Give Us This Day – 9

Give Us This Day - 9

Subject – Eat the Frog

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 we continue sharing the series “Give Us This Day” and today we are going to deal with something in which we will call “Eat the Frog!”

--If you ever have to eat the frog, the best time to do it is first thing in the morning. If you have one of those days where you have to eat two frogs, then eat the big frog first. Mark Twain’s advice.

--I know that your chances of ever having to eat a frog or eat two frogs is very unlikely but it is still good advice nonetheless. 

--Why eat the frog first thing in the morning you may ask? It is because you can go through the rest of your day knowing that the most difficult thing is behind you.

--What is it that you have been procrastinating on? What have you been putting off simply because it is difficult or you do not know what the outcome will be?

--What difficult decision have you been delaying? What thing in your life is taking preeminence in your mind most of your day and making it hard to concentrate on anything else.

--There is a possibility if you deal with this that it possibly may not go the way you want it to but just letting it go may cause the situation only to get worse. Ignoring this is not an option. This is your frog. 

--Here is a word to those of you who almost take pride in the fact that you don’t get involved, you don’t stir the pot, and you, in your mind, just let God work it out, eat the frog…deal with it sooner than later.

--If God, in His infinite wisdom, has given us a biblical precedence in dealing with something, He expects us to trust Him enough to obey His Word and leave the results to Him. Where are we going with this Pastor Rick?

--Nothing, except maybe forgiveness, is more difficult for a believer or really anyone, than dealing with conflict. We avoid it like the plague but God has given us a plan and He expects us to obey it.  

--You may be wondering what this has to do with the Lord’s Prayer and especially what does it have to do with “Give Us This Day”? The sooner “This Day” we deal with something, the better. Eat the frog!

Matthew 18:15-17 (NCV)
¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again.
¹⁶  But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ’Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’
¹⁷  If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector. 

1. Stop Avoiding Conflict. Eat the Frog.

Matthew 18:15 (NCV)
¹⁵ “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. 

--The whole purpose of conflict, especially in the church, should be for restoration. Paul said in Gal. 6:1 “if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…

--Contrary to what you may have heard or even believe, biblical conflict is healthy for the church and the person who practices it is someone who is spiritual and mature.

--Please understand that practicing biblical conflict according to Mat. 18 is only good and effective when we realize that it works both ways. If you go to someone to confront them, being willing for people to come to you.

--The key here is to go to the person privately which seems to be very difficult for most of us. We have a tendency of wanting to rally the troops on our behalf. We want a base of people on our side. This is wrong.

--If we will truly be biblical we have to eat the frog and go to the person who has offended us and deal with it privately. The more people who get involved the uglier it becomes. 

--Most of the time, you will find out by doing what the bible says, that it was just a misunderstanding or a miscommunication on someone’s part. Restoration happens quickly and without all the drama.

--Recently I had to deal with someone who did not follow Mat. 18 by coming to me privately with issues they had with me. They spoke out in front of multiple people and then called another pastor to share their issues.

--Two very important issues occurred. First, because I have taught my pastoral staff well, this pastor stopped the man in his tracks and told him to come to me. 

--Second, because this man had broken protocol with Mat. 18, I took this pastor in the meeting to reaffirm my standing in the situation. Again this is in keeping with scripture. 

--I confronted the man about his not following the Word and he said he had intended on doing that but God must have had another plan. I told him God’s plans will never be contrary to His Word. 

--When you biblically confront someone for restoration it may not always go the way you expected. Always remember the important thing for us is obedience, the results are in God’s hands. He will deal with them. 

--There are times when confronting someone prematurely can get in the way of God dealing with them Himself. Never use this as a cop out to not follow the directives of the Word (Mat.18).

--Okay, Pastor, how do we know when to confront and when to wait. Great question. This is why it is imperative for believers to walk in Holy Spirit power and truth.

John 16:13-14 (NKJV)
¹³  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
¹⁴  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

--Think about it, the Spirit of Truth (Holy Spirit) will guide you into all truth and tell you things to come. He will let you know when to confront and when you should wait.

--I cannot tell you how many times I have been prepared to meet with someone to resolve an issue and Holy Spirit said wait. Usually the next day the person would come to me with a spirit of reconciliation. 

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NLT2)
¹⁸  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
¹⁹  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
²⁰  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
²¹  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

2. Sometimes You Have to Eat Another Frog – Take Others with You.

Matthew 18:16 (NLT2)
¹⁶  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.

--In our Western way of thinking, we can actually think that this is a negative because it seems like or feels like you are ganging up on the person. We can be way too sensitive.

--If the witnesses also have a heart for restoration and for the situation to be healed, it can be a positive thing for everyone in the room.

--Years ago, a leader in the church was complaining about how the money was being handled and how it was being distributed to help people in benevolence. Everything had to be ran through him for his approval. Nope!

--There are really only three reasons for us to look at someone’s giving. If someone wants to be a covenant member, if someone wants to be in leadership, or if someone is complaining about how money is spent.

--In this man’s case as it has been in all the others, he was not being faithful in tithes or missions. When I met with the man and the other leaders, our willingness to restore him touched his heart.

--He broke, began to cry, and repented of his lack of faithfulness and his complaining about how money was spent. The Scriptures worked as we practiced them in love. The man was restored and friendship maintained.

3. One More Frog to Eat – Tell It to the Church

Matthew 18:17 (NLT2)
¹⁷  If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. 

--We only had to do this once in almost 31 years and I brought in my presbyter to give wisdom and guidance. It always helps to have those in authority over you to help you eat really nasty frogs.  

--Eating frogs and praying Lord, give me this day may not seem to be the easy route, but hear your pastor, it is the healthy route for the body of Christ.

--Please know this principle works at home too (tough love) and at work. God’s Word works everywhere.

Pray, Lord, give me this day, and eat the frog.

Love that Forgives

                                                                     Love that Forgives

Subject: Finding Love Enough to Forgive

By Rick Welborne

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NLT2)
⁷  The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
⁸  Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Proverbs 10:11-12 (NCV)
¹¹  The words of a good person give life, like a fountain of water, but the words of the wicked contain nothing but violence.
¹²  Hatred stirs up trouble, but love forgives all wrongs. 

--We established that in this world you will have tribulation…Jesus said to be of good cheer because He had overcome this world…strangely He overcame the world by forgiving them.

Luke 23:34 (NKJV)
³⁴  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

--It is the “them” that all of us have struggles with…relationships with those of our families, our churches, our work places…those who are the closest to us are the ones who can wound us the most.

--We talked about how we humans do not seem to have the same capability as our dogs (Louis) to forgive and move forward…remember the illustration of putting your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car.

--We also talked about how we treat screwy Louis (our Beagle) and how it would be good if we treated each other as we treat him

--The point to all of this is that relationships can be and are difficult. It is not whether we will face heart ache, pain, deceit, or betrayal…it is how we handle it when it comes. Families, marriages, churches.

--A man went on a solo fishing expedition and ended up ship wreck because of a storm. He was able to survive on a deserted island where he spent the next 15 years alone.

--When his rescuers came ashore they were amazed at how he had survived. They asked him so many questions. We see you built three buildings…what is that first one? That is my home! Good job they commented.

--What about that building, it looks so nice? That is my church. What about that other building? Well, that is the church that I used to go to…relationships are tough.

--We often wonder why family relationships and marriage can be so dysfunctional…It has been that way sense the beginning…think about Adam and Eve…started great running around in a garden with no clothes. Oh man!

--It didn’t take long before Eve was getting some bad advice about their diet and felt the necessity to include poor Adam…They lose their beautiful property and have to start working and wearing clothes. Trouble!

The first two siblings (Cain and Abel) are trying to outdo each other which turns into conflict…It became so bad that Cain killed Abel because his giving was better than his…Already 1 out of four is killed! Dysfunctional!

--All of us have been hurt, wounded, broken, deceived, cheated on, and have been done absolutely wrong. The tragedy of this is that it usually comes from those who are closest to us. 

Psalm 55:12-14 (NLT2)
¹²  It is not an enemy who taunts me— I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me— I could have hidden from them.
¹³  Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend.
¹⁴  What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God. 

--We know the Scriptures tell us that love covers or forgives a multitude of sins but most of us have figured out the application of that love is not so easy. Three things we must realize:

1. We must realize that the enemy’s plan is to divide and conquer. 

--From the beginning Satan’s plan or strategy was to divide Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. God’s desire is for us to have our eyes wide open when it comes to Satan’s attacks.

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NLT2)
¹⁰  When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit,
¹¹  so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

--Being totally transparent, when I went to this verse that says we are familiar with Satan’s evil schemes or we are not ignorant of his devices…I did not remember it was speaking about forgiveness. 

--Let me give you Pastor Rick’s extremely simple interpretation…if we allow the enemy to divide us thru un-forgiveness…we are ignorant and we definitely let him outsmart us. 

--With as much un-forgiveness as there is in the home, the church, and the world…we must admit we are pretty ignorant. When we wise up and realize forgiveness is the path of God’s will and God’s way.

--I do believe there is a level of evil that surpasses good old fashion stupidity and insanity. It is when people know their actions are bringing the division and the demise of whatever groups they choose to destroy.

Isaiah 59:6-7, 13-15 (NKJV)
⁶  Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.
⁷  Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
¹³  In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
¹⁴  Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.
¹⁵  So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.
--Divide and conquer…divide us by race, divide by economic status, divide us by issues that 3 years ago you were for but now you are against. Make us hate one another…Divide and conquer.

Unknown Author – United we stick…divided we are stuck.

2. God’s Law of Attraction

--Pastor, I hate the division in my family, in my marriage, in my church, in my work place, in my nation. I have prayed for it to change but I find myself too weak to do anything about it. 

--My spouse is distant, my kids are lost and floundering, my heart is broken, and there is within this mess a great temptation to give up…I am so weak things seem hopeless. God’s law of Attraction.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
¹⁰  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

--What’s your thorn? A broken marriage? A broken body? A broken family? You fill in the blank. I am not the deepest theologian but the thorn is explained in the verse…a messenger of Satan to buffet me.

--The accuser of the brethren never misses an opportunity to let you know how bad things are…he buffets…he harasses us day and night…Just walk out, just give up, just move on, just give in…he attacks our weakness.

--This is where we miss it…yes, Satan shows up during our weakness but so does Jesus. The law of attraction says “My grace…My love is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

--I love the testimony of Viet Nam veteran Dave Reever when he had a grenade he was about to throw shot in his hand and exploded. In his weakness he made a choice.

Dave Reever – When you think you are going under for the last time, reach up, you may just grab the hand of God.

--Maybe you feel you are going under for the last time…the death of a relationship…a broken heart…the absolute end of yourself…reach up because Jesus is attracted to your weakness.

3. Life is an adventure in love and forgiveness. 

--Love covers the multitude of sins…forgiveness of others is what will set us free. 

Franklin – It is all about releasing and reaching. Release the past and reach for the future. The only way to do this is to love like you have never been hurt. This means loving so intensely that it overrides all your natural instincts for bitterness and revenge. You will never get ahead by trying to get even. 

--You must…you must believe this…the pain you feel today…the broken heart you have…the emotional prison you are in in can be healed! God can heal us! Our part is to learn to love and forgive. 

Exodus 15:25-26 (NKJV)
²⁵  So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them,
²⁶  and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."

Give Us This Day - 8

Give Us This Day - 8

Subject – Valuing Small Beginnings

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. 

--Last week we talked about “Give us this day” and we talked about the power of forgiveness.

--We talked about how important it is to recognize what God is doing in us as we choose to forgive people who may not, in our opinion, deserve it. Forgiveness is such a big issue in God’s Kingdom and His House.

--Today we are going to look at maybe the total opposite end of the spectrum, recognizing the importance of small things and small beginnings. Let’s look at Niagara Falls.

--Niagara Falls is the wedding capital of the world. It consists of three waterfalls—The American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls. These three combine to produce the highest flow rate of any waterfall on earth.

--There are 3,160 tons of water flowing over the falls every second and falling at a speed of 32 feet per second. It is definitely a beauty to behold especially for honeymooners. 

--In the mid-eighteenth century, the only way across Niagara Falls was by boat. On November 9, 1847, a civil engineer named Charles Ellet Jr. was commissioned to build a suspension bridge across the chasm. 

--He found the narrowest place to attempt this seemingly impossible challenge. How do you stretch the first wire across an 800-foot gorge with 225-foot cliffs on either side and rapids that rush toward a waterfall?

--His team presented ideas…a rocket, a cannon but finally an interesting character by the name of Hulett came up with an ingenious idea of having a kite flying contest. Say what?

--To make a long story a little shorter, kids began attempting to fly a kite across Niagara Falls in January 1848. On Jan. 30, 1848, a kid by the name of Homan Walsh was successful and he won the huge prize of $10.

--A stronger string was connected to the kite string, then another one, then a rope, and then a cable consisting of 36 strands of ten-gauge wire. The impact of the suspension bridge has obviously been huge.

Zechariah 4:9-10 (NLT2)
⁹  “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
¹⁰  Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” 

--Whether it is a plumb line or a kite string in the sight of God, it is the same difference. 

1. God does delight in our accomplishments…even our small ones. 

--How do you know that, Pastor Rick? Zech.4:8 says 

Zechariah 4:8 (NLT2) ⁸  Then another message came to me from the LORD:

--What was His message: Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin. The Lord, like a proud parent, delights over our accomplishments. Not just the big ones. The small things too.

--The Israelites had not even broken ground on the temple yet. All they had done was measure what they were doing and God was already giving them a standing ovation.

--Our Heavenly Father celebrates the little steps of faith, the small acts of generosity, and he is keeping really good records of everything we do. Not just the big stuff.

Mark 9:41 (NIV)
⁴¹  I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

--God is great not just because nothing is too insurmountable to Him. God is great because nothing is too small.

Batterson – I know people who say they’ll give more when they make more. I’m not buying what they are selling. I know people who say they’ll serve more when they have more time. We’ve already debunked that myth. You don’t find time; you make time! And I know people who think they’ll be ready to step up when the big opportunity presents itself. Not if they aren’t taking advantage of little opportunities right here, right now!

KEY: How you do anything is how you will do everything.

--We want to do amazing things for God, but that isn’t our job. Our job is to set ourselves aside to God. Then God does amazing things for us. It’s like flying the kite. It’s doing little things like they are big things.

--It’s okay to dream big but start small; here’s the good news. If you do the little things like they are big things, God will do the big things like they are little things. That’s how kite strings turn into suspension bridges. 

--If you aren’t making little sacrifices right now, you aren’t ready to do the big things. If aren’t willing to take the small risks right now, you are not ready to do take the big risks for God.

--If you are not willing to be faithful in the small areas of obedience, tithing and missions, please do not think you are going to build orphanages in Africa debt free. 

--If you are not willing to serve at your local church and be faithful to do whatever your leadership asks of you, do not believe you are ready to be in full time ministry.

--When we choose to be faithful in the small things, even if it is serving a cup of water or a glass of tea at a funeral luncheon, God will find us faithful to do bigger things in His Kingdom. 

Luke 16:10-12 (NLT2)
¹⁰  “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
¹¹  And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
¹²  And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

2. The Great Commission – Starting with the Small.

--Jesus and the disciples. How can it be possible for one man, a God man, to come to this planet and build His Kingdom? Yes, He did say He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. How?

--He started small. He and the Father started with a plan, a dream to save all of us. I am sure Jesus prayed the way He taught us to pray. Father, give me this day my daily bread. Give Me what I need to build your Kingdom

--He decided to go to the people He wanted to reach and lay down His life for them. For His plan to be complete, He invited others to go along with Him to also lay down their lives. What an invitation.

--The disciples did not fully understand what they were getting themselves into but they considered the One Who was calling them to be trustworthy and true. They started small. Don’t despise small beginnings.

--Jesus and the twelve, a house church, a startup, a beginner campus (minus a building), a handful of misfits who truly were not qualified to carry out God’s plan. 

--Were there setbacks, yes? The multitude became 12 again. The 12 became 11. The 500 who saw Jesus after His resurrection became 120. Sometimes when you start small, there are many complications. 

--Jesus laid down His life for the Church, actually for the world and so did the disciples. All but one died a martyr’s death and they tried to kill him by boiling him in hot oil. 

--You have to ask yourself a couple of questions when you decide to start small. Is it God’s will? Is it His plan? Remember Jesus said He would build His church. Look at the result:

Acts 17:6 (NKJV) ⁶ "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”

3. Life Church and the Great Commission

--I know a few people get tired about hearing about missions here at Life Church but usually it is the people who are not faithful in their giving including tithes and missions. They haven’t caught the vision. The Word!

--We have to ask ourselves a couple of questions when we decide to start small in fulfilling the Great Commission. Is it God’s will? Is it His plan? Remember Jesus said He would build His church. Did He say?

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

--We started small here at Life Church (about 15 missionaries at $25-$50 a month). We had a few people with a vision and a willingness to lay down their lives and finances to reach the world. Margaret Belew and others.

--Just months after I became pastor we had our first mission’s banquet and started adding more missionaries. Were there challenges, of course, did we persevere, yes? Every year we added more missionaries by His grace.

--For 30 years what had started small has turned into a wonderful mission’s program. We have averaged adding 6-7 missionaries per year for 30 years. To God be the glory for the great things He has done. 

--What God and you guys have done is incredible. No longer do we give Missionaries $25-$50 dollars a month but all of them get between $100-$150 dollars a month plus special offerings as needed. Impressive. Duvalls.

--Many of you started small but look at what God has done. It is amazing what God can do through individuals or even a church who are willing to begin small and trust Him. So what’s the point, Pastor Rick?

Zechariah 4:9-10 (NLT2)
¹⁰  Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…

--What you have may only seem like a kite string but it can turn into a suspension bridge with faith and perseverance. Lord, give me this day…No matter how small it is. 

Give Us This Day - 7

                                                                    Give Us This Day – 7

Subject – Forgiveness

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. 

Gothard: Forgiveness deals with our emotional response toward an offender. Pardon deals with the consequences of his offense. Unless we have the authority we may not be able to pardon an offense, but we can always forgive.

Heb 2:17‑18 (NLT)

17 Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 

18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.  

Luke 23:34 (NLT)

34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing." 

1. Forgiveness involves a positive attitude toward the offense rather than a negative attitude toward the offender.

2. Forgiveness views or sees the offender as God’s instrument for my life.

Psalm 76:10 (NLT2) ¹⁰  Human defiance only enhances your glory, for you use it as a weapon. 

2 Sam 16:12 (NKJV)

12 "It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day."  

3. Forgiveness looks at the wounds of the offense as God’s way of helping us see the offenders needs.

Acts 16:16‑18 (NKJV)

16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune‑telling. 

17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 

18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour. 

 

4. Forgiveness recognizes that bitterness is assuming or exercising a right we don’t have.

Romans 12:17‑21 (NKJV)

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 

18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 

20 Therefore  "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."  

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

5. Forgiveness realizes that the offender has already begun receiving the consequences of his offenses.

Gal. 6:1‑4 (NKJV)

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 

2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 

 

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT2)
⁵  Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

6. Forgiveness involves working with God in the offender’s life.

Gothard: Forgiveness is having a greater concern for a person after he offends me than I did before he offended me. It is using the hurts of others as the basis of demonstrating Christ’s love back to them.

Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT2)
¹⁴  “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Three Baptisms

 Three Baptisms

Subject – Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Baptism with Fire, and Baptism in Water

Rick Welborne

Matthew 3:11-17 (NKJV)
¹¹  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
¹²  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
¹³  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
¹⁴  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
¹⁵  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.
¹⁶  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
¹⁷  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

--Life Church has a history of celebrating the wonderful things God has done and the awesome things He is doing. Today we are celebrating the wonderful blessing that people have been saved.

--We are celebrating with these folks `by being obedient to the commands of Jesus and the disciples to repent and then be baptized in water.

--If Jesus felt it was important for Him to be baptized in water, then, obviously we should do the same. It is true that water baptism alone will not save you but it is an act of obedience to the Word.

--Today we are going to look at three baptisms…Baptism of Holy Spirit, baptism of fire, and baptism in water. Hopefully, if you have not been baptized in water yet, this will inspire you.

--In our text in Matthew 3 we see all three baptisms represented so let’s together look at them.

1. Baptism in Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11 (NKJV)
¹¹  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

--Listen to this simple illustration. Our baptismal candidates have water in them (made up mostly of water) but in a few moments they will be completely submerged or covered with water…inside and out.

--When you received the Lord Jesus Christ the Spirit of God came to live inside of you. This is salvation.

John 20:22 (NKJV)

²²  And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

--He gave them a taste (salvation) of Holy Spirit’s power and then, He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Promise of the Father which was the outpouring of Holy Spirit. They needed more than salvation.

Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
⁸  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

--One hundred and twenty out of 500 did what He said and the Holy Spirit fell on them and they were filled with Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. Power to preach, witness, worship, and to walk out their new lives.

2. Baptism in Fire

Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ …He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

--Almost every commentary has a different few of what this means and there is a measure of truth from all of them. Some say it is fire at His second coming, some say it is persecution, but what say you, Pastor Rick?

--I believe the disciples were so much like us…they were filled with sin, filled with self, filled with doubt, filled with fear, filled with guilt, filled with shame. They needed to be cleansed.

--Jesus said He would baptize them (us) with Holy Spirit and with fire. Why? To clean us, to purify us, and to set us free from our old life that would hold us back. We still need a baptism of fire.

Malachi 3:1-3 (NLT2)
¹  “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
²  “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.
³  He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the LORD. 

3. Baptism in Water

--Okay, Pastor, we understand why we need to be baptized in Holy Spirit and in fire but why be baptized in water? Simple answer: The kind of heart that can be baptized with Holy Spirit and with fire is an obedient heart.

--On the Day of Pentecost when 3000 people were saved what did Peter tell them about water baptism?

Acts 2:37-38 (NLT2)
³⁷  Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
³⁸  Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

--If Jesus would say about His own baptism in water that it was to “fulfill all righteousness” how much more for us. He was identifying Himself with sinful mankind. 

--We must identify with Him in His death and burial. As we are submerged under the water we are saying to the world, I have died with Christ and when we come out of the water we identify with His resurrection. Verses:

Romans 6:3-5 (NLT2)
³  Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?
⁴  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
⁵  Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 

Three Sure Ways to Fail

 Three Sure Ways to Fail

Subject: What We Can Do to Assure Failure 

Rick Welborne

Mark 6:30‑44 (NKJV) 

30 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 

31 And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 

32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. 

33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 

34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. 

35 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. 

36 Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat." 

37 But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" 

38 But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish." 

39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. 

40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. 

41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. 

42 So they all ate and were filled. 

43 And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. 

44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. 

–Tonight I want share with you three sure ways to fail and all you have to do is emulate the disciples in this situation.

–This story is repeated in all four of the Gospels and must have been so important to the Holy Spirit as He moved on these disciples to record it.

–So how can we, like the disciples, fail?

1. To fail we need to see the impossibility of the situation. 

–We must admit that feeding 5000 men plus women and children with five loaves and two fish is an impossible task.

–We can simply choose to fail because nothing can be done to fix it...it is beyond us. Humanly impossible. 

–My situation has been like this for a long time, things are spiraling out of control and obvious disaster is on the horizon...what will be will be!

–This habit, this relationship, this marriage, (you fill in the blank) is such an insurmountable obstacle...I know that I am doomed...no way out and no hope!

–He will never change...she will never change...they will never change...this situation will never change...it cannot be taken care of...pass restoring.

–You keep concentrating on how big your problem is and you are assured of failure! Keep magnifying what cannot be done and you will surely fail.

2. To fail we need to look at our limited resources and know it is impossible.

–Who can argue with the disciples about the fact (5 loaves and 2 fish)...what is so little among so much need...A Year’s wage could not feed so many people...No Wal-mart! 

–Who could possibly fault you not being able to succeed with such meager resources...why try when you do not have sufficient supply?

–When we see the size of our giant and we see the little we have in hand...obviously someone has to be the adult in the room and concede to failure. Taking the promised land.

Numbers 13:30-33 (NKJV)
³⁰  Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."
³¹  But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."
³²  And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.
³³  There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

–You may be saying...I am up against it...this is bigger than I am...time to give in, time to give up, time to raise the white flag, time to concede defeat because there is nothing I can do about it.

–Nothing ticks me off more than being on a sports team that thinks it cannot win...why bother playing...it’s not over until it is over...tell our tennis team...go out swinging!

–Focus on your own little resources and I assure you that you will fail.

3. To fail we need to ignore the fact that Jesus is with us to work miracles.

–Had the disciples already forgotten the miracles Jesus had already done in their presence?  When they were overwhelmed didn’t He show up?

–Couldn’t the One Who healed the man at the pool, delivered a demon possessed man, had power over the wind and waves of the sea, couldn’t He handle this problem.

–How is it possible for Jesus to have such a great track record before the disciples and they still fail to see He could handle this situation too?

–How about us...Jesus has saved us from our sin that had us headed for destruction, felt His keeping power in times of testing and temptation, and we have seen Him work in impossible situations...but this one is bigger!

–Jesus has healed us, healed others...we have seen Him rescue us just in the nick of time when it seemed financially we were going under, we have seen Him save the un-savable.

–Someone should be shouting tonight that if it had not been for the Lord you would have crashed and burned a long time ago...He sustained you by His mighty hand!

–We have testimony after testimony of the awesome power of God and we are going to let this present giant, this present situation makes us forget that Jesus is present and ready to work miracles.

–Are we going to ignore the fact that with God all things are possible?

Mark 9:23 (NKJV) 

23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 

–Are we going to ignore the fact He said we could speak to our mountain?

Mark 11:22‑24 (NKJV) 

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 

23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 

24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 

–If you want to fail...Ignore the fact that Jesus is with you, He is for you, and He is in you!

–I am sure doubting Thomas said...Lord, you bless this bread and these fish and we will give it until it runs out!

–Key - The disciples wanted to start with much and end with little but Jesus wanted them to start with little and end with much.

Mark 6:41‑42 (NKJV) 

41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. 

42 So they all ate and were filled. 

–God wants us to end better than we started...He wants us to witness Him multiplying His life, His resources, and His love each time we face what appears to be an insurmountable situation.

Romans 8:30‑32 (NKJV) 

30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?