Seize the Moment – Day 332
Freedom in Faith!
There is an important invitation found in 2 Peter 2:18-19, “For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”
What is promising you freedom, but is actually seeking to enslave you?
Whose promises are you listening to? The promises of Madison Avenue, of Vanity Fair, of the Stock Market, or Hollywood?
Here is the key phrase to hear as an invitation: “for by what a [person] is overcome, by this he [or she] is enslaved.”
What are you overcome by? The love of the world and all of its empty and short-sighted promises or the Love of God and His great and magnificent promises.
Listen to Peter from 2 Peter 1:4, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
You are being invited today, once again or for the first time, to escape the corruption that is in the world by lust and rest in your fellowship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Seize the moment and pay attention to your appetites and desires. Does anything have a grip on you that is promising you more than it can deliver?
Let’s recite our memory verse for this week together. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
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Seize the Moment – Day 331
Hoist Your Sails!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 11.
Have you ever watched a sailboat glide along the water using only the wind to carry it? Have you ever experienced that in your own life?
Listen to Peter speak about God’s Word in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God [italics added].”
I am daily studying through a wonderful book called “The Handbook of Bible Promises” and in it the authors say about this passage, “The word used for ‘carried along’ [‘moved by’ in the NAS95 translation that I am using] was used of a ship carried along on the sea by the wind. That is how the Scriptures were written; the writers, as it were, ‘hoisted their sails’ to the Holy Spirit, and were ‘carried along’ by him, so that what they wrote was exactly what he wanted written.”[1]
What a beautiful image. The New Testament authors were fully engaged people in the process, but they were carried along by God’s Spirit. This is how we are supposed to live our lives with the Word of God being the rudder of our ship, setting our direction, and the Holy Spirit filling our sails to carry us along. God is the one at work in us and through us to bring about His glory.
Seize the moment and entrust your direction in life and your pace of life to God. Keeping your hand firmly on the rudder of God’s Word, hoist your sails and allow the Holy Spirit to take you deeper into God’s will.
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[1] Mike Beaumont and Martin Manser, The Handbook of Bible Promises, 2020, 116.
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Seize the Moment – Day 330
Promises Comes with Practices!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, February 10.
Did you know that every promise of God comes with an invitation for you to put it into practice?
Listen to this as Peter closes his first letter in 1 Peter 5:6-11,
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
What are the promises of God in this passage?
- God has a mighty hand and will exalt you at the proper time.
- God cares about you.
- You are not alone in your suffering.
- God will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
- God has dominion forever.
What are the corresponding invitations?
- Humble yourself and don’t focus your efforts on defending or vindicating yourself.
- Cast all of your anxieties on God.
- Resist the temptation to take suffering personally.
- Persevere in God’s grace through the gift of your faith.
Seize the moment and trust God because all things for all time are in His loving hands. His promises are yours and you are invited to walk in them.
Let’s recite our memory verse for this week together. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
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Seize the Moment – Day 329
The Efficacy of Faith is Love!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, February 9.
Right now, a lot of people are talking about the efficacy of vaccines. I actually sat through a zoom meeting last night listening to an international health care expert talk about this. But, what about the efficacy of our faith in Jesus Christ?
The conversation about faith may not feel as urgent as vaccines, but it is definitely more important as the implications are much bigger and longer lasting.
Listen to Peter explain this in 1 Peter 4:7-9, “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”
Love that is given to another person in the form of forgiveness and sincere fellowship is evidence of your faith in God—that your sins are forgiven! Apart from your love, there is no actual evidence.
Jesus, in all of His authority as the Son of God and Savior of the World, boiled down Christianity to this one commandment, from John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John later commented on Jesus’ command: “the one who loves God should love his brother also” (1 John 4:21).
Seize the moment and practically love people in your life by forgiving them of their sins and having sincere fellowship with them. This is what Christ first did for you!
How can you say you are a Christian if you hold someone’s sins against them?
Let’s recite our memory verse for this week together. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
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Seize the Moment – Day 328
The Sum of Godly Lifestyles!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, February 8.
You’ve heard it said, “it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.” That is an old idiom that says something, even when you sum up all the individual parts, is not worth much.
How can we be sure that our local churches, when we bring together all of the individual parts, which are you and me—the people—do amount to something of value?
At the end of the section on godly living, Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:8-9, “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”
Our gathering together is valuable! We are invited to follow the example of Jesus Christ in how we treat one another. We are called to be a blessing! In fact, this is the very purpose that you were saved and called into the family of God. Never forget that the church is composed of those people that God has called out of darkness and into His marvelous Light to be the Light of the world.
You know the children’s song: this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. This is our inheritance—to Shine the Light of God! And when we all bring our little lights together and shine as one; then, the world would know that we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). This is one of the reasons we gather—to shine God’s glory through our fellowship!
Seize the moment and remember that you have been blessed to be a blessing! Shine!
Let’s recite our memory verse for this week together. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
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Live Like a Champion – (Week 6)
Series: “Live Like a Champion: Victory Through the Promises of God!”
“The Promise of Forgiveness!”
1 John 1:5-10 (NASB95)
We have finished our study of 2 Peter 1, which is the foundation for this entire series. If you missed those foundational five sermons during the month of January, then please go to our webpage and you can either read the manuscripts on the blog or listen to and/or watch the messages through an audio or video file.
Today, we start looking at the individual promises—the plays in God’s Playbook—and learn how to apply them to our lives so that we can live the victorious life and play like champions!
Never forget the larger vision of why we are learning these lessons: We live like champions so that others will come to know the One who gave us His Victory—Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and coming again!
We are starting with the promise that, in many ways, is the greatest evidence of our Christianity: nothing demonstrates to us and the world the tangible reality of Jesus Christ crucified, risen and coming again more than our ability to forgive as we have first been forgiven (Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32).
Now, let’s start our study of the plays in God’s Playbook by walking through the 4 steps of how to live like a champion in both the private and public arenas of our lives, starting with the promise of forgiveness:
STEP #1: Know God’s playbook—the Bible—by learning the promises of God.
5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Remember, knowing is more than memorizing; it is a call to internalizing it. That requires us to meditate upon it or hide God’s Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11) so that the Word is in us and we are in the Word. We master when we memorize; it masters us when we internalize. Joshua was commanded in Joshua 1:7-9,
Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
STEP #2: Train in godliness by learning to live according to the promises of God.
To truly understand the importance of training ourselves in godliness according to this teaching, we need to go back to our theme passage for this sermon series. Peter teaches us the importance of receiving Christ’s forgiveness for ourselves in 2 Peter 1:5-10, with emphasis added to verse 9:
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
Our scripture lesson in 1 John 1:5-10 is very clear and I’ll help you apply it with 1-2-3-LIVE IN GRACE!
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This “1-2-3-Live in Grace! “ application of 1 John 1:5-10 is essential to the promise of forgiveness. Only God’s love is perfect; therefore, we must live in a forgiving love that is anchored on His perfect love!
STEP #3: We are invited to learn how to listen to the Coach’s voice so that we play the right play at the right time.
Jesus is very clear about the urgency of forgiveness. In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11).
What a wonderful invitation from our Lord and Savior! But the disciples were confused by this, so listen to this exchange between Peter and Jesus in Matthew 18:21-35, as Jesus makes the application very clear:
Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
What is the right play to run in both the private and public arenas of our lives: FORGIVE! Every time!! Because this is the sign and wonder of the resurrection in you and through you! This is our mission as the people of God and that leads us to step #4.
STEP #4: Work together as one team—we are members of God’s family—His Church.
I close our time together with Jesus’ words from Matthew 5:22-24, as an invitation to each of us today, because we can’t make visible to the world our Victory if we don’t run the plays together as one team:
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, “You good-for-nothing,” shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, “You fool,” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
We are one team! We each have been chosen by God and called to be on the field together, but how can we play as one team if we aren’t willing to practice together the most fundamental play in the Playbook? What would it look like to the world watching the Superbowl if the players were fighting one another on the sidelines or arguing with the QB and one another in huddle? As Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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Seize the Moment – Day 326
Today’s hymn: “Just As I Am”
Charlotte Elliott, born in Brighton, England, lived a carefree life, becoming known for her portrait artistry and as a writer of humorous verse. But at age 30, she was struck with a serious ailment that left her an invalid for life. She became despondent and bitter, until in 1822 Swiss Evangelist Dr. Caesar Malan visited her family home. While counseling her, he spoke to her directly saying “You must come just as you are – a sinner – to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” She responded by giving her heart to the Lord. Fourteen years later, she never forgot those words as she wrote this text ‘Just as I Am’, to help her brother raise funds for the children of poor clergymen.
Just as I am, without one plea. But that thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
We need to wake up every day and take this message to a world that is in need of this blessed hope. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘change first, then come to Me’. He wants us to tell them to come just as they are, and He will pardon, cleanse and relieve.
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but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
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Seize the Moment – Day 325
Taste that the Lord is Good!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, February 5.
Did you know that what you think about someone will determine how you interpret their words and actions?
This is such an important paradigm to understand. It is crucial that we start with our view of God, which shapes everything else we think about ourselves, the world, and other people. And I’m not talking about your intellectual understanding of God because I’m sure you’ve worked quite hard to be orthodox in word, but I am talking about how you relate to God on the level of intimate knowing, not head knowledge alone.
Listen to 1 Peter 2:1-3, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
I was reminded by a friend of a wonderful quote by a favorite author of mine, “Never believe anything bad about God.”
That is such a beautiful reality of how we are to view God. It shapes our worldview! As Peter commands, I am to put off all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander so that I can grow up in my salvation and experience the fullness of Christ’s life in my life of wholeness and holiness—what He called the abundant life, the fullness of joy, the perfect love that drives out fear, and the peace that transcends human understanding.
These are the promises of God and where do they start? Peter makes it very clear when he says, “if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
If you believe in your deepest self (your heart) that God is good in all of His ways, then put aside the shadow of death and live in the love of God as the Light of the World.
Seize the moment and taste that the Lord is good.
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Seize the Moment – Day 324
Jesus is our Living Hope!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 4.
Peter starts off his first letter by bursting forth in doxology for who God is and what God has done for His children. In 1 Peter 1:2-5, he greets the Christians as those who are chosen
Amen!
Peter’s letter is so rich with praise to the Triune God for who He is and what He has done for His children. Peter writes, from very personal experience, how Jesus can lift people up out of the difficulties of their circumstances. In fact, Peter is writing to a church that has been scattered due to persecution.
That is why Peter calls Jesus our living hope and calls us to remember that we are made new (“born again”) to Him through His resurrection. What God has given us in Jesus cannot be destroyed or diminished by life’s difficulties. Peter would know this because not only did Jesus forgive him after his denials, but He also patiently persevered with Peter as he learned how to live out Christ’s way of life in an ever-changing world.
Sound relevant for today? Absolutely!
Seize the moment and persevere with Jesus, our living hope for today and always.
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Seize the Moment – Day 323
Journey with Patient Perseverance!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, February 3.
I started running again a couple of years ago. I am greatly enjoying running on the trail around Westwood Lake and on the Wilbur Wright Trail and am now working towards a trail marathon. It is amazing how much long distance running mirrors the Christian life. Both require a patient perseverance—a long slow obedience in the same direction!
James 5:7-8 closes his letter with a call to patient perseverance knowing that all things will bear fruit in their season: “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
Patience is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) that God has given you and that He calls you to cultivate as good fruit. In fact, patient perseverance is necessary for you to become whole and holy.
You see, God wants you to become whole and holy. Holy is being at peace with God and wholeness is being at peace with oneself. It is only when we are whole and holy that we can truly reflect the image of Christ to the world as He designed each of us to do uniquely and personally.
So, cultivate the good fruit of patient perseverance in your life. I’m only 46, but the older I get the more I realize that life is a long slow obedience in the same direction. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and more specifically, it’s a trail marathon so hit the trail today and enjoy the journey!
Seize the moment and strengthen your heart for the coming of the Lord is near. Journey with patient perseverance until the finish line!
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