Daniel was brought forth. He was a man of God with an excellent spirit, for within Daniel was the Spirit of God.

Here is what Daniel had to say. First of all, he told the king to keep his riches. Daniel wasn’t doing the work of the Lord to get rich or powerful, or to better his lifestyle, but only as an obedient servant to his Lord. His heart was right before God and God was getting ready to reward Daniel’s faithfulness in ways that Daniel could never imagine.
Daniel 5:22-28,
Now comes the words that I hope you will never hear from either a man of God, or especially, from the Lord himself.

Mene – your kingdom is numbered and finished. All of your plans are at an end. All of your dreams and ambitions are over. God has counted the cost, measured your success, determined the beginning and ending of your days on earth and it’s over. Your time on earth is finished and it’s time to face eternity without God. All of what you hoped for, built, saved, horded up, purchased, wasted and own are for nothing. It’s over and finished. To confirm this fact, God wrote it twice.
Tekel – These are the most fearful words that you could ever hear, and will hear if you don’t heed this warning I give today. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting! Oh what a terrible thing to be found wanting before God, to not measure up to his standards, to not be counted as an obedient and faithful servant! Belshazzar suddenly knew fear as he had never known before. He was destined for hell and suddenly he knew it. All of the defiance, disobedience, idolatry and selfishness in his heart rose to surface and condemned his heart, and there was nothing he could do but confess it was true.

Finally, the Lord had written, Peres, or in some translations it is written, Upharsin - Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Everything that you counted as more important to you than the True God are now going to belong to someone else and you are going to be empty handed.

Beshazzar traded eternal life for power, wealth, fame and glory in this life, now he burns forever in the flames of Hell. What are we trading eternal life for? Is it worth the price in the end? I think not!
Now just so that we don’t think that this was just a story for the Old Testament people and not meant for us today, I want you to know that there are times in the New Testament where this same type of scenario takes place.

What about the story of Ananias and Sapphira who died at the very altar in the House of the Lord for lying about their financial dealings and lied to the Holy Ghost. It cost them their lives.

What about the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus? That story carries the same implications as the story of Belshazzar. The Rich Man traded eternal life for hell because he loved his riches more than God or God’s people.

And, what about those who serve idols, and misuse the provisions of God for personal gain? Is there an example in the New Testament for them as well?
Matthew 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Many today are dwelling in the very House of God. Many are even standing behind pulpits proclaiming their version of the “gospel” saying that the good news is that God wants you to be rich, but they don’t preach the good news of salvation by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Many sit in the pews professing to be born again, but still living lives of sin and shame, with no thoughts of true repentance. Many claim to be the Children of God and yet they serve idols of their own making and gods of their own choosing, refusing to surrender their lives in service to the One True God and refusing to give the glory to Him for all that they are.

I hope that you never hear those words, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin! Put Jesus first and you won’t have to.

In a final note, Daniel was given everything that Belshazzar had promised. He was given scarlet robes of the finest fabrics, golden necklaces and the third highest office in Babylon. But the kingdom of Babylon was destroyed that night and was overcome by the Medes and Persians who would establish the second great world empire. The Babylonian position and wealth was destroyed, but another was going to take its place.

You see, God will bless you if you are obedient. He wants you to have the desires of your heart. He will supply all of your need in this life and he will pour out blessings upon you. But don’t forget that it’s all temporary and will be gone in a moment, only to be burned up in judgment day.

What He has waiting is far better. Daniel’s desire was to serve the Lord and his day of blessing truly came under the new king by the name of Darius. He was given power and authority under the new empire because of his faithfulness.

Your real riches aren’t on planet earth, they are in Heaven. Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be also. I’ve saved up more treasure in Heaven than on this earth. Nothing here is worth missing Heaven to obtain it. My heavenly home is bright and fair, I feel like traveling home. No pain, nor death, can enter there, I feel like traveling on. It’s glittering towers the sun outshines, I feel like traveling on. Than heavenly mansion shall be mine, I’m getting ready to travel on.

Are you ready? Don’t let the handwriting on the wall catch you unprepared. I hope you never hear those terrible words, that you have come up short and found wanting. Make your heart right with God and stay right with God. You never know when your days will reach their final number.

Below is a transcript of the sermon I preached on Sunday Morning January 13th. May God show you where your passion should be placed and what call HE has upon your life.

Matthew 25:41-46 Wasted Passion
What are you passionate about this morning? Every one of us is passionate about something. Passion can be defined in a number of ways but what it all comes down to is this:
What is it that compels you to get up and get moving?
What do you desire most of all in your life?
What is it that consumes your time, demands your love and grabs your attention?
What is the driving force in your heart and life that gives your life meaning?
What do you want that is so important to you that you are willing to spend each breath and trade your life to obtain it?
If you can tell me the answers to these questions, then you will know what your real passions are.
I am speaking to people right now who are passionate. But the thing that strikes me is that sometimes people are passionate about something that won’t be worth the price they are paying in the end.
Right now we are in the playoff season for football in America. People have spent millions upon millions of dollars just to satisfy their passion for football. There may not be food on the table for the next month; the car note or house note may fall behind – but they are going to be in the stands come game time.
Why are they willing to put everything on hold to be at that ball game? Tickets are going anywhere from $686 each for the nose-bleed seats, where you need a pair of binoculars to see the players on the field, to $4243 for seats on the sideline. Personally, I could think of a lot of things I’d rather do with that much money.
There are a lot of things that you can be passionate about. Perhaps you are passionate about cars, fascinated by their inner workings, and you can’t seem to get enough of Hot Rods, fast cars and drag strips. You may not be willing to spend your money going to a football game, but you’d give anything to be in Indianapolis, Daytona or Talladega to hear them say, “Gentlemen, start your engines” and hear the roar as the cars scream past the stands on the fastest racetracks in the world.
Maybe your passion is reading books. You can’t wait for the next trip to Barnes and Noble, and whatever the newest and hottest book is.
The point of all this is that whatever your passion is, you need to make sure that you are getting what you paid for, and that the reward you are getting is worth price you are paying.
I have seen people spend their life, their time, their money and their energy on things that just don’t matter in the end. Really now, what difference will it make in your life one day after the national championships are over? What difference will it make in your life if Junior wins the race? Will that put anything in your pocket? Sure, you will gain a moment of euphoria, a few minutes of entertainment, but then it’s back to the realities of life. What real difference does it make in the end?
Isaiah 55:2, "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness."
I know that people have a need for entertainment. I don’t think that there is a sin in liking any of the things that I have talked about. But what does concern me greatly is when I see people whose entire lives are focused on things that won’t benefit them eternally.
This life is short, but eternity is forever. We focus on what gives pleasure and satisfies the flesh and we forget the things of God that determine our eternal destiny.
The Word of God teaches us that we should be passionate about the same things that Jesus is passionate about. What is Jesus passionate about?
He was passionate about disciplining himself and being faithful to his purpose. He knew the Word. He is the Word. He used that word against the devil when Satan tried to draw him off center and get his focus on the things of the world during those days of temptation in the wilderness.
He was passionate about teaching and training his disciples. He taught them and lived an example before them whether it was one or two at a time, or the whole group. Wherever he went Jesus was teaching.
Jesus was passionate about seeking and saving the lost, and then showing them how to live godly in this sinful world.
The Bible says in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." There we can see the singular most important passion of Jesus. He loved the world so much that he came to give himself for us that we could be saved.
Jesus was the most passionate man that ever lived. He began his life with but one goal in mind and never took his eyes off the prize. His goal was to go to the cross to the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man and his prize would be the souls of those who choose to believe in Him.
Jesus death on the cross is often referred to as his “Passion”. As he hung there, between two thieves, with his life’s blood flowing from the wounds in his body, growing weaker with each passing moment, giving his life freely, he had but one thought on his mind – “YOUR eternal soul”! Jesus was passionate about you!
His passion was not wasted on anything that this world had to offer. Jesus lived in eternity and knew that the time spent on this earth was just a passing vapor. His sights were set on something vastly more important than an earthly kingdom and worldly pleasures. He knew that those things were fleeting and changing. His sights were set on things eternal, and upon the perfection of Heaven that never changes.
Where are your passions this morning? Are they set upon the things of this world or upon the things of God, and of eternity?
What do you care about the most? Is it football, or it is Jesus? Is it being entertained or is it worshipping the Lord? Is it being satisfied in the things of this world, or it is the life of a servant of the Lord?
All of us have regrets. We look back on our lives and we see so many wasted years. So many of the things that we have done in life simply do not seem to count for anything. So much of what we thought was important really didn’t matter at all.
How can you make your life count for something? What can you make your passion that will pay greatly in the end? There’s only one answer, and that answer is Jesus Christ.
Do you feel the call of God in your life – then answer the call and let that calling be your passion! If you are called to teach, then learn to be the best teacher that you can be. If you’re called to preach, then preach.
There is no greater passion in life than to be passionate about the things of God and reaching out for the souls of men.
But when it comes to being passionate about the things of God, so many people just sit back and do nothing! Do you know what it takes to end up in the flames of hell? It takes nothing – nothing at all. You will go there by default if you do nothing to change your eternal destiny.
Sports, fast cars, entertainment, movies, TV nor books can’t get you to Heaven. You can only go there by being passionate about Jesus Christ. You have to love Him more than anything else. You can love family, friends, husband or wife, your children and all that is wonderful. But unless you love Jesus more than any of them, you won’t make Heaven your home, because no one else can save you but Jesus.
How do you prove your passion for Christ? How can you know that you truly love him? It’s all through your commitment to service and being passionate about the same things that Jesus is passionate about.
Those that make their home in hell will do so because they didn’t do anything to prove their love for Jesus. You say you love him, then prove it by your works. How else can you prove it. Just saying it doesn’t make it true.

Just claiming it doesn’t make it real. Just confessing that He is Lord, doesn’t make you saved. It takes action. It takes repentance from sin, that old self-centered, egotistical, flesh satisfying lifestyle – and then turning your focus onto serving the Lord and reaching out to those whom God loves.
Matthew 25:41-46, -
I get the distinct impression that these were good, church-going, law-abiding, honest people who missed Heaven simply because they didn’t do anything.
They never gave a meal to a hungry person.
They never gave a thirsty man a drink of water, either natural or spiritual.
They never fed the Word of God to a hungry soul.
They never introduced a dry, dying spirit to the Water of Life found only in Jesus.
They never led a sin-sick soul to Christ, or nursed a sick person back to health.
They never gave anyone a chance to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, or witness to a soul that was locked away in a prison of sin and shame.
It’s not that they didn’t care; they just were too busy with life. Their passions were misplaced and their lives were spent on caring only for their own wants and needs. They never had time for a stranger. They never had time for the lost, the sick and the dying.
They just didn’t do anything to prove that they loved the Lord and his kingdom. And that failure to do anything cost them their eternal soul.
Are you passionate about Jesus? If so then prove it by your works and do those things that Jesus is calling you to do; calling us all to do.
If your life has been focused on the wrong passions, you won’t make Heaven your home. You will go where all of the other “Do Nothings” go! The price of doing nothing for Jesus is too high to pay, and yet most will be caught in that trap.
Romans 11:29, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."

That means that one day, we will each one have to stand face to face with God and answer for the calling upon our lives and for every time that the Word tried to reach us, the Spirit tried to lead us and the Jesus gave us the opportunity to come to him. God will not forget those times and there will be a heavy price to pay for simply doing nothing.
Will you step out into the water with Jesus? Will you wade out a little bit deeper? Will you wet your feet in the water of this love? The more you walk with the Lord, doing something to serve him, the more your life will take on a real meaning.
The reward for service is great indeed! Your faithfulness will be counted unto you as righteousness, just as it was for Abraham, and you will enter into the joys of the Lord, life eternal and Heaven’s everlasting wonder. Make sure that your passions aren’t wasted!

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This sermon was preached Sunday Morning January 6th 2008. I try my best to re-create what I said you may find some things have been added that was not in the orignal sermon or some things have been taken away because of my lack of memory.

Be Patient, Your Payday is Coming
James 5:4-8 – 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.  6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.  7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

Today we come face to face with one of James the Apostle’s favorite subjects: learning patience. I know what you are probably thinking – “I have enough patience already, so get on with it. Teach me something that I don’t know.” We all need more patience in suffering, patience in waiting and patience in serving.

In James 5:4-8, we read where God sees the hardships that we all go through. Your many days of working for almost nothing, or earning a pittance for your hard labor, do not go unnoticed by your Heavenly Father. God sees the oppression that this world puts upon his people and he is taking notes and writing names. Just as sure as I stand here today, I know that there is coming a day of reckoning for all the injustice, evil and cheating that goes on in this world.

It is a common practice today to caught by fraud, or false advertisement.

Take for instance the business of advertising for sales “Come, and get it while it lasts! Certain types, models, etc. of our merchandize in 75% off, so don’t miss out. Come on down, and we might even have some good old country sausage for you if your hurry!” The fact is, that many those things that are advertised are only put there for the old “bait and switch” routine. Advertisers use sales items like a carrot on a stick to get you to the store, but once you are there, the carrot disappears and the high pressure salesmen go into action.

At other times you take the bait only to find out when you get there that the Sale Items are already sold out. Stores are required to have enough of an advertised item in stock to meet a reasonable customer demand. What’s a reasonable demand? Well, the store decides that.

The world is full of lies and deceit, and its getting nearly impossible to find a business that operates on complete trust and honesty. Do you trust used car salesmen?  There are a lot of good honest people out there who want to do the right thing, but oftentimes they are caught in the web just like you are. Quotas are set, demands are made and if you want to keep your job, you will meet them.

That old term, “Dog eat Dog World” is truer than ever before.
But God sees it all. God will make all things right in the end.
Those who lived sumptuously, with more wealth than they could ever use, and never considered helping their fellowman, will face God and answer for their self-centeredness.

Meanwhile, James says that we need to have patience and endure all things as good soldiers of the cross. We must realize that justice will probably not come in this life, but in the world to come. God will supply your need. He will keep you, but you may never get the best that this world has to offer because this world isn’t your home. Your reward is waiting on the other side.

Let them have their mansions in this old world, and one day they will burn away. But I have a heavenly mansion waiting for me over yonder. It’s in a land that is fairer than day, and in a city where the Lamb is the light, where moth and rust cannot corrupt. I’ve got a mansion over there because Jesus said that I did. Nothing down here can compare.

But I have to have patience until the day comes when the Lord of Hosts will make it right. Until then, I must learn to be patient in the face of oppression, and to bear up under the load that I must carry.

What is patience ? "Patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control."
Patience requires that we have longsuffering towards the trials and afflictions that come against us. "Longsuffering means that we do not retaliate against those who provoke us to anger, but we restrain ourselves and show mercy.” We can be longsuffering and we can show mercy toward those who misuse and abuse us, because we know what the end shall be. We know that God is in control of it all, and that, in the end, we win.

We must be like the farmer who works so hard to get his fields prepared and then planted. He does all that work, commits his time, money and labor into that field, and then all he can do is wait for nature to take its course. He has no promise of a bumper crop, in fact no promise of a crop at all. He just takes it by faith and moves on, hoping and trusting for the best. No amount of coaxing, no amount of pushing can make his crops grow faster.

He can’t dig up the seeds every hour to see if they are growing. He can’t pull up the plants and scream at the roots to hurry up and grow. He can’t pull on the leaves and stretch them to grow faster. All he can do is wait and have patience. He has to put it all in God’s hands and then go on about his business, working day in and day out, waiting for the rain, the sun and the earth to do their jobs under God’s direction.

James said that the farmer, or the husbandman, had to wait for the former rain and the latter rain before he would reap a harvest.

The Jews seldom saw much rain any more than twice a year; the early, or former rain, was shortly after the Feast of Tabernacles in October. They often said prayers for the rains to come in October, as soon as the seed was planted. Then, after the time of the growing season was past, there would come the latter rains. This was usually during the month of March, and these rains promised a good harvest.

We must wait like that farmer too. We have the former rain right now. We are saved by the blood of Jesus and filled with the Spirit as a part of that former rain, but the real harvest won’t come until the latter rain. The latter rain is coming when Jesus comes to take his Bride away. There we will know him fully and we will live forever in the presence of the Lord. At the latter rain, there comes a harvest, a harvest of men’s souls, those who are born again and ready to meet Jesus in the air.

So be patient. The latter rain is about to fall. The harvest is drawing near. This world is not you home, you’re only passing through. Your reward is waiting on the other side. He that endures to the end shall be saved. Enduring means that we must have patience and that our hearts must be set on Jesus and our Heavenly home.

We Must get our eyes off of the world and fix them on Jesus alone.

What is it that tests your patience ? Is it long-winded preachers or long lines at the grocery store? Know what mine is? Telemarketers that call non-stop, trying to sell me stuff that I’m not the least bit interested in. What about driving around Denver?

Proverbs 14:29, "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly." Patience takes a lot of work and it can only come to those who allows reason to control him. Nothing in the world can make you look more foolish, or damage your testimony anymore than losing your patience and flying off the handle, but we do it all the time. We speak and act rashly and then we try to crawl into a hole and hide from who we really are – people who need more patience than we thought.

David says in Psalms 37:7-8, that we should,"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil."

For years William Wilberforce pushed to abolish slavery. He became greatly discouraged and was about to give up. His elderly friend, John Wesley, heard of it and from his deathbed called for pen and paper.

With trembling hand, Wesley wrote: “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you would have been worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.”
Wesley died six days later. But Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years and in 1833 he saw slavery abolished in Britain. Three days later he died. Only 30 years later, slavery was abolished in America as well. What if he would have given up ?

Patience is a virtue that is hard to learn and maintain, but it is absolutely necessary for us to have it before we can be the victorious Christians that we must be. Never give up trying to have more of it, and never give up trying to show it. Patience will grow as you grow and it is a good sign of spiritual maturity.

There is the story of another man who, when he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to go to work to help support them. At age nine, his mother died. At age 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to go to law school but his education wasn’t good enough to qualify for college.  At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a store but three years later his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt to repay. At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him and she flatly refused. He finally did marry and began to have a family but at age 41, his four-year-old son died. 4 years later he ran for congress and lost. Then 2 years later he ran for vice-president and lost, then 2 years later, he ran for congress once again and lost again. He just seemed to be living the life of a real loser.
Then, at age 51, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, and his life changed the course of human history, especially American History. Patience was one of his greatest virtues. He persevered though it all.

Where would our country be today if he would have given up ?
Where will others be tomorrow if you give up ?
God is in control. He knows your situation and has allowed it. Worship Him and serve Him with patience. Your reward is there, waiting for your arrival.

This sermon was preached on Sunday Morning Devember 30th - I have tried my best from memory to recreate some of the exact wording and notes that I used for this sermon. I hope you enjoy and find some inspiration from God's Holy Word.

Chasing Time   Psalm 118:24
There is an old game show, called beat the clock. In this game show, contestants were given a selected amount of tasks to accomplish in a certain amount of time, thus beating the clock.
In sports you try to beat the clock. You’ve probably heard the saying as the clock ticks down, and the team is making a comeback, “The clock is our worst enemy.”
Any good coach or any good player will try to beat the clock. They will try to make that last second field goal or that last second basket.

Then it seems like in our life is always trying to beat the clock. You have the rush to make it to the practice or the game or what ever other activity your kids are in. Sometimes you may even rush to get to church on time. You yell, “Hurry up, we’re going to be late again for church.” That can really put you in a mood of worship.
It would seem that is what our life, or at least mine, is about, beating the clock.

Time is valuable. For an example; the Doctor informs you of your terminal illness. The first quest you want to know is…”How much time do I have?”
Time is life. You see your kids driving and going to proms and college and you ask, “Where did time go?” or where did my life go.

You can run out of money but still have time. You can run out of electricity, and still have time. But if you run out of time you have nothing. Besides managing our money we need to manage our time. You can make more money but you can’t make more time. You can make more friends, but you cannot make more time.
Job 14:5 since his days are determined, the number of his months is with you.

God has given each one of us an allotted amount of time. So what you do with your time He has given you is important, because time management is important to God. We master our minutes, or we become slaves to them; we use time, or time uses us.
And God wants you to use your time wisely and that will be our topic this morning in one little verse in the Bible. In that verse we find three ways to beat the clock.
Psalm 118:24 – This is the day that the Lord Has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We must appreciate each day as a gift from God
Notice the only day that is mentioned in this verse is this day. He does not talk about yesterday or tomorrow, only this day. Every minute that you have, every breath you take, is a gift from God.
Have you ever heard the statement, “I wish I had as much time as you do.” Now think about how silly that sounds. We all have the same amount of time.

And if you are here this morning and you think, “I don’t have the time to do everything that I want to do.” Guess what, join the crowd. There was a study done by USA today that showed that the average time needed to do everything we want to do would require 42 hour days. Almost double what we have in a day. That means it is practically impossible for us to get everything we want done in a days time.

But there is good news. We all will die not having done everything we want to do. How often to you hear, “I’ve always wanted to do that”. But the good news is that you will have time to do everything you NEED to do. And what you need to do is what God would have you to do and God will provide that time.

Think about what Jesus was able to accomplish in his short period of time on this earth. Now Jesus was 33 years old when He was crucified, but 99.9% of His ministry was accomplished in three years. He had to convince the people that He was the promised Messiah. Then He had to convert them from the Laws of the Old Testament, from works to grace. Then He had to be killed by hanging on the cross. Buried, only to rise again and then remain here on earth for His final instructions.

Now the Bible doesn’t say this, but I am sure that there were things that Jesus probably would have wanted to do and never had the chance. Maybe He would have liked to have been married and raise a child. Maybe He would have been like me and wanted to spend more time fishing, but instead He was fishing for men. He didn’t get to do everything He wanted to do, but He did get to do everything He NEEDED to do. Listen to the words of Jesus found in…
John 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given Me to do.

Maybe He didn’t finish here what He wanted to do, but He did get finished what He needed to do. And we are not here to get done what we want to do, but we all have been given all the time we need to do what He would have us to do.

Then we need to…Dedicate each day to the glory of God
There are two verbs in our text that describes the present and the past tense. Those are the words “is” and “has”. The only day you have to enjoy is today. You hear about people talk about saving time. You cannot save time. You are allotted a certain amount and you cannot add to it or you cannot take away from it.
Now you can spend your time, (the opposite of save, just ask my wife the difference) either foolishly or wisely, but you can’t save it.

That is why time is so valuable. The clock never stops ticking. That is why you should never procrastinate by not doing what you should today and waiting till latter.
This is a mistake that many make concerning their relationship with God. Good intentions don’t end up with good results. Some one who plans someday to get saved by entering into a personal relationship with God is just as lost as the person who has no desire to.
The Bible tells us that TODAY is the day of salvation.

You can’t store time. You can’t stretch time. That is why Paul gave this warning found in Ephesians 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are over.

The phrase of “redeeming the time” is an accounting term. It means to cash in every moment you can to get the most of your time.

Think about it like this. Imagine that your banker calls you and tells you that an anonymous donor will give you 864,000 penny’s a day into your account. That is $ 864.00 for those of you trying to figure out the math. And the only stipulation is that you have to spend it all that day. You can’t save it. You can’t store it. What ever you don’t spend is gone at the end of the day. How would you treat it? My kids would be singing, “We’re in the money”. We would do our best to spend every penny the best we can.

God gives each one of us 864,000 seconds of the day in our life account. And we need to make sure that we spend it in the best way we can.
Each day write down what you NEED to do and then prioritize it. And at the top of that list should be your relationship with God. Start each day by asking God what He needs you to do.
So many times Christians make the mistake of not making time for God. I would read my bible but I don’t have the time. I would come to church but I have to much to do.
Matthew 6: 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
And when you do what you need to do, you will be surprised how much time to do what you WANT to do.

Then the last way to beat the clock is to…Celebrate each day in the goodness of God
Now the last thing that I want you to think is that I want you to cram a bunch of stuff in your day. You can describe the end of our text as take time to smell the roses. We have to take time to do that because we are so busy in life.

In a lifetime the average American will spend: Six months sitting at stoplights
Eight months opening junk mail; One year looking for misplaced objects; 2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls; 4 years doing housework; 5 years waiting in line; and 6 years eating
Everyday 8,000 people move to another state. Everyday we purchase 45,000 new vehicles and we smash 8,000 of them in car wrecks. Everyday we average 13,000 people getting married average 6,300 getting a divorce. Everyday 11,000 people get dog bite. Everyday we eat 75 acre’s of pizza and 3 million gallons of ice cream. We ALL are busy.

But whether you enjoy the day has nothing to do with your circumstances. Our text says, “I will Rejoice”. No matter what happens, no matter how bad your day may appear, you ALWAYS have something to rejoice about.

When you make yourself stop and think, I can always thank Him that I am alive….
Much like the man who was feeling sorry for himself because he had holes in his shoes, only to look and see a man in a wheel chair that had no feet at all.

No matter what you are going through in your life, God has a purpose. It does not matter is you are 6 months old or 60 years old. All time is short. You need to learn how to beat the clock.

If you have not