Glory Be To God, Forever. Amen

Father, Hallowed by thy name

Savior, wash away my stains

Holy Spirit, live inside my soul

Lead me, down that narrow road

I wanna love the way you love me

Show the grace you show me

Forgive the way you forgave me

Good Lord when you saved me

I wanna love the way you love me

I wanna love the way you love me

Immanuel, born in Bethlehem

Teacher, good news fills the land

Forsaken, pure and spotless lamb

On calvary, He died but rose again.

I wanna love the way you love me

Show the Grace you show me

Forgive the way you forgave me

Good Lord when you saved me

I wanna love the way you love me

Glory be to you God, forever

Glory be to you God, forever

Glory be to you God, Forever and ever and ever Amen.

Repeat chorus:

Inspired: August 7th, 2009 9:14pm on the roof of St. Johns Parking Garage.

Who you calling "Christian"?

At church yesterday a brother of mine got up and addressed the congregation. He was concerned because people at his work who claimed to be Christians didn't know anything about the bible and claimed that there were multiple ways to heaven. This troubles me for several reasons, namely the obvious. (..I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life....)

But in another way it bothers me too. Who are we to call them Christians, and who are we to say they are not? Well, this question is maybe trivial to some, but to me it seems very important. I'll give you an example. Let say we called everyone who had ever removed a splinter from a finger "Doctor". This country would be filled with Doctors! Are you a doctor, sure...Who isn't. But isn't what makes a Doctor a doctor knowledge mixed with practice mixed with experience?

If we find people whom say they are christian but have no knowledge of Christ, the Bible, God, or the Holy Spirit....Who in no way practice walking as Christ walked....and who have no history of fruit...can we really say they are a Christian? You may say, Bryan, what's it to you? And you'd be right if I were just concerned about keeping girls out of my tree house club, but we are talking about people who may quite possibly be convinced and secure in a salvation that has yet to take place, i.e., they may still be lost.

This is very important. We as children of God are to look out and find God's other children who are out wandering in the dark, lost and confused, and show them the light of Christ so as to help God lead them back home! But we have some who may not even know that they need saving! How much harder is it to save a drowning man when he doesn't know he's drowning?

Let's say you went to a Doctor because you felt a lump in your throat. And the doctor walks in, takes one look, and says "your fine, there's nothing to worry about", and sends you on your way. But weeks and months pass by and the lump keeps getting bigger and bigger and more and more sensitive. Are you going to say to yourself..."Well, he said I was fine and he's a doctor so I must be fine."? Or are you going to consider that maybe he missed the mark and didn't know what he was talking about, i.e., your not fine!

In the same way, when we come forward during Invitation or Pray the "Sinners Prayer" we are acknowledging that we are Spiritually dead and in need of a Savior. So we follow the Preachers advice and ask Jesus to come and live in our hearts, we repent of our sins and the Pastor say's "You are saved". Great! Praise God if you are actually saved! But, what if over the next few weeks or months, you notice no change in your attitude toward sin? You notice that you still don't want to read God's word, and you really couldn't care less about about growing in the Body of Christs' church. Are you going to say "Well, the preacher said I was saved and he's a Preacher so I must be saved."? Or are you going to consider that maybe he and you both were wrong, you weren't saved. Well sadly, most of the time people just trust the preacher and never look any further.

Bless you Rob for caring enough to bring this urgent message before us yesterday.

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

1 John 2:5-6

⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

The Pride Test

The PRIDE Test.

Do you strive to impress others with your body appearance, athletic ability, professional ability, your humor, wealth, your possessions, what kind of car you drive ?

Do you let what others may think about you hold you back from doing things?

Do you have trouble admitting when you are wrong?

Do you consider yourself to always be right?

Do you get angry when someone doesn't agree with you?

Do you look down on others because of their race, gender, creed, education, position, personal hygiene or appearance?

Do you find yourself habitually interrupting people in conversations to give your comments?

Do you enjoy being the center of attention at parties?

Do you enjoy talking about yourself in front of others?

Do you find it hard to be impressed with what other people have done?

Do you feel that you have an answer for everything?

Do you frequently respond to other people's stories with "I know," or "that's nothing"?

Do you strive to impress others with your wealth, your possessions, how you drive, body appearance, athletic ability, professional ability, or humor?

Do you find yourself criticizing others?

Do arrogant people really annoy you?

Do you like to always be first or at least near the front of the line?

Is it important to you to always win?

Do you take pride in being a humble person?

Do you consider yourself to be better than other people?

Romans 12:16 (New International Version)

¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

The Church: Just a Beautiful Building, or Body of Christ?

Ever notice how many beautiful churches there are in this area?

A Great deal of care is placed on the outward appearance of these buildings. The grass is always perfect, the paint is usually fresh. There's always some catchy slogan to lure you in outside on the marque sign.

When you go inside, typically it's just as well kept. Everything put in order, floors vacuumed, fresh clean smelling conditioned air...and so on.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and my parents would have company over. In a matter of hours our house would go from "relatively clean" to "model home" clean. Why? Well, in our case, we wanted to make a good impression on our guests. We wanted them to feel comfortable while they visited us. But, I remember that we never cleaned where our guests wouldn't be going. (closets, garage, master bathroom, ETC.) So really, the "illusion" was only as strong as our ability to control where our guests went or looked throughout our house. The dirt was there, you just couldn't see it.

Could this be the case in a "Spiritual" sense with our churches today? Could there be a "keep them comfortable" mentality? Are some "guests" being led to look at only the "pleasing" things found in The Bible? Where do they keep Christ? Is he front and center, or pushed back in some corner closet as to not offend anybody?

Christ's church "Body" is made up of repentant, born-again, Christ following believers. And if they are blessed enough to have four walls around them then great! But with or without the walls, the church still exists.

So the question is "Are you a member of Christs' Church body or of a beautiful building?"

How do you know? Just look at some evidences of either

You might just be a member of a Building if:

~The air has to be just right

~The music has to be to your liking

~The Pastor has to use a certain bible (i.e. King James V.)

~Everyone has to be well dressed

~NO SANDALS

~That idiot is in my seat

~Why is the coffee so strong today

~The sermon was too long

~We need to do something about that smelly guy

You might be a member of Christ's Church Body if:

~Jesus Christ has to be there.

~

~

~

~

Would you still go to church if you had to stand? Or sit on the ground?

What has Changed? Everything!

"Your best witness is your testimony." I've heard that phrase many times, but I didn't realize how true it really is until this morning when God placed a desire on my heart to share.

So what has changed in my life over the past 9 months since I was Saved and Regenerated?

~~~~~~~~

* I smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes every day for 18 years.

~~One night, God took away my addiction and I haven't wanted one in 9 months~~

* I used to drink beer all the time, often to the point of over intoxication.

~~God took away that desire.~~

*I used to curse and cuss and blaspheme Daily!

~~God replace my foul language with peace and compliments towards others.~~

*I used to lust in my mind after women.

~~Now I love all men and women and see women as Sisters in Christ.~~

*I used to watch TV and play video games for hours and hours daily!

~~Now I spend all my time loving my beautiful wife.~~

*I used to love to fist fight and held grudges against people in my past.

~~God gave me the Grace to forgive them, and now I'm free.~~

*I used to be full of Pride and Bitterness towards people.

~~God has given me new eyes, and I see everyone as Gods Beautiful Creation~~

*I used to give people the "Finger" in traffic

~~Now I let them in, or wave them over.~~

*I used to share filthy jokes with the guys at work.

~~Now I share God's love and Christ on the Cross with them.

*I used to hate Church, Christians, and God.

~~Now a team of wild horses couldn't keep me from worshipping!~~

*I used to love my sins.

~~Now I am truly ashamed of them~~

*I used to use my quick whit to tear people down.

~~Now I use it to build people up.~~

*I used to feel deep burdens for my past sins, even after alter calls.

~~God forgave me at Conversion, and I no longer feel the guilt and pain of those sins.~~

~~~~~~

As I was making this list, I had an epiphany that prior to my conversion, I would have never (on my own) sought after any of this new and better behavior. With out God's abounding grace, I'd still be up to my nose in sin, lust, cigarette smoke, booze, foul language, hatred, pride, greed, and all of the rest of the nastiness that used to be me. (The same guy that so many people would say was a "good person".)

Thanks be to God and may He get ALL OF THE GLORY for my Regeneration.

I'm writing this post, not to boast or brag about anything, for I had nothing to do with any of it. I'm writing because before this Love was poured out on me, I would have denied that this was even possible. And if you deny it, you are wrong. It happened to me! God is so Real! Christ IS Alive! He still changes people and he can give you life everlasting!

2 Corinthians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸Now all things are of God...

My Beautiful Baby Boy at 31 weeks.

He has his mothers yawn. :o

Fasting: When Prayer is more Important than ANYTHING; food included.

Isaiah 58:3-9

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,

'and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

and you have not noticed?'

"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please

and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,

and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

only a day for a man to humble himself?

Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed

and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness ^[a^] will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

with the pointing finger and malicious talk.

Luke 18:9-14

⁹To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed about^[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 11:37-42

³⁷When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

⁴²"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Reason #213 why my family won't be watching TV.

Matthew 24:11 (New International Version)

¹¹and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

Matthew 7:15 (New International Version)

¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

1 John 4

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Great Video

REPENT

The Cost of a Miracle (True Story)

Tess was a precocious eight-year-old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew.

All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn't have the money for the doctor's bills and their house. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money.

She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now."

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.

Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the backdoor and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.

Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing.

She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.

Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter.

That did it!

"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone.

"He's really really sick... and I want to buy a miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now, so how much does a miracle cost?"

"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry, but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl,

"What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"

"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up "I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation, but my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."

"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.

"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man.

"A dollar and eleven cents, exact price of a miracle for little brothers."

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said, "Take me to where you live.
I want to see your brother and meet your parents.

Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery.

The operation was completed without charge, and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. "That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents ...... plus the faith of a little child.

If you want to see a miracle in your lives, sometimes you have to get out of the boat.

Matthew 7:11 (New King James Version)

¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Hell: Can't Stand the Heat? Get Out of The Pulpit!

According to a recent study in USA Today, almost half of all American's DO NOT believe in a literal Hell. Compare that to the 74% that do believe in Heaven.

The Rev. Fred Johns, pastor of Brookview Wesleyan Church in Irondale, Ala., said after a workshop discussion of hell that pastors do shy away from the topic of everlasting damnation.

"It's out of fear we'll not appear relevant," he said. "It's pressure from the culture to not speak anything negative. I think we've begun to deny hell. There's an assumption that everybody's going to make it to heaven somehow."

The soft sell on hell reflects an increasingly market-conscious approach, Selles said.

"When you're trying to market Jesus, sometimes there's a tendency to mute traditional Christian symbols," he said. "Difficult doctrines are left by the wayside. Hell is a morally repugnant doctrine. People wonder why God would send people to eternal punishment."

Hell is mentioned several times in the Bible. Here are a few of those instances:

2 Peter 2:4-5

Mark 9:46

Matthew 8:12

Isaiah 66:24

Daniel 12:2

Luke 16:22-24

Luke 12:5

Luke 3:9

Luke 3:17

Mark 9:47

John 15:6

Matthew 23:33

Revelation 19:20 "

Pastor John Piper said this "I am NOT RELAXED! I feel like we are all standing on the edge of eternity and at any moment any one of you could fall off!"

WARNING: The audio in this video is disturbing.

I was reluctant to even post this video, but I tossed an turned for hours and I felt compelled to.

Hell is real, and it is Eternal. I don't want anyone to g0 there.

Now Showing

One night, I turned off my television and saw something Amazing.

In the reflection of the black screen

I saw My life.

So, the next day. Just to see what was on in my life,

I kept the television off.

And there was a great story on in my life about a beautiful woman, my wife, and her day!

I thought "Wow, I can't believe I've missed this for so long."

I became a loyal follower of her story. I can't wait for the next episode!

So the next night, I wanted to see what was on in my life,

So again I kept the television off.

And my wife and I drove out into the country where it's really dark.

We looked up and WOW! The REAL stars were shinning.

I thought "Wow, I can't believe I've missed this all these years."

So the next day, I was alone

I kept the television off.

I grabbed a bible, went outside and began to read.

Story after story of God's Love and interaction with man just Jumped off the pages!

I thought "Wow, I can't believe I've missed this all this time."

I've been a big fan of God ever since.

I'm not sure which episode it was, but in one of them...HE Saved me!

Every now and then, my wife and I will rent a movie

or a watch a home video, or documentary on DVD.

It's a nice little treat every once in a while.

But I found that my favorite show...

Is the one starring God, my wife, my family and friends, and Me.

~ NOW SHOWING ~

Salvation: Get a Second Opinion

The other day, a friend came up to me and told me that he heard a pastor of a mega church on the radio bragging that during their Sunday service, 26 people were SAVED! On another occasion I was speaking with a pastor of a Springfield church who claimed that during his last service 6 people were SAVED!

Let me say right up front. I pray to God that they are all really saved. I pray that they were drawn by God himself to the feet of Jesus with repentance in their hearts and that they truly believe. I pray that the Holy Spirit now lives inside them and is causing a dramatic transformation in their lives this very moment. Lord may it be so if it is your will.

However, I am troubled by men who boldly assure people that they are "Saved". What if they are not? What if they did not really believe, but just came forward during invitation while filled with earthly emotion? What if the Holy Spirit didn't come? What if they are still LOST!? It happened to me. I spent most of my adult life living like a heathen, blaspheming, drunk, stoned, living in and loving SIN, hating God and Godly people, but Praise The Lord I was saved! No I wasn't, and by the grace of God I didn't have to find out the "Eternal" way.

No man should tell another he is Saved. PERIOD. God can handle that one on his own.

John 3:5-8

⁵Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 1:12-13

¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Hypocrisy: Get the Plank Out.

Matthew 7:3-5

³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

How hard is it to believe that this woman, pictured above, is really concerned about the welfare of her unborn baby? Loud noises are to be avoided when pregnant, but anyone would agree that smoking cigarettes is much worse for your growing fetus. Seeing such blatant disregard for her child's health totally discredits her case against the city.

¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:16-18)

What kind of fruit is hanging on your tree? People who are watching you, lost or saved, will know you by your fruit. I can't tell you how many times I catch someone that I work with watching my actions and comparing them to my professed faith. Now, like a tree that bares fruit, not all of that fruit is going to be ripe and red and perfect. There will be a withered up apple in the bunch, but not many. ⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1st John 1:8) As a whole, your tree should be full of Love, Patience, Faithfulness, Peace, Joy, and so on. All of which is very pleasing to the eye of the onlooker.

P. Washer gives an example that I find very helpful.

"Let's say I wanted to get your pastor fired. So with a Polaroid camera in hand, I follow him through his life, 24 hours per day. If I waited long enough and had my camera ready, he might just have a real bad day, where he hits his thumb with a hammer, screams out an obscenity, kicks the dog and storms off. "Click" I take a picture and bring it back to the church and say "Look at this picture I took! Is that the kind of Pastor you want?" Wouldn't be very fair would it?

What would be a better representation of his life would be for me to put the Polaroid camera down and pick up a video camera instead. Then If I followed him around, 24 hours per day, you would see a much clearer picture of this mans fruit."

People in our circles are taking little snap shots of us, and mostly when we as Christians slip up. The phrase that comes to mind and one that is practiced nightly on the local and national news programs is "Good news is great, Bad news is better!" People usually only remember the bad. You'll see this daily when someone tells you about the horrible service they received at a certain restaurant, or the jerk in traffic. When was the last time someone went out of their way to praise a good waiter to you? Or to mention a courteous driver the encountered? I'd venture to say almost never.

Don't lose your "witness" power. Let us strive to get the Plank out, and keep it out! Amen.

^{Matthew 5:14-16 ~}"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.