“God The Builder”
1 Corinthians 3:10-13
Sunday, August 2, 2009

Introduction: Example- This last year Tiffany had to build a model of one of the missions for school. We chose the San Juan Capistrano mission, which we had visited and taken pictures of. Tami and I are not experienced builders, or model makers, and so we sought to do our best at helping Tiffany build this mission out of Styrofoam and other objects. While it wasn’t the best representation ever, it wasn’t bad. Tiffany got a good grade on it, and now has it in her room on display!
This morning I want to look at the importance of “the heart”/ in a spiritual sense., and how we need God to build into our hearts. Now, even though the heart is an organ which keeps us alive, in the Bible the heart is referred to as that place where our faith resides and grows. For God to bless us, we have to have a unique heart. This is often overlooked when you talk about successfully living for Jesus Christ. One reason it is overlooked is because most people don’t think that their heart has to be built upon. But the truth is that it does. As Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’…”

I. Laying A Foundation- (1 Corinthians 3:10-11; John 1:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:4-8)

a. According to God’s Grace- As we think about God building, it should
remind us that we are capable of building things as well. And when we build something, it can be very rewarding. There are many reasons why this is true. For one, we are made in God’s image, and given the ability to be creative like God. So when we build something, we are in essence fulfilling this call to be like God; to be creative. However, it also is rewarding in that we feel good about doing something constructive. And yet, the danger is that we can get prideful about our accomplishments. So we need to find balance between feeling good about what we build, and not getting too caught up in our accomplishment.
Because if this happens, we begin to forget that God is there with us, guiding and instructing us in how to build. We forget that God gave us the ability to create. We forget what God would want us to build, and we start to maybe choose to “build things” that God wouldn’t choose for us.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:10, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled builder….” We cannot forget that we have this opportunity because of God’s grace; God’s choosing us to be builders; God bringing opportunities to us; God directing us to the area where it is most important to build…..the spiritual.
Example- There is a cartoon where a teacher and a student are looking at each other, both frowning. Behind them is a chalkboard with an unsolved math problem, and you can tell that the chalkboard has many erase marks on it. The looks on the faces tell this story; it’s as if the teacher is saying to the student: “You should have solved this problem. You are an underachiever.” And the student is saying back: “I’m not an underachiever. You are an overexpecter.”
There are many people who think that God expects too much of them. They in essence are saying: “I can’t be a builder, I don’t have the skills.” Like what I felt when I first thought about having to help Tiffany build her mission. But we have to remember that God gives us this ability to be a skilled builder. It’s not a question of whether or not we have the skill. We have all been given the skill to build. The question is: “What am I to build?”

b. The only foundation- Well, before we even answer that question, we have
to answer this question: “On what will I build?” Before you can build something, you have to have a solid foundation. And Paul gives us the answer in 1 Corinthians 3:11:“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid…. Jesus Christ.” We have been given Jesus Christ as the foundation to build upon. And how is Jesus the foundation? Jesus is the foundation as the Savior and Lord of all. The foundation of Jesus is in understanding that in Jesus we find the better way. As we are told in John 1:17- “…the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
As a church, that means that we should be a place that is telling people about Jesus. We need to share how God loves everyone, and wants everyone to be free of their sins; that the only way they can be free is to confess their sins to Jesus (as we talked about last week) and let the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross take away their sins. We need to teach people that following Jesus is the only real way to live, and the only way that will bring peace and joy in their lives.
As Christians, building on Jesus as a foundation means that you tell people about how Jesus has changed you and is continuing to change you. You tell people about how Jesus loves them. You bring people to church and to church functions so that they can hear about Jesus.
In doing this, both you and the church can be builders, and can use Jesus Christ as the secure foundation on which to build
Illus. “The young preacher and the farmer.” Amusing Grace, p. 84, #259.
There is a story of a preacher who got a job right out of seminary pasturing a small mountain church. He was very excited about this call and the thought of winning everyone on the mountain to God. He began to go door to door telling people about Jesus. One day he went to a farm house where the farmer greeted him. The young minister asked the farmer, “Are you a Christian?” The farmer replied, “No, I believe they live a couple miles down the road.” Thinking the farmer had misunderstood, the minister then said: “No, I mean, are you lost?” To which the farmer said: “Why, no, I’ve lived here for some 40 years.” In frustration, the minister asked: “What I want to know is are you ready for the Judgment Day?!” “When is it?” asked the farmer. The minister replied, “I don’t know. It could be today, or it could be tomorrow.” “Well,” The farmer answered, “come back when you find out. My wife will probably want to go both days.”
When you try to be a builder, it might be a little frustrating like it was for this young pastor. But that is okay, because your motivation should come from what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:4- “…We are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts.” What we do and what we say should be pleasing to God, not those to whom we are speaking! God will then take our efforts and bless them.
Also our motivation is to be concerned about people who are lost in the same way that a mother would be concerned if her child wandered away. The people who are in our community, who do not know Jesus, are lost. God wants us to be concerned about them. As a church, a people of God, we will be blessed when we care about people the way God cares about people; with unconditional love and unselfishness.

II. Building on God’s Foundation- (1 Corinthians 3:10-13)

a. Choosing how to build- Example: Tyler had a wonderful year in baseball
this last year. His batting average was .625, and his on-base percentage was .700! He also played outstanding catcher, and he pitched very well, even making 13 of the 18 outs by strikeout and pitching a shut-out in one game. When we won the league, we went to the Tournament of Champions, where we played first place teams from other leagues. This was a higher level of competition, but Tyler still batted .550. Then Tyler made all-stars; an even higher level of competition. Facing very tough pitchers, Tyler batted .425, which is still excellent. In fact, in one game, our team only got 1 hit, and Tyler got that hit!
Now as a parent, I was very proud of Tyler. But if I get too prideful of this as a parent, I will begin to lose my focus on what is really important in this life. Tyler doing well in baseball is nice, but there are other aspects of life that are more important. And even more, what is eternal is of greatest importance.
It would be foolish for me to wave this before God and say, “God, look how great a parent I am.” This would not impress God. Our crown and joy when we come before God is twofold: first, it is that we humbled ourselves and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Second, that we sought to tell people about Jesus and led them to be saved. I am much more proud of Tyler that he has accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and Lord, than anything else he could do. Why? Because I know that Tyler is prepared for eternity in heaven with God.
In the last few years we have done much to improve the condition of our facilities. We have painted most of our buildings, gotten new stucco, replaced the roof on the sanctuary and fellowship hall, re-carpeted, gotten new pew pads, added a new sound system, purchased a new piano and a new organ, and on and on.
But the church that God blesses is not one that focuses on physical achievements, but on spiritual ones. The church that God blesses keeps its focus on the call of ministry—leading people to Jesus Christ.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 3:10, Paul says this: “… Each builder must
choose with care how to build on it.”
When we think about being builders, we have to think about the right motivation. A lack of motivation to sacrifice for others is what holds back many ministries and churches from being greatly used by the Lord.
We need to ask ourselves: Do we want to see this church succeed and be blessed by God? Do we want to be builders for God? You can’t teach or physically impart passionate concern, this can only come from the Spirit of God working in us; working deep within a person’s soul. And that only happens when you open yourself up to God, and let God give you the right desires and thinking.

b. A special heart- So we need to let God build into us a special heart. A
special heart is one that is motivated by the same kind of love that God has; the same kind of passion God has.
Story- In 1928, at the close of a gospel service in Russellville, Arkansas, a
thirteen-year-old boy named J. W. Tucker surrendered his life to Christ. His life was a godly example to others. At the age of twenty, Jay entered a Bible school in Oklahoma, and while there felt a call to be a missionary to Africa. He responded by saying: “I am willing, Lord.” He felt the call to go to the Congo. At first the door was closed, and so Jay planned to go to West Africa with his friend. But at the last minute the circumstances changed and allowed him to go to the Congo. Jay was part of a team of seven. They first had to go to Belgium for language study, but the outbreak of World War II disrupted their plans. So they went directly to the Congo. They traveled by boat from Alexandria, Egypt, and then by train southward through Sudan toward the Congo border. They soon arrived in Congo and attended their first conference of resident missionaries and Congolese believers. During the early months Jay was a builder, student, teacher, and preacher. As the years passed his calling deepened. He got engaged to another one of the missionaries, Angeline, and together they traveled to Uganda. On April 10, 1941, the couple was united in marriage. In time 2 sons and a daughter were added to the family. In 1958 they moved their family to a new ministry center in Paulis. They started a new church in their backyard, which then began to grow. There was political unrest, however, that began, which caused many missionaries to leave, but Jay and his family stayed. Eventually, European and American consuls advised their citizens to leave because of hatred toward foreigners. The Tuckers sent their children to school in Kenya, and they remained in Paulis until 1963 when they took a furlough to the United States. “I must go back,” Jay told his wife. “God is calling me back.” So in August, 1964, the Tucker family returned to Paulis. The city was still in unrest. Rebel forces were threatening government troops. Two weeks later rebel forces entered the city of Paulis and brought death and carnage everywhere. The Tucker’s appeared safe, but then their car was confiscated and they were put under house arrest with soldiers posted outside their door. On November 4 Jay was arrested with dozens of others and was held in a Catholic Mission. On November 24 Jay and other prisoners were taken out into the streets and beaten to death. Two days later Belgian paratroopers rescued Angeline Tucker and her three children.
Now your first thought about this story is probably that this is a tragic ending to 25 years of compassionate ministry for Christ. This true account may seem somewhat strange as we talk about God’s blessings. But the rest of the story gives some deeper insight.
The Bomokandi river flowed through the Nganga region of Congo, where
a tribe named the Mangbetu’s lived. The Mangbetu’s were resistant to the
the news of God’s love. As the Congo rebellion subsided, the Mangbetus
persuaded the central government to send a chief of police to bring stability. They sent a man who had the nickname “the Brigadier.” What no one knew was that the Brigadier had been won to Christ by Jay Tucker. The spiritual environment in this tribe was one of darkness. Then he heard a saying of the tribe’s: “If the blood of any man flows in our, river, the Bomokandi River, you must listen to his message.” So the Brigadier assembled the tribe to tell them about the life and story of Jay Tucker. And the Brigadier told them the story of Jesus Christ. As he preached this simple message, the Holy Spirit brought conviction upon the people, and the light of Christ began to shine in this Mangbetu tribe. Today in this tribe, there are hundreds of believers and dozens of churches. They can all be traced back to the passionate ministry whose blood flowed in the Bomokandi River; Jay Tucker. His love for the people led to his death, but in dying he was able to bring the message of eternal life in a way that could never have been imagined And without his death, the people probably would not have been won over for Christ!

Conclusion: At the beginning of this sermon I mentioned Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’…” It is not only foolish to think there is no God, it is also foolish to think that we don’t need God to build into us. How can we hope to build meaningful lives and a meaningful world, if we don’t have Jesus Christ as our foundation?
To build, you must have the basics; the essentials! For the church, and for God’s children, the basic is Jesus Christ. And as we allow Jesus to be our foundation, we move to that place of loving like Jesus did, and being concerned about the lost as Jesus was, and having a heart that seeks to reach all those who do not know Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord.
We can be passionate about many things. That is the nature of our heart, to give us passion. I hope and pray that you would allow God to lead your heart to be passionate for Him, and for leading others to Christ. Let God build in and through you in this way, today, and every day. Amen.

“Getting Right With God”
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Judges 10:6-16

Introduction: Example- Computers can be great. Computers have helped us to accomplish so much more than we could ever do with typewriters. With computers you can easily save and make changes. You can e-mail documents. You can connect with other people through the internet. The computer has increased our ability to work in many ways.
But if you have ever had a computer lock up, or ever had one crash, you know that the computer is still there, still looks the same on the outside, but really becomes useless to you. It is a broken machine, really good for nothing anymore. This happened to me about a year ago, where my computer crashed. I was fortunate, because my step-father was able to build me a new one, but in the waiting time, I was using my laptop. And I did lost some of the information that I hadn’t saved.
Like a computer that crashed, we can become spiritually broken down in a way that keeps God’s Spirit from operating in and through us. We can be in a relationship with the Lord, but there are some disastrous scenarios that can occur, which the Bible talks about, where we become spiritually unhinged.

I. From Defeat to Victory- (Judges 10:6-16; 11:29-32; Romans 6:23; Revelation 3:16; Psalm 66:18, 32:1-2)

a. Sold out- Let’s consider for a moment the case of the Israelites that we
just read about in Judges, chapter 10. The Israelites were in bondage, slaves in Egypt. They were struggling and grumbling about their situation. They felt as if God had abandoned them, even though what got them in this predicament was their abandoning God.
God raised up Moses to be their leader. And we see how God was more powerful than Pharaoh and all his armies, as God freed His people from slavery in Egypt. In their freedom, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for the next 40 years. Now to them this might not have seemed like freedom, but God had truly delivered them from their oppressive predicament and was preparing them for what was next. Then after many years God replaced Moses as leader with Joshua, who led the people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
This Promised Land had been promised to the Israelites back in Abraham’s time (in Genesis 17), and had been given by divine decree to the descendents of Abraham. To enter the Promised Land, the Israelites had been instructed by God to boldly drive out all the Canaanite nations. God promised that He would fight for Israel.
And yet, we just read in Judges 10:7-9, “… God sold the Israelites into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, and they crushed and oppressed the
Israelites that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites…”
Why did this tragic and unthinkable reversal come about for Israel? Weren’t the Israelites the chosen people of God; given the Promised Land by divine decree? Weren’t they under a covenant with the Almighty? What is wrong with this picture?
To get the explanation, we need to probe deeper. And when we probe deeper, we discover that God Himself was behind the entire matter. This happened because of what we are told in Judges 10:6- “The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…”
The Israelites were prone to persistent, unconfessed sin. This sin caused them to be separated from God; from God’s power, from God’s promises, and led them to defeat. God knew that it is more important to bring some punishment onto His people if it meant that they would turn and be restored. And this is just what happened, as we read in Judges 10:15-16, “Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, ‘We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving Baals (idols).’”
As soon as the Israelites honestly confessed their sins and repented, God went from selling them into the hands of their enemies to quickly raising up a warrior leader, Jephthah, who reversed the fortunes of God’s people.
KEY THOUGHT: The great spiritual hinge that opens the door to
heaven is honest confession.”

b. God hates sin- So we see that Jephthah is chosen by God to lead God’s
people to victory. We are told about this in Judges 11:29-32, “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah…then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands.” From defeat to victory, from slavery to dominion—it all hinged on the simple act of sincere confession of sin. Israel didn’t increase the number of soldiers they had, or work on any new military strategies. They didn’t get any new sophisticated weapons. They simply confessed their sin, and God moved over to their side. They simply needed to get right with God by confessing from the depth of their hearts. Honest, heartfelt, truthful confession. “We have sinned.”
Until they took that step, God’s hand had opposed His own people. Isn’t this true of parents? They will sometimes oppose their children for the purpose of causing their children to see what is the right road; for the purpose of helping them to understand that the way their parents are trying to lead them, which is hopefully the way of the Lord, is the better way!
The reason why this is all true is because God hates sin. Now I know that as parents we tell our children not to hate anything, but the one thing we can and should hate, like God does, is sin. This is the most basic and important place to start. God’s holy nature detests every kind of sin. We see this mentioned over and over again in the Bible.
Romans 6:23- “For the wages of sin is/ death…..”
Revelation 3:16- “So, because you are lukewarm (this is speaking of their
attitude to sin)—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
God…… hates…………. sin.
Why does God hate sin? Because sin, and nothing else, is what separates people from God. God, who is perfectly holy, cannot be in the presence of sin. This is why Jesus Christ endured the cross and its shame and shed His blood, and went through all that agony. He did it to deal with the sin in your life and mine! He did it so that He could impart to us His righteousness.
In the end, God will annihilate all sin. The good news is that through Jesus our sin is washed away, and with the presence of God’s Spirit within us we have the power to overcome sin in our lives.
So the first order and last order, and as much in between that we can, of our every day lives, for every Christian should be to deal with the business of our sin. Daily, hourly, moment-by-moment, we must bring our sin to God in sincere confession and receive the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God.
We cannot forget Psalm 66:18- “If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear.”
And so we take encouragement from Psalm 32:1-2 “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose
sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”

II. From Victory to Overcoming- (Psalm 32:3-6; 1 John 1:9)

a. Real confession- King David knew that confessing our sin leads to the
greatest spiritual joy and peace we can experience as human beings. That is why David wrote Psalm 32, so that we could understand what real confession is about. Real confession is to say the same thing about sin as God says; to feel the same way about sin as God feels.
So David continues in Psalm 32:3-4, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”
These last couple of weeks have been very hot. And so we know what heat does to our energy level; how we feel drained of energy when it is hot. How we don’t feel like going outside and doing much. David is telling us that when we have sin in our lives, sin that we haven’t fully dealt with, sin that we’ve kept silent and hidden, this sin will drain away our energy to live and to be able to enjoy life.
We have to be real about the sin in our lives. So David continues in verse 5: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgression to the Lord’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
David was really asking himself: “Why do I continue to live under the Lord’s displeasure?” You see, David knew that he couldn’t undo his sin, but through confessing it to God, God could make it right. And at the very instant he made a true confession, he found God’s abundant mercy and pardon waiting for him.
I know there are many of you out there today who are keeping silent about your sin. In fact, you probably are uncomfortable that I am even talking about sin! Isn’t sin your own personal business? Yes and no. It is personal for you in regards to me and others, but it should not be kept personal from God. And because of this thinking, this feeling, you are wasting away and not enjoying life; because of this you are not able to fully give yourself to God and to the church; because of it you are not able to be fully blessed by God!
But like David, all you have to do is confess your sin and the Lord will forgive you and be on your side again. Remember God’s eternal promise in 1 John 1:9- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The problem is not with the Lord’s ability or desire to forgive us; to restore us. The problem is with us; “If we confess….” The verse says. We must confess to receive forgiveness; we must admit our mistakes, we must no longer remain silent.
KEY THOUGHT: God will not bless and grow the church if its members
don’t have a deep longing to be delivered from the power of sin.

b. Fresh Blessings- Example- You might have heard me telling this story,
but it is fitting to make a point here. A number of years ago I was playing racquetball 2 or 3 times a month with my good friend Dean. Dean was a much better player than me, and because of my competitive spirit, I would get frustrated because I would never win! In time I improved, until I could actually win a game here and there. Then I was able to win 2 out of 4 sometimes. But still, most of the time Dean would win most of the games. As in any sport, there are times when you hit lucky shots. This would really frustrate me, because since Dean was already better than me, the last thing I would want to see is him getting lucky breaks in the game. When this would happen, I would often have bursts of anger. Yes, I am confessing this to you now! Consequently, after the game, because of my anger, I found it difficult to tell him what a good game he had played. I would often say rude things like: “I probably would have won that one game had you not been so lucky.” Dean, being the great friend that he was, would just ignore these comments. So in time, I learned that before I spoke, I would take a few moments, separate myself from Dean by going outside and praying, and calm myself down. I found that I couldn’t pray until I admitted my sin and confessed before God. After this, I could spend a few moments with God, and God calmed my heart. I could then come back to Dean and compliment him on the great game he played.
So instead of breaking down my relationship with Dean/ through confession and prayer/ I was able to enhance my relationship. Instead of ignoring my prideful, competitive attitude, I could acknowledge it before Dean, and show him how I was letting the Lord work with me on this. AS KING DAVID SAID:
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you (O God) and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while they may be found; …”
When we honestly confess our sins, we clear the way for fresh blessings to come upon us from the Lord. When we confess our sins, we will experience God’s favor in our lives. The only thing that can keep you from this, is unconfessed sin. Why should we live even one minute longer than we have to in this condition when a loving, merciful God is calling you into fellowship with him?
What is your sin that you are keeping hidden? I don’t need to know it. But God knows it. And yet, until you admit your sin and confess it, it will bring you down spiritually, and ultimately physically.

Conclusion: If you were to ask a Christian what they want most, the answer you would probably get most often is: “To be right with God.” And yet, so often people fail to do the things that will allow them to be right with God; the biggest one is having unconfessed sin in their lives. We know our spiritual condition is important, but we allow so many other things to break us down.
Like the Israelites, who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, we often choose to do things that the Lord would not approve of. And then we wonder why we aren’t right with God. We wonder why feel that we have unresolved issues in our lives. The answer is clear: CONFESS. It is so easy for me to say, but so challenging for us to practice.
James 5:16, says- “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed…” This verse reminds us that if we can have a person in our life to confess to, then that helps all the more than just going to God. When we confess to another person, it seems more real. And when we are not judged by this person, we feel the presence of God’s forgiveness all the more.
And so today I am attempting to train us to remember that real confession is the way to grow in the Lord and receive spiritual joy and peace. I hope that you will seek to practice this on a regular basis, hopefully starting today. Amen.

WHAT DO YOU DESIRE?
ISAIAH 55:1-9
SUNDAY, July 19, 2009
Taken from the book “The Church That God Blesses” by Jim Cymbala

Introduction: You know, it is amazing to look around and see what is popular. Our society has transformed us into thinking that caring for ourselves should be our top priority. So people are spending much more time educating themselves in how to take care of their bodies. They exercise more, and they watch their diet and nutrition. Now dieting, and nutrition and exercising are important, but for many it becomes excessive. Did you know that diet and nutrition are 2 of the hottest topics around? Did you know that the diet and nutrition industry is a billion-dollar industry?
Obviously it is important to care of yourself, but the problem lies in this, that people are more concerned with their physical well being, than with their spiritual well being. People spend more time educating themselves about how to care for themselves physically, than they spend educating themselves on how to care for themselves spiritually.
Here’s a question: How long will you live on this earth? 70, 80, 90+ years?
How long will you live after this earthly life? For eternity! So, while taking care of your physical body is important, having a good spiritual diet to prepare you for the best on this earth and for eternity, is even more important! So let’s look at how we can have a good spiritual diet as individuals, and as a church.

I. Initiating Change- (Isaiah 55:1-2)
a. An experiment in diet- Example: Maria (pp. 40-41 from The Church That God Blesses, by Jim Cymbala). Let me introduce you to a woman
named Maria. Maria has many physical problems which began more than 16 years ago. It started with pulmonary disease and then developed into an asthmatic condition. The doctors increased the use of antibiotics using steroids of all sorts, a nebulizer, and 4 different kinds of pumps. Needless to say, all of this medication took a toll on her. If you saw her you would think that she was a very sickly lady, and that would be true. On top of this, the heavy doses of medication led to phlebitis in her legs (inflammation of the veins in the legs and blod clots). She also had contracted pneumonia 3 times in a four year period. Her sinuses became so impacted that doctors recommended surgery; and this surgery would not be routine by any means!
Just one week before the scheduled surgery Maria decided to contact a nutritionist fearing that the surgery wouldn’t be treating the root cause. The nutritionist examined her and recommended a specialized diet that he believed would improve her condition. Maria’s husband was skeptical wondering how changing the diet could correct 9 years of chronic physical problems that had become severe.
Maria went on the diet, and after a few days she canceled the surgery. One week later she was no longer gasping for air, she didn’t need the pumps, she didn’t need the nebulizer, and she didn’t need the antibiotics!!
To this day Maria feels great and is full of energy.
Obviously, not all medical conditions can be improved by a change in
diet, but, you can’t deny that our bodies operate according to physical laws. So, we see that health problems, energy levels, and mood swings are often related to diet. Poor diet can also create things such as migraines, lack of energy, stomach problems, and other health issues.
b. Nurturing our spiritual being- The point of this sermon this morning is to
show that diet is important, but even more we need to live a balanced, healthy life by being concerned with our spiritual diet as well; we need to learn how to nurture our spiritual being! Why? Because God made us more than just a physical being, we are spiritual beings as well. And so we must be pay attention to all aspects of our being.
God says to us through the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 55:1-2,
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
In this passage God is referring to satisfying the hunger of the soul as one would satisfy the hunger of your body. That is why He uses words like “water,” “wine,” “milk,” and “bread.” These words refer to an important spiritual principle from which no one is exempt. Just as physical problems can result from improper diet, so spiritual problems often result when we are spiritually undernourished.
It is interesting to see how when things go wrong in our lives, we are so quick to blame or judge God. Instead, we ought to evaluate our own spiritual condition; we ought to look at our own spiritual diet; we ought to acknowledge the real cause of our problems. I bet that if you looked on a regular basis at your spiritual diet, you would be able to correlate between the struggles in your life, and the times you drift away from God.
It is very possible to be a Christian, to be someone who has accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord, but at the same time be sick spiritually due to spiritual malnutrition. This helps to explain the joylessness, the depression, the unfruitful living of so many believers today. How could we ever expect to be joyful in the Lord, to do great things for God, to experience God’s blessings when we are living on the bare bones of what God has for us spiritually?
How can we fight “the good fight” for the Lord, and stand strong against Satan’s schemes when our spiritual vital signs are so low? How can a church make a positive impact in its community when there isn’t the commitment to study God’s word and pray together?
HERE IS A KEY THOUGHT: “One of the keys to the church and the people God blesses is that they understand and follow the directions God Himself gives for maintaining spiritual vitality and strength.”
Did you know that the statistics show that only one-third of all churchgoing, professing Christians, read their Bibles even once a week?! Is it any wonder why they are spiritually sluggish and easy prey for Satan’s attacks? The practice of private prayer and collective praying together as a church has dropped to an all-time low in too many churches.

II. The Results of Spiritual Change- (Psalm 107:9, 63:5, 34:8; Hebrews 13:9)
a. God satisfies- Example- You know, if you think about it, the world is a
crazy place. On the one hand, you have thousands of Cookbooks that exist, and then on the other hand, you have a plethora of diet books. Do these cancel each other out? The cookbooks teach you how to make all this great food, but then the diet books tell how not to eat it! In the midst of all of this, it is no wonder that we don’t feel satisfied.
God has clearly promised that He will satisfy. Psalm 107:9 tells us this, “God satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Did you hear the language? The psalmist uses words like “thirsty” and “hungry.” Again, it is to show us how our spiritual nourishment is just as important as our physical nourishment.
The truth is, if we don’t ever sit down at God’s table to eat, we cannot receive the blessings God promises; we will not be satisfied and filled! If you never took the time to eat and drink, think of where you would be? This is just as true in regards to our spiritual condition as well. No wonder so many Christians feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. We can only be nourished spiritually when we regularly partake of God’s Word and receive the refreshment that comes from the Spirit of God.
This lack of spiritual well-being also explains why there is so little praise, and
why there is so much negativity and complaining in our world. In Psalm 63:5, the psalmist says: “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
When we regularly feed on the choicest of food, the food of God, we will sing praise to the one who has fed us so well. We will be full and content. In the gospel of John, chapter 4, the disciples go away from Jesus for a while. When they return we read this in verses 31-34: “…… ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to complete His work.’”
We are in a place to give praise with our lips when we do God’s work and when we know God’s will. But to do this, we must sit at His table daily. When we do this, we can echo the words of the psalmist in Psalm 34:8- “…taste and see that the Lord is good.”
b. Spiritual growth- It is amazing how immature and foolish we can be. I
came across an e-mail the other day that reminded me of the foolishness of people: READ E-Mail, #’s 1, 2, 4, & 5. 1. When the man tried to shoot his 38-caliber revolver at his intended victim, the revolver failed to fire. The would be robber did something that can only inspire wonder; he peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked…..2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine, and after a little hopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company suspecting negligence, sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. The insurance man tried the machine himself AND LOST A FINGER! The chef’s claim was approved…..4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days!..5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the boy told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
These are some obvious signs of foolish thinking. Likewise, there are some telltale signs of spiritual foolishness and immaturity. What are they? Selfishness, unforgiveness, a judgmental spirit, materialistism, and on and on the list could go.
KEY THOUGHT: “To grow into spiritual maturity, we need to be conscious every day of the needs of our inner being and the scriptural reminder that says ‘it is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.’” (Hebrews 13:9) God’s grace comes in different forms and through various channels, but the truth remains the same. When we neglect such things as the Bible, prayer, regular church attendance, service, and fellowship with other Christians, problems of one kind or another will begin to show up in our lives. Why? Because, as the old adage goes: “We are what we eat.” And as scripture says, “we will reap what we sow.”
And so it is important for us to understand that no one is more aware of this truth than Satan. We don’t think too much about the spiritual warfare that exists, but the strategy of Satan is to cut us off from our food supply. Satan knows that a “strong-in-the-Lord” believer is very difficult to attack. So Satan tries to distract us, discourage us, use our busyness against us, and get us to substitute the junk food of the world for God’s truth.
Is it any wonder, then, that the Lord urgently calls out to His people to carefully listen to this message? “Come to the waters and drink.” He pleads with each one of us to let our heart reach out and take action/ so our soul can be satisfied. He invites us to come to the place where we can be refreshed and built up so that we won’t starve and shrivel up. The table is set. It is there to receive. Will we receive it?

Conclusion: As we look at the church, we can see that a church can only be as strong as its members; a church can only accomplish what those in it will do. As a church, we need to make sure that we are supplying opportunities and encouragement for each of us to have a healthy spiritual diet. As a church we need to make sure that we are focusing on God’s word and seeking God’s will.
The more that we study God’s word together, the more that we pray together, the stronger we will be, and the more God will be able to bless us. If there is something that we can do to help you meet this need for a more balanced spiritual diet, please tell me or one of the elders, so that we can do the things that will help us mature as individuals, and help us mature as a church.
My goal for this sermon is for you to recognize the need in your soul to be spiritually satisfied, and to understand that satisfaction only comes through giving yourself fully to God. My goal is that whatever we do, it would be well attended so that we can grow together. My goal is for us to be bringing others to church, who need the spiritual nourishment they aren’t getting right now. My goal is for us to be continually transformed as people, and as a church. It doesn’t require surgery, it only requires the right diet.
The Lord has prepared a wonderful table before us. As we eat from this table, we will experience God’s love, God’s forgiveness, God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s power, and God’s guidance, both as individuals, and as a church. I hope that you would look at your life, and decide today what you need to add to your diet, so that you will be spiritually healthy today, and always! Amen.

“FEELING ATTACKED?"
Genesis 3:8-15; Luke 24:1-9
(July 12, 2009)
From Jim Cymbala’s book “The Church That God Blesses”

Introduction: In the story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew, chapter 2, we are told how King Herod is angry that there was a “king” who was born. There can be no other kings other than himself, so he tries to attack and kill the baby Jesus. As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we need to understand that we are all under the threat of attacks from Satan. Whenever a church begins to move in the right direction, whenever a church starts to grow, whenever a church decides to follow God’s leading, Satan will attack the church by putting obstacles in its way.
This is a truth of Scripture, that Satan wants to keep us from following the plan of God. Satan wants to keep us from bringing people to Christ. Satan wants to keep us distracted by our struggles, or by our differences so that we lose the focus of serving Christ and making an impact for the kingdom of God! So this morning I want to talk about what we can do when we are attacked.

I. The Secret of Growth- (Acts 11:19-23; James 1:22-27)

a. The hand of the Lord- In Acts chapter 11, we are told of a church that
God was blessing; it is the great Christian church in Antioch. This church was not formed because of known and powerful people. What was the real secret for its birth and growth? The secret is seen in Acts 11:21- “The hand of the Lord was with them….” Now this may seem obvious, that it takes the hand of the Lord to grow a church, but too often people try to do ministry and try to grow a church without seeking God’s blessing and guidance. They think they can do it on their own knowledge and their own efforts!
Because of God’s blessings, the church in Antioch led people to repentance and faith! This is really how God wants to bless a church, and grow a church, through bringing to faith those who don’t know Jesus! All too often we see churches grow by people leaving one church, and going to another. As we add members we think we have growth. And to some degree this is true. But listen to this: THE CHURCH IS GROWING IN NUMBER, BUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT!
In Acts 11:23 Barnabas comes to visit Antioch, and the verse says this: “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” Barnabas “saw the evidence” that God was blessing the work of Antioch. How can you know if the Lord’s hand is on you as a church? You will see the evidence. (Unbelievers will come and believe, prayer meetings will happen and will be powerful, there will be a spirit of unity amongst the members, people will share of their money and resources, people will be prayed for and healing will occur, and on and on it goes.).
b. What’s the problem?- So what is the problem? If we know that the hand
of the Lord needs to be with us, then why can’t we grow our church? I believe one great problem is what I said before: Satan. We will talk about this in a moment. But there is another problem; lack of zeal. For churches to grow, they need to have zeal for the Lord. But I think too many contemporary churches have lost their zeal; they are just going through the motions. They are meeting together, and eating together, and talking together, but they aren’t utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit.
You see, when we meet for a Bible study, it is nice to talk about God’s word, but even more important is what we DO with God’s word. The book of James, chapter 1, verses 22-27 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it…this man shall be blessed in what he does…This is pure and undefiled religion, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
What James is telling us is that we can look at ourselves in the mirror, and then go away and forget what we saw. Looking at ourselves in the mirror has done nothing for us to make us a better person. When we encounter God’s word, especially at church with God’s people, and then we leave without it affecting our behavior, then we do not have zeal for the Lord. James then tells us that religion is to be about living; things like caring for orphans, widows, and others who have needs. Sharing the salvation message with those who are lost. We don’t have any great passion to do this, and so we won’t grow as a church until we do!!

II. Satan: Our Adversary- (Genesis 3:8-15)

a. Temptation- From the time when Satan tempted Eve in the garden of
Eden, to now, Satan has always been our adversary. Satan desires to keep us from God; Satan desires for us to in no way be productive for God. And because of the threat that all Christian churches are to him, churches are especially a target for Satan. How does Satan target churches? By targeting the people in the church. He tries to get people to think that the “church” is only a place to visit on Sundays….if you can spare the time. Another way is that through the teaching of the world around us, he gets us to think that other things are more important than church. He also tries to make our prayer ineffective or bring gossip into the church. If you want to see some great insight into this thinking, I encourage you to read C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters.
Let me read for you an excerpt from this book: to understand, Screwtape is a senior devil training a junior devil how to attack people. Their main goal is to keep them from becoming Christians. But if a person becomes a Christian, their secondary goal is to keep them from being an effective Christian. …(pages 45-46)
“My dear Wormwood, I was delighted to hear from Triptweeze that your patient has made some very desirable new acquaintances and that you seem to have used this event in a really promising manner. I gather that the middle-aged married couple who called at his office are just the sort of people we want him to know—rich, smart, superficially intellectual, and brightly skeptical about everything in the world….No doubt he must soon realize that his own faith is in direct opposition to the assumptions on which all the conversation of his new friends is based…The first thing is to delay as long as possible the moment at which he realizes this new pleasure as a temptation…”
Satan is deceptive in his temptations, and slowly seeks to lead us away from living for the Lord with zeal, conviction, and faithfulness!
b. Don’t be naïve- Illus. “…The Tardy Oxcart,” p. 564- The great
playwright Oscar Wilde tells a story about the day the devil was traveling across the Libyan Desert. While traveling he came across some of his imps who were trying to tempt a holy man, but with no success. After watching for a bit, the devil stepped forward and said to them: ‘What you do is too crude. Step back and watch me.’ With this he whispered in the holy man’s ear, ‘Your brother has just been made Bishop.’ With this the holy man’s countenance immediately changed with a spirit of jealousy in him as he said to himself: ‘How could my brother be chosen over me? The very idea is preposterous!’ Then the devil looked at his demons and said: ‘Now that is the sort of thing I’d recommend.’
It is easy for us to be naïve and think that nothing like this could happen to us or in our church. But the worst thing we can do in life is to underestimate Satan’s influence and power. Satan is not more powerful than Jesus, but in those times we stray from Jesus, we can easily be overcome by Satan. If we think we are not subject to Satan’s attacks, then we will lose before the battle begins.
So we must understand that Satan desires to attack us. And when does he want to attack us? He wants to attack at those times he feels are the best opportunity for him to do so! We can learn from the life of Jesus. When did Satan try and attack Jesus? When he had fasted for 40 days; when he was weak and tired and alone. And this will be true for us, the attack will come when we are weak, or tired, or frustrated, or discouraged, and when we are alone!! It will not be when we expect it. It will not be when we are with others. It will be when we have stopped reading God’s word, or stopped going to church regularly, or when we are feeling overly spiritual, or when something good has happened and we feel prideful.

III. Spiritual Attack- (Ephesians 6:10-11; Luke 24:1-9; Genesis 3:15b)

a. Inevitability- Here is a truth. SPIRITUAL ATTACK IS NOT JUST A
POSSIBILITY, IT IS AN INEVITABILITY. As I said before, Jesus was attacked by Satan in the wilderness when He was fasting. Jesus was attacked in the garden of Gethsemane when He began to doubt, and ultimately Jesus was attacked when He was crucified on the cross. This is the part of Genesis 3:15 where God tells Satan “You will strike his heel.” The cross was a striking of Christ’s heel; a temporary wound. On all these occasions, we see Satan attacking Jesus thinking he could be victorious.
But we are given important words in Ephesians 6:10-11 where Paul tells us to stand “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power so that you will be able to stand against the devil’s schemes.” Don’t you think the disciples felt attacked when Jesus was taken and beaten, and killed, and then buried? Don’t you think they felt attacked when they were all alone, isolated in a house? Spiritual attack is inevitable!
Ilus. In a Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy comes up and licks Lucy, to which she says: “Hey, get away form me with your ol’ wet tongue.” Then Snoopy goes over and licks Linus, to which he says: “Hey, cut it out. Do you have to be licking people all the time? If you’re not licking somebody’s hands, you’re licking somebody’s shoes. Stupid dog!” To which Snoopy responds: “They all resent me because I’m so devoted.”
Now if Satan were as obvious with his attacks as Snoopy was with his licking, then we would be aware of them and seek to stop them. But Satan is as devoted to attacking us as a dog is devoted to licking his master. But the Scripture tells us that if we “ resist the devil, he will flee from us.”
b. The church coming under attack- We must never be surprised when the
church comes under attack and Satan tries to snuff out the fresh, new thing God is preparing to do in us. In fact, we need to expect it. We need to expect it like we would expect our house being broken in to. If we didn’t expect that, then we wouldn’t have locks on our doors, and we would leave the locks unlocked.
Jesus tells us in Luke 12:39- “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” In the same way we are to be ready for the Son of Man coming, I believe we need to ready ourselves for the attacks of Satan.
So when feeling spiritually attacked, the church needs to trust in the promises of God’s blessing and protection. We need to understand we have a call and a commission from the Lord to do His work. We need to understand that we can be guided and empowered by God’s Spirit to carry out the work. We need to understand that we are not in this alone.
As I said last week, too many people have disconnected themselves from the church. Because of this the church is going through an identity crisis. In a gallop poll, many stated sentiments like this: “I am my own church.” It isn’t just that there are many who don’t believe in Jesus. Even more, there are many who don’t believe in the Church. They don’t understand the identity, purpose, or mission of a church. They don’t think that churches are that important. They believe that all that is important is to believe. “I can do it on my own.” And so the church is not very strong to stand up under attack, because the commitment to church is not there.

Conclusion: We need to understand that Jesus and the disciples were attacked, but Jesus’ power reigns in all of His believers! Even though Jesus was attacked, and ultimately killed, He did rise from the dead! When the tomb was found empty, it was the beginning of all that Jesus was going to do in and through His Church. Jesus being raised from the dead is the other part of Genesis 3:15, where God tells Satan that Jesus will “crush his head.” The resurrection was Jesus’ defeating death so that we could be saved in Him and have eternal life. There is no attack that Satan can wield that can overcome what Jesus did through His death and resurrection.
So, if you are feeling attacked in some way, know that this is not unexpected. Don’t back down from the attack, commit yourself to Jesus, and commit yourself all the more to the church, where together we can stand up against Satan. Satan has no power over us unless we give him this power. Satan tries to attack us when and where we are weak. But with Jesus, and the support of others we are safe and secure from any and all attacks! Amen.