Service To The Lord

Luke 17:7- 8 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’

The North American Church unlike other countries seems to have twisted the meaning behind this scripture. Many Christians today go to church to be feed a great message that lifts them up to make it from Sunday to Sunday. Often times if there isn't a meaty message, people will move on down the road going from church to church until they find a message that feeds their spirit. Church is not for feeding our spirits and our wants and desires and it was never designed for that purpose.

Jesus said in Matthew 21:13 "It is written," he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer. Church has always been known as a house of worship." When we are there, we are there for one purpose. We are there to give thanks and praise for all that the Lord has done and continues to do in our lives. We give Him glory. The idea that we are going to go to church and come out all filled up is wrong. We might come out with our spirits filled up because something the pastor said in his message put us in a positive space, but that was not the sole purpose. We feel good mostly from the overflow from our praises to God.

Our receiving comes from our giving. I don't mean money. I mean praise and thanks. When we honor the Lord, we prove worthy before him. He loves when we praise, when we show faith, when we give to him or to others in need. The good feeling we are all looking for should come from our giving of ourselves. Having our hearts and minds in the right place and focusing on the things of God. That is where the great feelings come from.

The Pastor is not there to make us feel good. Preaching is all about getting us right with God. The pastor leads us through the dark areas of life and into the light, using the word of God, drawing us closer to that place where we are in communion with the Lord. The pastor's message should draw us closer to God. It should convict our spirit of anything we have done wrong in thought or in action, so that we can repent for that thought or action and become able to be forgiven and washed white as snow by the blood of Jesus.

I long for the day when the fire of the Holy Spirit flows through the hearts all of us, so that we can really see what God can do. There are many churches in the United States, but unfortunately many of them will never actually see God move. So many churches just go through the motions of a service or mass and they stick to a structured routine. There is nothing structured about God, belief, faith, praise, or miracles. I can’t endure sitting through that type of service anymore and I cringe whenever I have to go to a church that is like that, I thank God that those occasions are rare. If you are in a church like that and you’re content with it, you couldn’t have experienced a move of God. Anyone that has seen something happen that absolutely no question had to be a supernatural move of God could not be content to do church like that once they had.

I actually refer to those kind congregations as “churches” and the places where the spirit of the Lord resides as “houses of worship”. The difference is like night and day. It is just a whole lot more fun to give praise, worship and glory to the Lord in great abundance. If prayer is the thing that moves God, then “Houses of worship” are the place to be, because there is nothing like seeing the result of God performing a miracle or healing someone or giving favor to someone. My heart skips a beat every time I see something that God has done. I love just hearing the testimonies from people that have received a blessing from God.

So be joyous in all of your giving. Serve the Father the way he deserves to be served, with all of your heart, soul, mind and spirit. With everything you have serve Him. In everything you do serve Him. Spending our entire lives from the womb to the tomb serving God wouldn’t be enough. We owe him for everything we have.

1 Peter 2:21-22 (The Message) This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.

I invite you to pray this with me

Father God, I thank you for all that you do for us. We are not worthy of your grace, and forgiveness, but you do it anyway. If only we could show you the unconditional love that you show to us God. You deserve our best, your word teaches us how to live and how to serve you. Help us God to be better servants to you. I ask you to take control and guide us all into the place you desire for each of us. Lord Jesus come. Come upon us and fill our hearts, help us to be better at giving away the love, compassion, and blessings that you bestow upon each of us. Teach us how to do your will better so that we get into the place where we can see you performing miracles as an everyday occurance.

I ask this in your most Holy name

Amen

God Bless You All

“The Sharpshooter”

The Priority Of Seeking God's Face

2 Chronicles 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Psalm 27:8 My heart says of you "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalm 105:4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

The instruction is given to us many times in the Bible,” Seek His face." It is supposed to be the face and the heart of God that we seek for there in his heart is his love for us. In his face is his relationship with us. Spending time with the Lord should be our primary focus. We should be seeking the Lord just because we want to spend time with him, whether that means being in prayer, reading the bible, meditating on His word or having conversations about him. In all of these instances we are spending time, giving praise, acknowledging His many works and when we are speaking about him to others we are giving testimony of what God has done in our lives. The power of our testimony should never be underestimated. When we tell someone what the Lord has done for us, we are creating an environment for God to move in. Our testimony creates an environment for the supernatural to happen.

Instead of seeking His face though, many people just seek the Lord's hand. They don't want a relationship; they only want what’s in it for them. It becomes all about them instead of being all about God. These people very rarely receive a blessing unless God feels that a sign or blessing from him will be the thing that moves them into a place where they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Usually though people that just seek the Lord for his hand, don't get much. They end up saying "See, there is no God" or "God doesn't love me." Oh, if they only understood what they were saying, but they don't and that's where we as Christians have to shine the light of God into the lives of these people in order that they would see the errors of their ways and get on the path of righteousness.

Christians need to be the light of the world that pierces the darkness in people’s lives. It can be a monumental challenge to do this on a consistent basis no doubt but it’s what we are supposed to be. If we fight negative with negative, there is no victory, there is no hope, and there is no light. Jesus said in John 8:12 "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

When we stop seeking God's hand and we begin to seek relationship with Him, we will begin to see change almost immediately. God wants to bless us abundantly, but until we can be trusted with His relationship, we won't be trusted with His blessings. Then when we are worthy of His blessings, they will start small until we can be trusted with those. When we get to the point of receiving God's blessings, we are not to keep them for ourselves. They were not given to us for our own benefit like a reward. We are to take our blessings and bless others with them.

We are God's representatives to others and when we bless someone else and give from the heart (not from obligation) God will bless the giver in return. The more we are entrusted with though, the more responsibility we have. Luke 12:48 When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

We need to understand that everything we have was given to us by the God. No matter what it is, whether it is a job, a family, finances, health, without His approval we’d have nothing. That said we need to stop complaining and murmuring about our circumstances and situations and give Him praise through it all. When you complain about your job, that you're not being paid enough, think of this. Maybe God hired you for that job because he needed light in that place. He didn't hire you to provide you with money. If God wants to provide us with finances, he could do it in any way he pleases. Money could fall from the sky or come from a rock. God is God and we are not. When God is ready to provide you finances, he could have an enemy of yours come right up to you and write you check. Psalm 34:10 “those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”

I invite you to pray this with me.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for providing for us and being the light that pierces the darkness in our lives, so that we can spread that light into the lives of others. You always lead by example Father and show us the way to live. Give us the strength Lord God, to endure the trials and difficulties that we encounter in bringing your word to others that need it. Help us God to persevere and to never take for granted the things you do for us, the things you provide for us and mostly for the Love that you give to us.

In Jesus Name I Pray.

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

Faith By Hearing.

Romans 10:13-17 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

For a person to be saved, they must call on the Lord in faith and turn from their sin. But the immediate question that is addressed through Paul is asking how anyone can call on God if they do not believe God and His Word. There is also the question that they cannot believe God if they have not even heard of Him. So it is clear that there needs to be a preacher to proclaim the truth to them so that they might know Who God is and what is required of them to be reconciled to Him.

We have to understand that this is not speaking of a preacher in the sense of a pastor or evangelist or an "official" church position. It is speaking of the role that we all have to be proclaiming the gospel to those around us. So it is not necessarily preaching from a pulpit, but any declaration of the gospel from those who know it to those who need to hear it. Paul say’s that the preacher must be sent. While we understand the call of God on the lives of those serving as pastors and missionaries, we must not forget that it is the responsibility of each one of us to preach the gospel to the world.

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. We are all to be sowing the seed, because if we do not tell people about God and about their need for salvation, then how can they call out to Him and be saved? God us as the means to call sinners to salvation.

People must hear the Word of God in order to know the truth and believe it. Faith comes by hearing the gospel, not just listening to it, but hearing and understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ. and hearing comes by the Word of God. God uses His word to open ears and eyes to hear and see the truth. Without Him we are dead, blind, and deaf, but when He uses His Word to open our ears and eyes, we can hear and see and believe and call out with our mouths, and "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." This teaches us that the power of the Word of God is alive, active, powerful, and has unlimited power.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is living and powerful. It cuts right to the heart of the matter. It is a two-edged sword. It reveals the true intentions of the human heart and exposes our every thought.

James 1:23-25 if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. The Word of God is a mirror. It reflects to us the truth, unvarnished. And the way we respond says much about our faith and maturity in the Lord.

The Word of God ALWAYS accomplishes the purpose that He means for it to accomplish. The Word is never sent out to return with no results. We make the mistake sometimes of forgetting that the Word can bring more than one result because often we are seeking one primary result, the salvation of a soul and when people don’t get saved we think that either we have failed in our witnessing or that the Word of God failed and did not bring forth fruit.

God's word not only brings salvation, it also brings healing, it convicts our spirits, it sanctifies us, and breaks us. This should give us great freedom in preaching the Word to those who need to hear it because the results of our preaching are not dependant on us, but on God's Word and the Word never fails!

Let us pray:

Father God, I thank you Lord that your word is as alive today as it was in the beginning of time. I thank you God that your gift of salvation is available to every soul because your son Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Father guide us is our preaching. Give us the right words for this season that people would receive you God. I pray for every lost soul Lord. That we would have time enough to reach out to them and offer them your free gift of salvation, before it’s too late.

In Jesus Name I Pray

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”