The Good Word Of The Day

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Study to Show Thyself Approved.




1 Timothy 1:5
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What's wrong with 24/7 Prayer? How could that be wrong?! - FOTM1



The premise is wrong from the start if you think that many words will get God to move - and that you need to help Him make sure that people are praying. Here are some verses to consider:

Matt 23:14 (KJV) - 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Matt 6:7-8 (KJV) - 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

2 Tim 2:15-16 (KJV) - 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

Isaiah 1:12-15 (KJV) - 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Eccl 5:1-7 (KJV) - 1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. 4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Isaiah 58:1-14 (KJV) - 1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

Hear the Voice of the Lord - FOTM1

Wanna Hear The Voice of God? - 2 of 2



Deuteronomy 32:10
In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye,

Wanna Hear The Voice of God?

Entering The Darkness With The Light

Let me illustrate it for you if you don’t believe me:

Let’s say I give you 2 million dollars every day. One million for you, and one million to give away to anybody you want, any random person. Every single day you would have the “burden” and “duty” of giving away a million dollars.

-How long would you wait to give it out?
-Would it be a chore or a blessing to give the money away?
-If someone rejected the million dollars, would you feel ashamed and hide the money never to give it away again? Or would you think the person that refused the gift is crazy?

Nobody would think I was crazy if I stood on a corner shouting “Free money for those that will receive it!” They would be lining up. Nobody would shout out to me, “Don’t you have better things to do?”

If we would do this for worldly riches, why won’t we do it for eternal riches? I think it has to do more with our belief than it is our methods. Do we really believe the gospel is worth more than a million dollars?

There’s nothing relevant involved with giving away money. There shouldn’t be anything relevant about sharing the gospel, just do it. If you gave a random person on the street a million dollars, I don’t think they would reject you because of your method. They wouldn’t care if you wore sandals with socks or a 5 piece suit, because it’s the gift, not the person giving it. It’s the message, not the messenger.

If you have horrible disease, you could care less about the style of the doctor giving you a cure, you just want the cure!!

The truth is, we don’t want to be rejected, and we’ll go very far out of our way to avoid it, so far out of the way we forsake the message and commission of the gospel. We have to get over this somehow. Remember when Jesus sent out the 12 disciples? He sent them out with a “rejection clause”, He told them exactly what to do when someone rejected the message. This tells me not everybody will receive it, and that’s ok. As a matter of fact, Jesus said only few will find it. My goal now changes from trying to convince people that the gospel is true and indeed good news, to simply proclaiming the message and letting the seeds fall where they may. I can’t change the heart the seed falls into, my job is just to cast the seed out.

So, if we can focus more on simply proclaiming the news of Jesus instead of the thought of trying to “win” people, our job will be easier. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing. We need to get that straight first, what you’re doing IS foolish to the world, we don’t have to hide from it because it’s in the foolishness that God confounds the wise.

We can’t get in the habit of letting the world dictate our methods. The world is only getting more evil. It’s job is to push itself further from the truth of the gospel. We just need to accept these things and enter into the darkness with our light. When we do that, everything happens automatically.

Galatians 1

1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they praised God because of me.

Footnotes:

1. Galatians 1:15 Or from my mother's womb
2. Galatians 1:18 Greek Cephas

Tim Hawkins "Cletus Take the Reel"



Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

2 Corinthians 10:5

Spark The True Flame

Since the beginning of time, man has thought he was smart enough to know everything about this world. Whether it was the shape of the earth or how computers would affect our lives, man always develops a theory. We just seem to be consistently wrong. Our videos are created as sermon illustrations and should be purchased for use in small groups, churches, assemblies, etc. Downloads and DVDs are available at www.ignitermedia.com.

Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.

Psalms 74:22

My Trials Don't Defeat Me

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1 John 3:2

Chaplain, Dallas Mavericks - Tony Evans - I Am Second

1 Samuel 16:16
Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."

If we're created equal, why am I in second place.

Jason Castro - American Idol - I Am Second



1 Samuel 9:6
But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."

Would You Save A Terrorist? - Chris Plekenpol

Luke 21:15
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Korn - Brian Welch - I Am Second

I had it all with Korn but gave it up for a better life


John 3:4
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

ATTENTION CHRISTIANS - IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE

2 Samuel 14:20
Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land."

Statistics of a Dying World







Frontline

Who [is] a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

James 3:13

"Shew" - To show


And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Jude 1:14-15

A Time for REAL Change



What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

James 2:14-24

SAVING SOULS

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16




Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

2 Timothy 1:9