Designed by God for Good Works!

Exodus 26

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, July 28.

Did you know that you are uniquely designed by God for good works?

Exodus 26 is a very detailed chapter as it lays out the instructions for the building of the tabernacle, which was Israel’s approved house of worship until the temple was built by King Solomon much later in their history. The tabernacle was Israel’s portable sanctuary during their wanderings in the desert and throughout their conquest of the Promised Land.

This is important to know because the tabernacle had to be assembled and reassembled every time Israel would make or break camp, which turned out to be quite often. The tabernacle was an ornate sacred place, and it was a well-built sturdy place.

This required skilled workers—master craftsmen and craftswomen! Listen to an example of this from Exodus 26:1, “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.”

Again, we read from Exodus 35:25, “All the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen.”

Paul speaks this over every new covenant believer’s life in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

When we use what we have for God’s glory, there is no insignificant work! Even the smallest job is for the glory of God and that makes it of great importance!

Seize the moment and use all that you have—your education and vocational training, your athletic abilities and hobbies, your good looks and charming personality for the glory of God! You have been designed by God for this very purpose!

YOUTUBE:

Giving is an Affair of the Heart!

Exodus 25

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 27.

Giving has always been an affair of the heart! Whether it’s our time, talents, or tangible resources, our giving is a product of God’s work in our hearts.

In Exodus 25, the LORD started to show Moses the patterns of all that Moses was commanded to lead the Israelites to build: the tabernacle and all its furniture. Specifically described in this chapter are the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, and the golden lampstand.

Just these three items alone would take extraordinary amounts of resources to construct. Just like with the bread and water to nourish the Israelites, would God cause the necessary resources to appear like dew on the desert floor or flow from the desert rocks?

No, this time God would work a miracle from His people! God’s instruction to Moses in Exodus 25:2 was to “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.”

This time, God does not provide by causing the water to burst forth from a hard rock; rather, God provides by moving upon the hearts of His people!

Generous givers are people whose hearts have been moved upon by the LORD to provide for His work—to build on earth as it is in Heaven, according to the pattern of all that God has revealed to us!

How has God worked on your heart?

Paul commands in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Seize the moment and ask God to purpose your heart to be the way He provides for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Giving is an affair of the heart!

YOUTUBE:

People of the Book!

Exodus 24

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, July 26.

A big thank you to Pastor Ken for doing an excellent job the last two weeks with these daily calls. My family had a restorative time on our trip to the New England states, specifically exploring three amazing destinations: Cape Cod, Acadia National Park, and Niagara Falls.

God’s people are people of the book!

This has been true ever since Moses recorded the Old Covenant. From Exodus 24:3-4 & 8, observe Moses and the people after receiving the covenant code from God:

Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. … [After sacrificing young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD] Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The people sealed their commitment to be a people of the book through the “blood of the covenant.” While in the Old Covenant, this was done through animal sacrifices, in the New Covenant our commitment is sealed through the blood of the perfect Passover Lamb, our High Priest and only Mediator with God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul explains the importance of our commitment to the book in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the [person] of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Seize the moment by reading, reflecting upon, and responding to God’s Word today! We have an exciting journey ahead of us as we walk through the Bible one chapter at a time.

YOUTUBE:

Today’s hymn focus will be “The Heart of Worship”

John 4:24 (ESV)                      

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

This modern-day hymn was written by Matt Redman in 1999. While his worship band was impacting churches around the world, worship in his home church had a missing dynamic. His pastor asked the congregation what they were bringing to God in worship, or if they were just soaking in the music as consumers. He decided to strip away every diversion and distraction and stopped using the musicians and the sound & light systems.

At first it was awkward, but eventually they rediscovered their own voices being raised in worship, unaccompanied, offering up prayers from their hearts and experiencing God in a fresh way.

I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You,            

it’s all about You, Jesus. I’m sorry, Lord, for the things I’ve made it,       

when it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus.

We need to wake up and ask ourselves “What are we bringing as our offering to God in our services at FBC?” …For true worship demands a response from the heart!

YOUTUBE:

The Heart of Worship

The Disciples: Jude & Judas Iscariot

Luke 6:13 (NLT)                     

At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.

Jude or Judas, Son of James, was also known as Thaddeus. The use of both names or saying that he was James’ son was probably to help clarify and set him apart from Judas Iscariot. While the Bible does not talk much about him,  Jude saw numerous demonstrations of Jesus’ divinity. Church history has him being a missionary to Syria and Persia, where he died along side of Simon the Zealot.

Judas Iscariot is notorious for other reasons. He was not from Galilee like all the other disciples, but rather was from Judea. He served as the group’s treasurer, but was known to help himself to the funds, showing his greed when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, saying we could have sold it and given to the poor. He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, which he later regretted and tried to give back. When they refused, he went out and hung himself.

These twelve men all had been with Jesus for nearly 3 years, seeing all the miracles and healings and hearing His teachings. But one chose the love of money over the love of the Master. He heard the truth, but he chose to listen to his own heart. Don’t make that same mistake! Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He reminds you of God’s love, grace and mercy.

YOUTUBE:

The Disciples: James, son of Alpheus & Simon the Zealot

 Matthew 19:28 (NLT)

“Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new^, and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

While the scriptures do not have a lot to say about him, James the son of Alphaeus was a witness to Jesus’ years of ministry on earth and His resurrection. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and a leader in the early church alongside the other apostles. Tradition says that James, son of Alphaeus, evangelized in Persia (modern-day Iran) and was martyred there.

Simon the Zealot may have been associated with the political group that wanted to overthrow Rome’s control over the Jewish people, or he may have been extremely passionate about the Word of God. Either way, when he became a disciple of Jesus, he learned that Jesus came not to fight flesh and blood for a nation, but spiritual forces for souls. Jesus made it clear that salvation was available for everyone, healing and preaching to anyone willing to listen. Simon went on to be a missionary to Persia, where he died a martyr’s death.

Once again, these men were not out to make a name for themselves, but rather make sure that people knew about the name of Jesus, the giver of life, hope, joy, grace and peace. It does not matter if people remember our names, but rather they remember the Name that is above all names, Jesus

YOUTUBE:

The Disciples: Matthew (Levi) & Thomas (the doubter)

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector, one of the most despised jobs for a Jew to have, for they were working for the Romans. When Jesus called him to ‘Follow Me’, he didn’t hesitate. In fact, he threw a party and invited his friends to meet Jesus, which upset the religious leaders. Matthew followed Jesus with his full heart and was even the author of the Gospel of Matthew. He was martyred near the city of Nabadar in Ethiopia.

Thomas, also known as Dydimus, was probably the emotional one of the disciples. At one time, he rallied the other disciples to follow Jesus to go back to Judea to see Lazarus. The people there had just tried to stone Jesus, and he said “Let us go back and die with him.” Yet after Jesus’s resurrection, he wanted proof that Jesus was alive, to actually touch His scars. Once he saw Jesus for himself, his doubt and fears disappeared, and he went on to spread the Gospel to India, where he was martyred by a group of Hindu priests for converting their followers.

Denying what we want to do and doing what Jesus wants us to do requires sacrifice. And it is a process for most of us. These men saw Jesus face to face, experienced His miracles, and saw Him ascend to heaven. But their love for Him drove them to give their all for Him. We need to do the same.

YOUTUBE:

The Disciples: Phillip & Nathanael (Pt 2)

John 14:21 (NLT)                    

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.  And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

According to the Gospel of John, Phillip was the one that Jesus asked the question of how they were going to feed the 5000. His response demonstrated his practical thinking, but Jesus was going to show him that God could do so much more to take care of the need. His faith continued to grow as he followed Jesus.

Also, according to the Gospel of John, Nathanael’s call by Jesus declared that there was no deceit in him, even telling him where he was sitting when Phillip came to talk with him. Jesus demonstrated that He knew his heart, even before they had met, because God had revealed it to Him.

Both of these men went on to proclaim the gospel message. Both of them were arrested for doing that. Both were martyred because they would not denounce the message of Christ.

They did this because they followed the commandments of Jesus and loved God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and others as much as they loved themselves. Are you ready to show who’s child you are by loving them no matter what?

YOUTUBE:

The Disciples: Phillip & Nathanael (Part 1)

John 1:43, 45 (ESV)                

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ^… Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Phillip was called directly by Jesus, and then he went and witnessed to a friend Nathanael about finding the One whom the prophets wrote about, just like Andrew did when he went to tell his brother Simon about the Messiah. Since the theme of witnessing is so important in the gospel, the method by which Peter and Nathanael were brought to Jesus is significant. The giving of a personal testimony has always been one of the most fruitful means of leading people to become disciples of Jesus.

Both of these men had been searching through the scriptures and waiting for the Messiah. Both men completely surrendered to Jesus. Both witnessed His miracles. Both were there at His crucifixion and on the day of his resurrection. Both were there at his ascension. And both were there on the Day of Pentecost. They became bold witnesses of the Gospel

We need to have the same boldness to share the Gospel of Jesus no matter the cost. Many had come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior because of these disciples. Many more may come to know Him as their Savior if we will live our lives to the fullest and share the message of love and grace.

YOUTUBE: