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The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages. We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week! Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes. From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
Note:
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19
May '24
The Call to the Great Community 5
19
May '24
Lesson #5
The Church was Born on Pentecost!
It’s Pentecost Sunday and today we are going to learn about the importance of not only the historical event of Pentecost as read in Acts 2:1-13 earlier in the service, but also of the ongoing promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ gave us. Before I share this teaching with you, I want to share a personal word that God admonished me with in 2015, based on Galatians 3:1-3, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Let us learn from today’s teaching how to be wise when it comes to the things of the Spirit and why learning about the Spirit is important. Do you see how Paul connected the receiving of the Spirit and salvation through faith, as well as the ongoing sanctification of your life unto the glory of God? Just as the church was born by the Spirit, so it grows in its maturity and unity as witnesses of the gospel by the power of the Spirit.
Listen to Jesus’ clear teaching on the Holy Spirit so that you can hear this promise in the fullness of Jesus’ teaching. From John 14:16-31 Jesus taught, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.”
Jesus gave us this clear teaching, along with other teachings, on the Holy Spirit. From Acts 1:4-5, immediately before His ascension to the right hand of the Father (please listen to last week’s sermon if you have not yet listened to that important teaching on the Ascension of Jesus Christ), Jesus promised that His followers would be baptized in the Spirit: “Gathering them together, [Jesus] commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”
This is not the first time the followers of Jesus heard this invitation to be baptized in the Spirit because the baptism of the Spirit is not a secondary event to salvation itself, it is the very nature of salvation itself – the Spirit of God is our inheritance – the presence and power of God dwelling in us, the Giver of new life transforming us into a Temple of the Holy Spirit and inviting us into the eternal fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by allowing us to participate in His divine nature, as Peter taught in 2 Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 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.” This is what it means to have salvation and being baptized in the Spirit should never be reduced to some secondary work of sanctification in our lives. The Son removed our sins from us through His sacrificial death on the Cross so that God could live in us through His Spirit!
From the beginning of the New Testament, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was distinguished apart from the baptism of John. John the Baptist’s baptism was a means of preparation for the coming of the Lord, a purification of oneself in preparation for the coming of the Lord in Christ Jesus. Listen to John the Baptist make this distinction in Matthew 3:11, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (cf. Mark 1:7-8 & Luke 3:16).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of Jesus, which is the only form of New Covenant baptism that Jesus commanded His disciples to conduct immediately before His ascension to the right hand of the Father when He gave us the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This is how we are born again; at the moment of our salvation we participate in the event that birthed the church in the first place.
This issue is often confused by people misapplying the early church history book of Acts. The early church leaders dealt with this confusion, making a distinction between the baptism of John and the baptism in Jesus’ name. Acts 11:15-18 is a powerful illustration of the importance of understanding how yoked our justification in Christ is with the baptism of the Spirit. Listen to Peter give a first-hand witness of the work of the Spirit after Pentecost and in the early church among non-Jewish people, called Gentiles, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
Why am I talk about all this? Because Pentecost is both a one-time historical event recorded in Acts 2 and the birth of the church – the promised fulfillment of Jesus Christ who ushered in the New Covenant. For which the baptism of the Spirit is a fulfillment of God’s promise to His people from Joel 2:28-32, “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”
We will be in the age of Pentecost until we experience the fulfillment of God’s Word and the return of Jesus. Until that Day, we are to walk by the Spirit. As we learned last week, the ministry of the ascended Lord Jesus Christ, right now, is to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father until He returns. Simultaneously, the Father and Son have baptized us with the Spirit so that our eternity would be secure in His covenant faithfulness, and we would carry in our very person the same anointing that the Messiah Himself had: the Spirit of the Living God! The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in you and me – the resurrection power of God is in us!
Paul teaches us in Galatians 5:16-26 what it means to live our lives in the Spirit, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 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.”
When the power of the risen Christ comes upon the members of His body through the promised coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is keeping His promise to His followers that He will always be with us and that we will become like Him. Jesus’ ascension did not leave us alone in this world. He promised to not leave us as orphans, and He kept His word! God came upon His church at Pentecost in a new and different way than Jesus’ incarnation at Christmas. We don’t live in the age of Christmas where Jesus’ uniquely incarnated God’s presence on earth; rather, we live in the age of Pentecost where God now incarnates (I’m using this word figuratively) in each of us through His Spirit living in us. Jesus has ascended and will come again, but until that time, the Spirit of the Living God indwells the Church of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of the words of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ and the earliest church teachings. Just as Acts 2:32-33 taught us, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
God is with us through His presence and power living in us. May God be exalted in and through His church. Let us never forget that this only can happen through the Spirit. I close with the same admonishment to you that God has given me, from Galatians 3:1-3, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Resources:
You can download these notes in PDF format by clicking HERE.
You can watch this message by clicking HERE. (This link will be active later this week.)
You can watch the entire service including music by clicking HERE.
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18
May '24
Hymn: Holy Spirit
18
May '24
Today’s Hymn Focus :
Holy Spirit
Acts 1:8 (NASB95)
“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even
to the remotest part of the earth.”
Bryan and Katie Torwalt wrote this song inspired by the Book of Acts chapter 2, celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Sung as a prayer asking God to send the Holy Spirit to comfort, protect and guide, it encourages us to trust in the third person of the Trinity to take us through the struggles of this life by finding our strength and peace in God’s amazing love.
Holy Spirit, You are welcome here.
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for
to be overcome by Your presence, Lord
We need to wake up and realize that the Holy Spirit is gentle, never forcing His way into or upon our lives. We have to surrender daily to listening to God’s heart that can be heard through the Holy Spirit’s voice and leading. That is where we find the hope and peace that God provides along the way.
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
Holy Spirit
There’s nothing worth moreThat will ever come closeNothing can compareYou’re our living HopeYour presence, Lord
I’ve tasted and seenOf the sweetest of loveWhen my heart becomes freeAnd my shame is undoneYour presence, Lord
Holy Spirit You are welcome hereCome flood this placeAnd fill the atmosphereYour glory GodIs what our hearts long forTo be overcomeBy Your presence, Lord
There’s nothing worth moreThat will ever come closeNothing can compareYou’re our living HopeYour presence, Lord
I’ve tasted and seenOf the sweetest of loveWhen my heart becomes freeAnd my shame is undoneYour presence, Lord
Oh, Holy Spirit You are welcome hereCome flood this placeAnd fill the atmosphereYour glory GodIs what our hearts long forTo be overcomeBy Your presence, Lord
Oh, Holy Spirit You are welcome hereCome flood this placeAnd fill the atmosphereYour glory GodIs what our hearts long forTo be overcomeBy Your presence, Lord
Overwhelm us with Your presence GodOverwhelm us nowOh, beautiful name
Let us become more awareOf Your presenceLet us experience the gloryOf Your goodnessLet us become more awareOf Your presenceLet us experience the gloryOf Your goodness
Let us become more awareOf Your presenceLet us experience the gloryOf Your goodnessOh Lord!
Holy Spirit You are welcome hereCome flood this placeAnd fill the atmosphereYour glory GodIs what our hearts long forTo be overcomeBy Your presence, Lord
Oh, Holy Spirit You are welcome hereCome flood this placeAnd fill the atmosphereYour glory GodIs what our hearts long forTo be overcomeBy Your presence, Lord
Lift your voice tonightLift your hunger tonightCry out for more, for moreDon’t be satisfiedTo where you’ve beenDon’t be contemptPraise Him for moreHunger for more tonightYeahOh more, more of GodMore of Him
Oh, Holy Spirit You are welcome hereCome flood this placeAnd fill the atmosphereYour glory GodIs what our hearts long forTo be overcomeBy Your presence, LordYes
Tell Him tonightTell Him tonightHow hungry you areLift your voiceLift your voice tonight
So hungry, so hungry for moreCan’t stay where I’ve beenCan’t stay where I’ve beenWanna go deeperWanna go deeperYeahYour presence
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Katie Torwalt / Bryan Torwalt
Holy Spirit lyrics © Capitol Cmg Genesis, Jesus Culture Music
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17
May '24
Jeremiah 47
17
May '24
Day 1522
The Sword of the Lord!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 17.
Do you know how seriously God takes sin, and not just sin as a general concept, but your personal sin as rebellion against His rightful rule of your life? At the end of the oracle of judgment against the Philistines, in Jeremiah 47:6-7a, the prophet asked a series of rhetorical questions, “Ah, sword of the Lord, how long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; be at rest and stay still. How can it be quiet, when the Lord has given it an order?” The prophet was essentially crying out, “How long, O Lord? How long will you pour out your wrath upon the nations?”
In addressing the “sword of the Lord,” Jeremiah was speaking to the means of judgment God was utilizing, which was associated with the concept of the destroyer in Jeremiah 12:12, “On all the bare heights in the wilderness destroyers have come, for a sword of the Lord is devouring from one end of the land even to the other; there is no peace for anyone.” Regardless of whether the destroyer being addressed was Babylon or Egypt, the prophet’s words indicate that it cannot rest until it has fulfilled what God has ordained for it to do as His means of judgment; it must act until God is satisfied!
The good news (gospel) is that God poured out His wrath upon Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary! That is what John described when he used the word propitiation in 1 John 2:2, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” Jesus took on Himself God’s wrath for sin, satisfying judgment and forever extending to us God’s rest, which Jeremiah had requested of God’s sword in Jeremiah 47:6, which is why only Jesus can offer us “rest for our souls” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Seize the moment and find rest in Jesus, “who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
God bless you!
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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16
May '24
Jeremiah 46
16
May '24
Day 1521
Do not Fear!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 16.
One of the most frequent commands in the Bible is, “Do not Fear!” God knows we become afraid when life isn’t going the way we think it should, so He reminds us that He is sovereign, assuring us of His presence in our difficulties. Jeremiah 46 is an oracle of judgment against Egypt, yet it concludes, in verses 27-28, with a word of hope to Israel:
“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, and your descendants from the land of their captivity; and Jacob will return and be undisturbed and secure, with no one making him tremble. O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord, “For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you, yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished.”
Twice, God commanded His people, “Do not fear!” He acknowledged that He was punishing them, but He clarified that His intent was to correct them. Ultimately, He promised to not destroy them, but to return them to a place of peace and rest after their long season of exile. This is the intent of all godly discipline, as explained in Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Whether for a short time or a long season, embrace it as an opportunity to learn from God, because His desire for you in His discipline is to “share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10).
Seize the moment and do not fear the discipline of the Lord! It is for your good!
God bless you!
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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15
May '24
Jeremiah 45
15
May '24
Day 1520
Serve your First Love!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 15.
The personal care God has for His children blows my mind. Even during a time of national disaster for Israel, God took the time to lovingly speak to one of his chosen servants, to both admonish and encourage him. We’ve already met Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah, and in Jeremiah 45:2-5, God spoke directly to him through the prophet:
“Thus says the Lord the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: ‘You said, “Ah, woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.” ’ Thus you are to say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land.” But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the Lord, ‘but I will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.’”
We don’t know what it was that Baruch was doing, in “seeking great things for [himself]” but we know that he had become weary and heavy-laden in his pursuit of it. In response, God invited him to find rest for his soul by remaining focused on Him in the coming calamity. One of the greatest challenges in ministry life is to not make it more than God intends it to be, subtly making it about our own ideas of doing “great things” for God, instead of simply working side-by-side with God. The good news is that God has built in a test for His servants so that we know when we’ve lost focused – are you growing weary and heavy-laden in doing good works?
Seize the moment and return to your first love and you will find rest for your soul!
God bless you!
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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14
May '24
Jeremiah 44
14
May '24
Day 1519
Discern Cause and Effect!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 14.
Cause and effect is the relationship between two events or situations where the cause is directly responsible for creating the effect. The ability to accurately discern cause and effect is essential in coaching. For example, if a baseball player closes his eyes, he will most likely miss the ball when he swings the bat. It would be unwise of the coach to tell the batter to choke up on the bat when the main issue is obvious. How often in life do we miss addressing the main issue of our problems, but dilly dally around with ancillary issues?
Moreso, it’s devastating when we misdiagnose cause and effect. An example of this is in Jeremiah 44:15-18, when the remnant in Egypt misaligned the cause and effect of their former happiness in the Promised Land:
As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, … for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine.
Even as the prophet tried to address the true cause and effect relationship of their suffering, they wouldn’t heed God’s Word. Instead, they attributed their forsaking of pagan worship for their ruin, rather than acknowledging that it was their forsaking of God through their pagan worship of the Queen of Heaven that led to their disaster. Their twisted logic led to their downfall.
Seize the moment and discern cause and effect in your life! How you think about life shapes the decisions you make, so gain a right perspective on your situation.
God bless you!
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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13
May '24
Jeremiah 43
13
May '24
Day 1518
Choose Wisely Your Next Step! (Part 2 of 2)
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 13.
The prophet faithfully gave the Word of the Lord to the officials in Jeremiah 42:7-22, laying out for them the right next step. There could be no possible confusion about the will of God for the people, but the officials were not happy about God’s direction for them. The prophet told them that if they went into Egypt, they would suffer even greater hardship, but if they remained in the Promised Land, God would work through their enemies to bless and preserve them. But it got worse, in Jeremiah 43:2-3, the officials accused the prophet of being complicit in a conspiracy against them, “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon.” Essentially, they said to Jeremiah, “This can’t be from the Lord; you are conspiring against us!”
As a herald of the gospel of Jesus Christ and teacher of God’s Word, I can only imagine how frustrating this must have been for Jeremiah. He had been timely and accurate with his prophetic ministry to them, indominable and incorruptible in His fidelity to the Word of God. He demonstrated his fierce loyalty to the people by remaining with them in hardship, even after he was promised travel protection and a better life elsewhere by a Babylonian official. But the remnant wouldn’t walk in the counsel of the Lord because it didn’t line up with what they had already decided was right in their own eyes (4-7).
Seize the moment and walk in step with God when He gives you clear guidance, remembering to treasure God’s Word in your heart, so that you may not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11).
God bless you!
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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12
May '24
The Call to the Great Community 4
12
May '24
Lesson #4
Join in the Eternal Conversation of God!
Right now, Jesus is at the right hand of God, in the throne room of Heaven, praying for you! Romans 8:34b teaches, “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Ascension Day, which was on Thursday, forty days after Easter, is the crowning event of the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but is often hidden in the shadow of our proclamation of His crucifixion and resurrection.
We skip over the triumphant reality of Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Father, yet we declare His imminent return in the second coming of Jesus Christ. We leave the “where is He now” and “what is He doing in this present age” kind of ambiguous. Let’s be clear, right now, at the right hand of God, Jesus is praying for you! Amazing, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, and Jesus, who is at the right of the Father in Heaven, are speaking with one another and with the Father about you. God exists in a perfect relationship with perfect communication for His glory and our good, for eternity.
Today, I want to teach you the importance of Jesus’ ascension so that you can live with even greater confidence in your daily prayer life as a member of His body. We are held together by prayer because prayer is one of the few things we do that will stand for eternity. Revelation 8:3-4 teaches us this truth, “Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.”
This is what the scripture reading was about from Acts 1:1-11. That is not the only place we saw the ascension recorded. Listen to the following passages:
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- Luke 24:50-53, “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.”
- Mark 16:19, “So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” We also hear it recorded in the ancient creeds of the Bible.
- 1 Timothy 3:16, “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
On the fortieth day after Easter, concluding the church calendar season of Eastertide, Jesus ascended (bodily rose, “taken up in glory”) to heaven before His disciples’ eyes. Jesus did not leave behind his physical body, resurrected in the flesh, glorified in the Spirit, so that He could take His place at the right hand of the Father. No, very importantly, giving us hope for the New Heaven and New Earth, Jesus in His glorified and resurrected body, is now at the right hand of God, praying for us!
The ascension is filled with theological significance and practical implications for our faith and practice.
First, for our faith in Jesus and His Kingdom rule, Jesus’ ascension demonstrates the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy – Jesus’ rule will never end.
Listen to the ancient prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”
Furthermore, Hebrews 1:1-4 affirms Jesus’ fulfillment of this prophecy, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
What does it mean that Jesus “sat down at the right hand”? It means that Jesus has the respect and authority of the Sovereign! To be at the right hand is to be the trusted agent of the will of the King. Heaven is the control room of creation from which the Sovereign Creator rules over all things in heaven and earth. Do you know the awesome news? God’s control room is one day coming to earth in the New Heaven & Earth.
Jesus has the authority of Heaven in earthly and heavenly affairs. From 1 Peter 3:22, Peter declares that Jesus “is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him” (cf. Ephesians 1:18-23; Philippians 2:9-11).
Jesus declared this authority before His ascension as He gave the Church the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Our relationship with God and our work for Jesus in His Church rest in His rightful authority, not in the authority of any man or denomination. Living and working under rightful authority (headship) is an essential reality and one that God cares very deeply about—not just for His Son, but for all of His children and all of creation, for all time. Are you living under the authority of Jesus Christ and His Word? How far reaching are the implications to your answer?
Second, Jesus’s ascension to the right hand of God is a guarantee of our own bodily resurrection.
Our hope is not simply in this life, but for eternal life; Jesus’ resurrection and ascension are essential to our hope and critical to our understanding of this body and its future, along with all creation, in the New Heaven & Earth.
All who are in Christ Jesus are promised participants in His ascension. Paul states this in Ephesians 2:4-7, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
This event in Jesus’ ministry invites us to live faithfully and to keep our focus on Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Paul taught us this in Colossians 3:1-2, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Our work in this life is now informed by the promises of God and His rightful rule over all creation.
We are no longer bound to this earth, our place in Heaven is already being prepared for us. Speaking of His own future ascension in John 14:1-3, Jesus taught us how this is important for all those who follow Him, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
These are the comforting words of Jesus Christ, made possible through His ascension. We can share these words with others because we know Jesus is alive, ascended to the right hand of God, in a place of authority.
Third, Jesus’ ascension means that the One who rules with such great authority from Heaven, prays for us based on His firsthand human experience of temptation and suffering upon the earth.
We don’t have a distant God, but a personal One. The Bible teaches us this in Hebrews 4:14-16, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Jesus prays for us continually and His prayers are effective, not only because of Jesus’ authority, but also because of the intimate knowledge of Jesus’ experiences as a person who walked on the earth! So don’t feel guilty and heavy-burdened if your prayer life is lacking, just remember to never stop starting in your conversation with Jesus, who is already praying for you.
What a powerful truth that fuels my prayer life with desire to be with this God who loves me and gave Himself for me. In fact, our very prayer lives are empowered by the presence of God in us, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are joining in the conversation between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Prayer is sharing in God’s eternal community; this is what it means to be called to the Great Community – you have joined the eternal conversation of God!
Paul teaches us about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:26-27, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
In conclusion and in preparation for next Sunday’s celebration of Pentecost Sunday, with the ascension of Jesus Christ, the stage is set for the miracle of Pentecost, when the power of the risen Christ comes upon the disciples of Jesus to birth His church, through the fulfillment of the promise of the Helper, the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is keeping His promise to His followers that He will always be with us. Jesus’ ascension does not leave us alone in this world, but leads to the fulfillment of His prayer for His body in John 17:20-26, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
God is with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us – He will see us through to the completion of His Plan A! God is with us through His presence and power living in us! May God be exalted in and through you – a fellow member of the Great Community where the eternal conversation of God is bearing good fruit in our everyday lives. Join the conversation and pray John 17 every day, continue to pray through the Psalms each and every day, joining with Jesus under His headship so that we, each and every one of us, may walk in the unity of the Spirit, so that the world may see us as one mature body, in synch with God and coordinated together. We can do more together than we can do apart.
Resources:
You can download these notes in PDF format by clicking HERE.
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
You can watch the entire service including music by clicking HERE.
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11
May '24
Hymn: A Thousand Amens
11
May '24
Today’s song focus :
A Thousand Amens
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NASB95)
“The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
In 2009, Tim Timmons wanted to create a song that would be powerful and uplifting while inviting believers to praise and worship God. Reflective of the traditional Doxology, it also highlights the concept of God’s unfailing love, faithfulness and the assurance that we can always rely on His mercy and grace. It goes further to tell of God’s kindness that brings comfort, restoration and wholeness to all who worship Him.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, Ye heavenly Host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
We need to wake up to these facts that when we acknowledge God’s faithfulness, we will find healing and restoration in His loving kindness. His love and kindness not only brings forgiveness for our sins, but every area of our lives because He is our source of healing power.
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
A Thousand Amens
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, Ye heavenly Host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, Ye heavenly Host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Unfailing love comes with the morning
It’s Your faithfulness we sing at night
It’s Your kindness Lord that leads to our healing
All glory to our maker and a thousand amens
Yeah, yeah, ooh
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, Ye heavenly Host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Unfailing love comes with the morning
It’s Your faithfulness we sing at night
It’s Your kindness Lord that leads to our healing, ooh
All glory to our Maker and a thousand amens
Yeah, yeah
Unfailing love comes with the morning, yeah, yeah
It’s Your faithfulness we sing at night
It’s Your kindness Lord that leads to our healing, oh
All glory to our Maker and a thousand amens
Amen, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, all glory to our Maker
Amen, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, all glory to our Maker
(Amen)
Amen, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, all glory to our Maker
Amen, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, all glory to our Maker
(We will praise Your name, oh God)
Amen, amen
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10
May '24
Jeremiah 42
10
May '24
Day 1515
Choose Wisely Your Next Step! (Part 1 of 2)
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 10.
Learning how to make wise decisions is an essential skill to the adult life, especially for someone who wants to walk in the Way of Jesus. Every single day we are going to be confronted with choices, many of which will be small daily decisions, while others will be significant with far reaching consequences. Big or small, every decision you make is important. In Romans 12:1-2, Paul taught us the foundational principle to godly decision making:
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
You have to be with Him! We cannot take our lead from the patterns of this world, but by being in step with Him, seeking direction from God through His Word, in prayer, and through wise counsel. After the assassination of the governor, the remnant had a hard decision to make – remain in Mizpah, awaiting the retaliation of Babylon, or flee to Egypt, seeking sanctuary from an old ally. The officials of the remnant approached the prophet in Jeremiah 42:1-3, taking the right next step in making this important decision, “Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the Lord your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.”
Seize the moment and seek to be in step with God in every decision you make, remembering that His Word “is a lamp to [your] feet and a light to [your] path” (Psalm 119:105).
God bless you!
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.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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