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MINISTRY #9 YOUTH MINISTER...2B OR NOT 2B |
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MINISTRY #8 WHAT ABOUT NUMBERS |
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THE CHURCH ON HIGHER GROUND |
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HOMEPAGE |
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SERMON NETS HOMEPAGE |
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SERMON NETS MENU |
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SERMON NETS ON MINISTRY |
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MINISTRY #1 |
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MINISTRY #2 MINISTRY OR INDUSTRY? |
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MINISTRY #3 personal and corporate |
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MINISTRY #4 personal and corporate |
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MINISTRY #5 personal and corporate |
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MINISTRY #6 personal and corporarte |
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MINISTRY #7 WEB MINISTRY |
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MINISTRY #1
ON THIS PAGE
#1 A preacher should be a man of His Word
#2 The Vision Makes the Difference
#3 A Good Time to Start #1
#4 A Good Time to Start #2
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There are enough men in the pulpits today proclaiming their own ideas and the wisdom of men, but where is the man who is a man of His Word?
There are enough men in the pulpits today who tickle the ears of the congregations, but where is the man who is a man of His Word?
There are enough men in the pulpits today who show partiality to the powerful and rich, but where is the man who is a man of His Word?
There are enough men in the pulpits today who maintain Political Correctness, but where is the man who is a man of His Word?
We have not been sent to deliver our message, but His. It is not our word which will not return void, but His. It is not faith in our word that saves, but His. It is not our word which never changes, but His.
Preach the Word. "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." 2Ti. 4:2
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As I was hauling water today (it doesn't take much brain power to do that so I get a chance to cogitate) I thought about the verse which says, "Where there is no vision the people perish." Oh, by the way, just because I cogitate, it does not make me an old "Codger."
A "vision" is not some apparition brought about in a trance-like condition, or a clairvoyant experience brought to someone by some channeling spirit or spirit guide. A vision is simply a spiritual insight or knowledge of God and His ways. As it is translated elsewhere, "Where
there is no knowledge, the people perish." It is more than "head knowledge" or "book learning" but it is not something reserved for those who are living on some "ethereal plane" with their heads in the clouds. It is "knowledge" imparted to those who walk close to God and are sensitive to His teaching and leading. It is therefore correct to say, "Where there is no knowledge of God, the people perish."
I know lot's of people who are perishing even though there is a vision. So the verse does not say, "Where there IS vision the people will NOT perish." The person with the vision or knowledge of God is not perishing. Those who receive the knowledge of God from a person are not perishing.
BUT, it is definitely true, "where there is no vision, the people perish." Just because I have the knowledge of the true and living God, just because I lift Him up so that He may be seen of all men, does not mean that no one will perish. God does not always get His way in this area. It
is "...not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He would have "...all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." Not all people come to repentance and many people do perish. However, it does mean that people can NOT perish if they will believe on Jesus as having died for their sins and risen again from the dead physically.
God's Word says that He has given me (and all Christians) the ministry of reconciliation and the message of salvation. God has given this to us, to give to other people. We therefore have something which belongs to others and therefore we are debtors to them until we give them God's gift of love and salvation. The Scripture says, "Owe no man anything, but to love one another." Let us not only "have" the vision, let us also "fulfill" our vision. Give away that which God gave to you for someone else.
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I am not as big on "special occasions" as some folks are. Christians obviously celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every day and not only on Sunday or on Resurrection Sunday.
I would never call Resurrection Day, Easter, in honor of a pagan deity, which goes to show that even though God's Word is infallible and inerrant, the King James Version is not. In Acts 12:4 the Greek word "paschal" which should be translated "passover" is translated in the KJV as "Easter." The early church did not tie the passover or the resurrection of Jesus with a pagan religious ceremony.
However, I see the validity for recognizing the seasons of His Birth, Death and Resurrection. Though it may not be commanded, it is not prohibited and Christians do it for the purpose of honoring Him. Though we are not commanded to have a yearly celebration of these high and holy historical events, it is consistent with the Biblical traditions of celebrating high and holy events in Israel's
history.
One advantage to recognizing special occasions is being able to spend extra time in fellowship with other believers. Days off of work or time spent visiting distant family is a good thing to do during these times. What is only a holiday to the unsaved becomes a special opportunity the believer. Another advantage is turning the attention of the unbeliever to Jesus through special services which they attend during those "holidays." They are primed and more focused and therefore more open to the claims of Christ during these "family times" and "religious times." It is always good to take advantage of situations for fellowship and evangelism.
Unhappily, these Christian celebrations have been pagan-ized and corrupted in the minds and practices of society and even so-called Christian society. Because of this, some believers have thrown out the good with the bad. I have not rejected celebrating His Birth or Resurrection just because some people have fallen for the narrowness of the "legalist", who condemns anything and everything that doesn't look-like, smell-like, walk-like, talk-like, think-like and act-like their brand of Christianity. Nor have I rejected these times of worship and praise just because some other people have lost the meaning of these events altogether and therefore corrupted the celebrations with pagan and commercial activities.
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It isn't just the Biblical events and occasions which have been trivialized by crass commercialism and blatant paganism. Other special times for expressing our love for one another have lost their real meaning as well. Expressing "I love you" to someone is a good thing at any time but, unhappily, Mother's Day has become mostly a good time to sell candy, cards and other "tokens of affection." Mother's Day is a day set aside to honor the love and sacrifice of our mothers, but the real meaning is often lost in the commercialism and perfunctory activities of the Day. Honoring "Mom" is too often like celebrating "Resurrection" or "Christmas", it turns out to be a scheduled and emotional day of recognition but void of true commitment and affection. Mom would rather be honored every day in the mundane than have one day of honor and be treated with disdain for the rest of the year.
It is too easy to give a materialistic gift in the western world. What can you give to Mom that takes time, effort and sacrifice on you part? What can you do, either daily or weekly (not weakly) throughout the year which lets her know that she is special, and loved especially?
We are so wise in our western culture that we have discarded our elderly and looked to the young for our leadership. The elderly have become disposable. We can ignore them, humiliate them and send them off to a nursing home to let someone else mistreat them and rob them of their dignity until they are nothing but a memory. Who would ever want to go back to a time when they were loved, honored and served by loving children? Who would ever want to do something as old fashioned as "Honor our Mothers and Fathers."
It is time to come back to Biblical family relationships. Now is a good time to start moving in that direction. Make this year a "Happy Mother's Day" all year long. This is a good time to start to move back to a solid family model. This is a good time to start to honor our mothers and fathers.
This is a good time to mend those broken relationships and build those bridges of love over chasms of resentment and years of separation. This is a good time to start, because there may not be another opportunity, there may not be a tomorrow.
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