Give Us This Day - 12

                                                                 Give Us This Day - 12

Subject – Thanksgiving and Compelling Them to Come In

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 6:9-15 (NKJV)
⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹  Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
¹³  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
¹⁴  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

--Today I want to share with you a modified sermon of what I shared with the Village campus on November 6. Thankful hearts are the hearts of servants.

Luke 14:16-23 (NKJV)
¹⁶  Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,
¹⁷  and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'
¹⁸  But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.'
¹⁹  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.'
²⁰  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'
²¹  So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'
²²  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'
²³  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

--It has been on my heart for years for Life Church to grow to one thousand plus and I still do. Sometimes dreams or visions come quickly and sometime you have to wait. But when the time is right:

Habakkuk 2:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.
²  Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.
³  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 

--The vision, if it is God’s vision, will show up at the appointed time and it will be fulfilled. Though it takes some time, keep waiting for it because it will surely come.

--A thankful heart will trust the One Who said He would build His church.

--Back when God initially spoke to me about growing to one thousand plus we did not have a Spanish ministry or a Village Campus. Those dreams were on the horizon.

--Of course God in His sovereignty saw these two ministries and He began the process of building His church in a way that would bring Him glory.

--Our Spanish Ministry, La Vida Church was birthed and because Satan hates when the church advances, he tried to destroy the work of God. Jesus can take care of His church.

--When it looked like La Vida Church was on life support and surely about to die, God breathed new life into the church and it was revived and resurrected. 

--La Vida Church will be a major part of God building Life Church into a thriving ministry of over one thousand plus. Pastor Neftali and his team are being faithful to see the vision fulfilled.

--Four years ago this past August at General Council God spoke to me about a campus in the Villages and I was nervous about it but extremely excited at the same time.

--Again the dream or the vision seemed as though it would never happen and the thoughts of the campus seemed to be fading away. But God had a plan.

--Because we did not have the time or the energy to do the ground work to get a campus going, we brought Pastor Bob and JoAnn back from Wyoming (actually delivered them) to be our campus pastors.

--They prayed and feverishly went to work trying to find a place (a campus) for us to meet and for us to see the vision come to pass. They did more in a few months than we had done in a few years.

--God was expediting His vision and at the appointed time the campus was birthed. First, at Brownwood Hotel and now, at this location, First Christian Church. The church is growing and we give God the glory.

--Okay, Pastor Rick, thank you for the history lesson of what has brought us to this moment in God’s Kingdom, but where do we go from here? We must compel them to come in. 

Luke 14:23 (NKJV)
²³  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

1. To see Life Church, the Village Campus, and La Vida Church grow, we must go.

--We must be convinced that there is an invitation from the Master, from Jesus, that is worthy enough for us to go into the highways and hedges. Plenty of streets and hedges to go into.

--No where do I get the idea from Jesus that His word to “Go!” is optional or just a pretty good suggestion. My assessment of what Jesus has said is that it is a commandment. The Word bears this out.

Mark 16:14-20 (NKJV)
¹⁴  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
¹⁵  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
¹⁶  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
¹⁷  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
¹⁸  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
¹⁹  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
²⁰  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. 

--Because we call Jesus Lord, because He has the authority in heaven and on earth, we are commanded to go. We see they obeyed…they went out and preached everywhere. Lord, help us do the same.

2. To see Life Church, the Village Campus of La Vida Church grow, we must find Jesus worthy.

 Luke 19:10 (NLT2)
¹⁰  For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

--Please understand our hearts and vision for these ministries. This is not just another option for the people who are already saved to attend church or to have a free Sunday to play. 

--We are not starting our Spanish ministry and the new campus just because it seems like the trend in growing churches today. We are starting a campus here in the Villages because people are lost and they need Jesus.

--If our only purpose of investing into these ministries is just to provide Christians another choice for their worship experience, we have missed the boat.

--I don’t know about you, but I believe Jesus is worthy of us being obedient to go into our Jerusalem seeking and wanting to see saved those who are lost.

--Being with Him at His banquet, being with Him in heaven, should be our motivation for wanting to invite people to church, whatever campus it is. It is not just about more and more numbers.

--I am definitely okay with going after numbers and numbers are important to Jesus (A book of the Bible – Numbers) but it must be numbers of lost people. When you count church growth, count the lost being saved.

--Yes, it is okay for people who move to the area to find us or we find them and get connected but again it must be a campus with a vision to reach the lost.

--Jesus is worthy of our effort, heaven is worthy of our effort, salvation is worthy of our effort, the banquet is worthy of our effort. We must go because the banquet is ready and there is room at His table.

3. To see Life Church, the Village Campus, and La Vida Church grow, we must compel them to come in. 

Luke 14:23 (NKJV)
²³  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Compel - to force or drive, especially to a course of action: to secure or bring about by force. to force to submit; subdue. To urge toward an action.

--What this is saying to me is this; Jesus is not playing when He tells us to compel them to come in. The Great Commission was never intended to be the great suggestion. 

--We get excited to hear about end-time events and we all acknowledge we believe Jesus is coming soon don’t we? If that is true, where is our urgency and obedience to compel them to come in?

--Question: Does Jesus take His invitation serious? Is it Life or Death? I think so.

Luke 14:23-24 (NLT2)
²³  So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.
²⁴  For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

Give Us This Day - 11

 Give Us This Day - 11

Subject – Thanksgiving and Worship

by Rick Welborne

Matthew 6:9-15 (NKJV)
⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹  Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
¹³  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
¹⁴  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

--As we draw near to Thanksgiving it is easier to concentrate on all the things we are thankful for. In light of this series “Give Us This Day” we see in the Lord’s prayer what prayer, worship, and thanksgiving looks like.

--Obviously we see worship as a part of prayer…Our Father, Hallowed be Your Name. Worship is definitely one of the main ways that we are thankful for all He has done.

--If we are thankful for His wonderful salvation and His daily provision, it will be easy to give Him thanks on a daily basis. 

--Another part of prayer that I see which is also a part of being thankful is submission to His will. Thankfulness will flow from a heart that believes God’s will is what is best for us. Your will be done. 

--It becomes easy and even joyful to submit to our Father in Heaven when we know absolutely that He has our good in mind. In my prayer and worship, I tell God I trust Him.

--Asking for forgiveness and extending forgiveness to others should also be a piece of the pattern which we call prayer. Heavens open when we receive forgiveness and extend it to others. 

--Before we can truly pray “Lord, Give me this day” we must understand this aspect of prayer along with thanksgiving.

Matthew 8:1-4 (NKJV)
¹  When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
²  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
³  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
⁴  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 

--What Jesus sees in this leper.

1. Jesus sees a man not deterred by the crowd.

--The multitude was all around Jesus and that can be intimidating for someone who has leprosy or any of today’s societal ills. 

--Not to mention, it was against the law for those with leprosy to leave their designated places to live. Also, because he was (according to the law of Moses) unclean he could not be around people. 

--People can be reluctant to come to Jesus or church because they fear what people will think. What we should think is, thank God they are coming to Jesus. They should always be welcomed at Life Church. 

--If we are being technical, Jesus rendered Himself unclean by touching this man who had leprosy. This is so important to all of us today…please get this:

--Neither Jesus nor the man cared very much about what others were thinking but what they did care about (both of them) was having a divine encounter that was life changing. About Jesus dealing with Zacchaeus: 

Luke 19:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
¹⁰  for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

--People of Jesus’ day looked at tax collectors and lepers about the same way. Stay away from them because all they bring is pain and suffering. Amazingly these people were interested in Jesus.

--You may not be aware of this unless you get out where people live and truly find out what they are thinking, many people feel they are not worthy or good enough for Jesus to save them.

--I guarantee you someone had mentioned to this leper Who Jesus was and what He was doing everywhere He went. That sparked faith in his heart. 

--Jesus saw a man who was truly crying from his heart “Give me this day my daily bread”. The bread he needed was healing bread…the Bread of Life!

--No crowd, no matter how important they were or no matter how important they thought they were, were going to keep this man from Jesus. God help us stop worrying about what people think.

--What did Jesus see? Jesus saw a man full of faith, a man motivated by hope, a man who someone had convinced him Jesus was Who He claimed to be. 

--Jesus saw a man who said, “Lock me up, stone me, reject me, or kill me but I have to get to Jesus because for me it is life or death.”

--Jesus saw a man who was willing to worship Him without knowing all the details and having all of his questions answered. He saw a man of faith and a man willing to worship. Great combination.

2. Jesus sees a man who is willing to worship before he is healed.

Mark Batterson – “Gratitude is thanking God after He does the miracle. Faith is thanking God before He does the miracle.”

--True people of worship and thanksgiving do not have to see the signs and wonders to worship. They see Jesus as the object of their worship instead of what He can do for them. 

--They know He is their source and that there is really no other help they can run to for their answer.

Hebrews 11:1&6 (NKJV)
¹  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
⁶  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 

--What was the leper who came to Jesus hoping for? Of course, it was his healing. Make sure you do not miss how this man came to Jesus.

--First, the proof of this man’s faith was found in the fact that he came worshiping Jesus. He had heard what Jesus could do but He also, I’m sure, had heard who Jesus was…the Messiah.

--If you are only coming to Jesus because of what He can do for you, there is a really good chance that you are not going to receive your miracle. 

--But if you come to worship…all bets are off because nothing is impossible with God. This leper came worshiping and because of that Jesus made him feel comfortable to ask for a miracle.

--Second, listen to the man’s request…"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Lord, if you are willing. What a beautiful prayer…he wanted God’s will in his situation.

--I have heard and I am sure you have heard from misguided people who say it is a cop out to pray, “Lord, if You are willing…” Who does this sound like? Jesus! This is exactly what Jesus was teaching:

Matthew 6:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 

--Also, when Jesus was facing the cross and the inevitable torture He would be enduring for us…listen to His prayer:

Matthew 26:36-39 (NKJV)
³⁶  Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."
³⁷  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
³⁸  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."
³⁹  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

--When you need a miracle come to Jesus worshiping and praying for His will to be done in your life.

3. Jesus sees a man who understands the power and the authority He has. 

--I am sure this leper had well intentioned believers come to him with a dozen remedies for leprosy. None of them worked for him.

--But now, he has an opportunity to take his need to the source Who actually has the power and authority to do something about it. This leper called Jesus Lord.

--Jesus saw a man who understood lordship, understood that He was the Master, who understood that He was the Messiah, who understood He was Savior and Healer. 

--He saw the man’s faith to believe and his willingness to submit to the will of God. I believe Jesus is still looking for the same thing today. We want the miracles with no strings attached. 

Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV) ²¹  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
²²  Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
²³  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

--Jesus sees!

Give Us This Day - 10

                                                                 Give Us This Day - 10

Subject – Go Through the Door

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 6:9-15 (NKJV)
⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹  Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
¹³  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
¹⁴  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

--This series “Give Us This Day” has definitely been appropriate for 2021 for so many reasons. When God spoke to me and said this year would be a year of transition, I did not fully understand.

--It is probably good I did not understand because I may have been tempted to run and hide somewhere. We have seen a change in our pastoral staff with Pastor Juan leaving.

--We have seen a transition in La Vida with Pastor Neftali stepping in to be the new pastor of our wonderful Spanish ministry. He is doing a great job.

--We have seen a change in our youth pastor position with Pastor Jose coming on board to help take our youth deeper in the Lord. He also is filling the position of maintenance supervisor. Transition.

--We have seen transition with others on our supporting staff…change, change, change. We have seen new people come and we have seen others go. Lord, please help us!

--We have seen the dream of the campus in the Villages come to pass with Pastor Bob and JoAnn coming back to serve with us. Pastor Marty and Faye working with them. Wonderful but transition. Change!

--We have watched some transition from this life into the presence of God. Wonderful change for them but definitely pain for the families and those of us who loved them. David Icker.

--We have watched people who have been healthy battle with cancer, Covid, and other sicknesses. They struggled as they looked for health and healing.

--During Covid we have seen change in how we have done church, how we learned to livestream, how we have seen people, because of fear, stop coming to church.

--You may not be aware of this statistic but during Covid over 20 percent of church attenders have changed churches over a multitude of reasons. Mask or no mask. Vaccines or no vaccines. Transition.

--Because of the stress and the change so many in the ministry have either retired early or just said “enough is enough” and have walked away altogether. The stress on leadership has been through the roof.

--Others feel a call to ministry but seem to be floundering about how to follow the Lord and to do what He wants them to do. 

--We know we are told in Scripture not to be anxious about anything but we are. What is the answer, Pastor?

1. Jesus says, “I am the Door of the sheep.”

John 10:7-10 (NKJV)
⁷  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹  I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--Everything…everyone say everything, we have just mentioned above can be handled by making sure we go to and through the Door of the sheep.

--Pastor, there is so much transition in our church and I don’t do change very well. Go to the Door. Go to the Door. Go to the One Who has changed your life. Run to the Door.

--I am stressed out about Covid, I am stressed out about the new leadership in our country or lack of leadership in our country, run to the Door! He is our leader and our God.

--I am fearful about a pandemic, I am fearful about China, I am fearful about the economy, I am fearful for my family, I am consumed with fear…Run to the Door. He has not given us a spirit of fear. Holy Spirit.

--I have just been given a terrible diagnosis from the doctor and I don’t know what to do. Jesus said I am the Door of the sheep. Run to the Door. I am the Lord Who heals all your diseases. I am your Door to healing.

--Pastor, I feel a call into ministry but I do not know how to get where I believe God wants me to be. Stop trusting in man to get you there and run to the Door.

1 Corinthians 16:9 (NKJV)
⁹  For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 

--Hear your pastor, if God has called you and you know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, there are not enough demons or adversaries that can stop you from doing what God has called you to do.

--Here’s the key, run to the Door. Go through the Door to get into ministry not through man. My pastor in Louisiana told me to go to college in Springfield. Why?

--“You will meet the right people and have the right contacts to get where you want to be in ministry.” I told him, I already do have the right contact. His Name is Jesus and He is my Door to ministry. Run to the door!

--I heard a preacher one time say, “If you can’t find the door or open the door, look for a window.” No, a thousand times no. Jesus is the Door of the sheep. Run to the Door.

2. Jesus warns us about the “thieves and robbers.”

John 10:7-8 (NKJV)
⁷  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 

--There are many thieves and robbers out there and sometimes in here who want to steal from you what God has for you. Bad advice is not in short demand.

--Even in the church when people are going through the testing of their lives you can hear some of the most ridiculous advice. Just do this, just take this, just read this, just stop please.

--At the chance of sounding redundant let me say it again. Stop with all the secondary advice and run to the Door. I am glad for you that you have something to help you but as for me and my house, running to the Door.

--So much advice and so many voices. Sometimes in the church world we are left with our heads spinning because ministers and people are advising us to do everything but trust God. Hear what Jesus said:

John 10:3 (NLT2)
³  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

--With so many thieves and so many voices, it is imperative that we recognize the voice of Jesus. When you can hear and identify Jesus’ voice, you will not follow another. 

--But, pastor, how do we learn to identify and recognize the voice of Jesus? Here we go again, run to the Door of the sheep. Spend so much time with Him that you know His voice well.

--Why is that so important? The verse that was the catalyst for Life Church’s name gives the answer:

 John 10:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--How many of you understand that the thief can come in many forms? It may be one of Satan’s little imps or it may someone you fellowship with. We need to hear the right voice. Run to the Door.

--Why wouldn’t we run to the Door? Jesus said: I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

--Do we want abundant life or are we satisfied with the status quo or even less. Run to the Door for your healing, for your provision, for your peace, for reconciliation, for your miracles, for more abundant life.

3. Jesus, our One and only Door, can lead us through the double doors.

Isaiah 45:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
²  'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
³  I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 

--What do you mean, the double doors, Pastor Rick. Let’s look at this promise to Cyrus. If we run to the Door, to Jesus, we can have a wonderful personal relationship.

--On one side of the double doors Jesus will hold our hand (security), He will go before us (guidance), and He knows us by name (intimacy and relationship).

--So what’s on the other side of the double doors…the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places. I believe the treasures of darkness are those who are lost who will come to the Light.

--The hidden riches are the blessing that have been kept from the Kingdom because these people have been lost.

--Yes, Jesus is the Door and if we will run to Him we will have personal relationship (life and that more abundantly) and souls (prodigals) who are in darkness but will come to the Light.

--Run to the Door! Run to the Door! Run to the Door!