Seize the Moment – Day 237
Passing the Test!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 9.
As some of you know I just finished my doctorate and I graduate next month. It was a wonderful four years and my fourth college degree. I love school! Do you? Do you remember taking tests in school?
Honestly, everyone gets a little nervous when they hear the word test, even life-long students like me, so what should we do when Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves”?
What should such a test look like?
Let’s get some context for his statement: Paul lays out his goal in 2 Corinthians 13:9-11, stating, “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally brothers rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Based on this, there would be 4 questions to determine whether or not you would pass the test he calls us to:
- Are you rejoicing in the presence of the God of love and peace?
- Are your relationships “restored” meaning they are spiritually healthy, meaning they are filled with wholeness, forgiveness, and grace?
- Are you comforting one another in the hardships, griefs, and loneliness of life?
- Are you living in peace with yourself and others throughout all circumstances?
Seize the moment and examine yourself today. By yourself and under your own power it is impossible to pass this test, but with God all things are possible.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks – Week 2
“Three Church Marks that Lead a Pastor to Give Thanks!”
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 (NAS95)
Last week, Pastor Ken opened up our November sermon series on “Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks” and today, I continue from the same book of the Bible: Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Please turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3,
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.
From this passage we learn three characteristics of the early church that caused the early church leaders to give thanks to God always for all of the people.
Before we examine these three characteristics, I want to make two quick observations from this Scripture:
Now, what can we learn from the three characteristics of the early church that caused the early church leaders to give thanks to God always for all of the people? According to 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3, church leaders; hence, the people of the churches should focus their thoughts or “bear in mind” these three areas: (1) Work of Faith; (2) Labor of Love; and (3) Steadfastness of Hope.
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Biblically, these are the three areas we should excel as Christians in character and conduct, as individuals, as families, and as communities. This is how we are called to stand out and shine like stars in these dark days!
Let’s now apply them to our lives. It has been said,
“Faith rests on the past; love works in the present; hope looks to the future” (Moody Bible Commentary, 1879).
1. Work of FAITH!
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
“work of faith … in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.”
While this applies to all three of these points, I will only say it once, all that I am teaching today invokes the teachings of every sermon series from 2020: we are called to the work of faith, the labor of love, and the steadfastness of hope in response to the Plans of God, the Passion of Jesus Christ, the Priorities of Jesus, the Promises of God, and the Presence of God. All that we have been discussing this year, through each of the sermon series, is being called forth in this passage.
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
When our work is the work of faith (when our trust is in God) we manifest the “fruit of the Spirit”, but when our work is of any of source, we show the world ourselves—the “deeds of the flesh”!
Work of faith proves who we serve and to whom we belong! What you do is important because it is the only way you can show the world the life of Christ that is in you… This is a life that brings thanksgiving to Paul!
2. Labor of LOVE!
“And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— for He says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’— giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.”
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
When we labor in love, though we may not get the results we want (success vs failure), we will live lives that give glory to God and invoke thankfulness from our faith communities! Love does not always win in this world, as the world defines winning and losing, but God’s love never fails. But, without God’s love, even if you score a win in the eyes of the world, you still lose! We must do all things in God’s love if we are truly giving thanks!
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”
And that leads us to Paul’s final admonition…
3. Steadfastness of HOPE!
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
What leads Paul and church leaders to give thanks? The people of God maturing in Christlikeness and reflecting Him in this life, more and more, one day at a time, until the Day of His royal visitation.
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Seize the Moment – Day 235
Hymn: “Victory in Jesus”
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When you wake up, do you automatically think of the victories that Jesus has given you? If not, make that a daily practice as we serve the One we love!
YOUTUBE:
LYRICS:
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me
I heard about His groaning, (of His blood’s atoning) of His precious blood’s atoning
Then I repented (repented) of my sins (repented of my sins) and won the victory
Oh victory in Jesus (victory in Jesus), my Savior (my Savior) forever (forever)
He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood (bought me with His blood)
He loved me ‘ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood
How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit”
I then obeyed His blest command and gained the victory
And I heard about the street of gold beyond the crystal sea (beyond the crystal sea)
About the angels singing (the angels are singing) and the old redemption story
Oh and some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory
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Seize the Moment – Day 234
God’s Design and Plan: Navigate
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
As we conclude on building our PLAN, Tuesday we talked about where we PLACE OUR TRUST. Wednesday was why we do not LEAN ON our own understanding. Thursday was in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE Him. Today is why we need to let God NAVIGATE.
Let’s wake up and start our day by asking God everyday “What would You have me to do for You? For where You lead me, I will follow.”
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Seize the Moment – Day 233
God’s Design and Plan: Acknowledge
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
As we continue to build our PLAN, Tuesday we talked about where we PLACE OUR TRUST. Wednesday was why we do not LEAN ON our own understanding. Today is in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE Him.
To acknowledge God is more than just a head nod, like saying, “Oh yeah, I see you there.” This is a full on recognition, giving a high regard and reverence to God, letting everyone know that without Him, we can do nothing!
There is a song written by Mylon LaFevre that states, “Without Him, I could do nothing. Without Him, I’d surely fail. Without Him, I would be drifting like a ship without a sail.”
And there are three little words that proceeds this charge…IN ALL THINGS. This means in all that we say, in all that we do, in how we treat our family, our neighbors, even those with whom we don’t always get along.
Only then will it be evident to ALL who see us that Jesus is Lord of our lives, and He is leading and guiding us every step of the way.
Wake up! Let the Holy Spirit throw some cold water on our faces to bring us back into focus. Be fully aware of and in fellowship with Him in all your ways!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Seize the Moment – Day 232
God’s Design and Plan: Lean On
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
As we continue to build our PLAN, Tuesday we talked about where we PLACE OUR TRUST. Today, we understand why we do not LEAN ON our own understanding.
If you lean on or against someone or something, you rest against them so that they partly support your weight, or so that it is partly supported by that thing. This means you are placing your trust in your own understanding rather than trusting in the Lord with all your heart. When that ‘moves’, we move with it.
Another view is that if something is leaning, then it is not plum, or perfectly straight, and may cause the object to eventually fall down. Would you want to lean against something that is already leaning? Our natural understanding of things will mislead us or even fail us because it shifts with whatever is going on around us. We need to fully trust what God is leading us to do and not say “I can’t do that”. Rather we need to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
We need to wake up and realize where we are placing our trust, and do it with all our heart, and take self out of the picture by not leaning on what we think it to mean. We need to be like Jesus, totally surrendering to our Father who loves us and say, “Not my will (understanding), but Your will be done!”
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Seize the Moment – Day 231
God’s Design and Plan: Place Our Trust
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
When we finally realize the design God has for our lives, then we need to have a PLAN to fulfill it. So the P in plan stands for where we PLACE OUR TRUST.
This concept of placing trust in the Lord was nothing new to Solomon. I am sure that he heard it many times from his father, David, as this was a phrase that he used many times throughout his writings in the books of Psalms. While Israel and its armies were known for their victories, they knew that it was the Lord who gave them those victories. David wrote in Psalm 37 to ‘trust in the Lord and do good”, but Solomon took it a step farther in saying to trust in the Lord with all your heart. We cannot put our trust in man, for they will fail us. We cannot put our trust in money, because it can quickly disappear. We need to place our trust in the One who created us and already knows what the future holds.
Join me today in placing our trust in our Lord as we lift up our community and our nation as people are placing their votes. Let’s follow Paul’s instruction to Timothy and offer up petitions and prayers for everyone, including those who are in leadership over us “so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.”
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Seize the Moment – Day 230
God’s Design and Plan: Nature
“It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”
“ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
As we conclude our acrostic of DESIGN, Monday was what DRIVES us; Tuesday was how God uses our EXPERIENCES to shape us. Wednesday, was what SPIRITUALLY STIRS us to best connect with God. Thursday, was how we IMPACT those around us. Friday was with what are we GIFTED. We finish out with what is your NATURE.
Wake up from your spiritual slumber and seek after the Master Creator and Designer who wants only the very best for you! Live your life each and every day being led by the Holy Spirit, and not the sinful nature of man.
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Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks – Week 1
“In All Things”
It is my privilege and honor to be able to bring the message today that I believe God has given me to share with you, His beloved children. Let’s stand for the reading of God’s Word as we turn to our passage today:
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle (undisciplined), encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18(ESV)
I am thankful to be working with Pastor Jerry as we serve this body of believers here at FBC. I am thankful for a group of elders and trustees that have come around us that have joined in this partnership to lead this church. I am thankful for Jody and Kevin as the ministry directors as they work with us in leading the NextGen ministries. I am thankful for the volunteer leaders that serve in the various ministries, for without them, we could not do or offer these ministries. And most of all, I am thankful for the people of FBC who love and support all of us!
As I was reading through this first letter to the church of Thessalonica, it could have been written to our church here in New Castle. In the first 3 ‘chapters’ of this letter, Paul was thanking God for what was happening in the church even after he had left. He was encouraging them to keep being faithful, letting them know he was praying for them. He also was encouraging them to keep spreading the Gospel until Christ’s return by living out their faith in their daily lives so that others would see the message of hope being ‘fleshed out’ in front of them.
He precedes these words with how we can do it, and then proceeds to tell us why. So let’s look at those together more intently (or intensely, as the case may be)
1. HOW?
“…who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work…”
-over you in the Lord (led by the Spirit)
-admonish you
DEFINITIONS OF ADMONISH:
to indicate duties or obligations to;
to express warning or disapproval to, especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner;
to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to;
to say (something) as advice or a warning
Expositor’s Bible Commentary says:
“admonish” means correction administered either by word or deed. It implies blame on the part of the one admonished. Naturally, this process arouses resentment, since discipline is never pleasant. Still the apostle presents admonition as necessary for the congregation and requires respect for those who exercise it.
Esteem in love: This is a part of respect that has been lost or forgotten In this day and age of “my rights” and “me first”, we have pushed love out of the picture.
encourage the fainthearted
help the weak
be patient with them all (Jerry quote)
“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil…” (v15a)
“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.”
“always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”(v15b)
Hebrews 13:16
“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God
-Always joyful…in all ways…full of joy
Philippians 4:4
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!”
~What could he mean by that?
Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
“Intimately related to constant joy is incessant prayer—the only way to cultivate a joyful attitude in times of trial. Uninterrupted communication with God keeps temporal and spiritual values in balance. “Continually” does not mean nonstop praying. Rather, it implies constantly recurring prayer, growing out of a settled attitude of dependence on God. Whether words are uttered or not, lifting the heart to God while one is occupied with miscellaneous duties is the vital thing. Verbalized prayer will be spontaneous and will punctuate one’s daily schedule.”
Colossians 3:17
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Philippians 1:3-4
“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy.”
2. WHY?
BENEDICTION:
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24(ESV)
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
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Seize the Moment – Day 228
“I Will Sing of My Redeemer”
God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Philip Bliss, a contemporary of D.L. Moody and Major Daniel W. Whittle, was known for several great hymns like Hallelujah! What a Savior!, Wonderful Words of Life and the music for It is Well by H.G. Spafford.
I will sing of my Redeemer, and His wondrous love for me.
On the cruel cross He suffered, from the curse to set me free.
Sing , Oh sing, of my Redeemer. With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon. Paid the debt and made me free.
Take some time today to reflect on these words that remind us of the great price that was paid that we might have life, and have it more abundantly!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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