When the Holidays End

(Luke 2:20)

1. Introduction

With all the commercialization of Christmas, there is too often a big let down when all the celebrations end.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Christmas were everyday?

Heinrich Boll wrote a fiction short story entitled Christmas Every Day. Set in Nazi Germany, Aunt Milla coped with the stress of war by not allowing Christmas celebration to end. Any attempt by family to end it resulted in Aunt Milla screaming. The family ended up going through their Christmas traditions night after night until months passed into years. It began to take its toll on the family members in a devastating way.

I get a little sad when Christmas celebration comes to an end. Depression and burned-out feelings can be avoided if you have a clear purpose and goals set before you to accomplish in the New Year.

What did the shepherds do after they visited the Christ-child? They went back to work!

2. Shepherds returned to work in the fields (v. 20)

The shepherds’ duties were menial but necessary, but their duties took on a new dimension after their experience.

Dr. Ernest Carswell once wrote in The Greenville News, “It’s been said that God Himself had invaded the ordinary routine of simple people to reveal the most extraordinary truth the world would ever receive” (12/27/93).

As we go back to our jobs, schools, or routines, remember that God is there with you!

3. The shepherds used their work as a means of witnessing (v. 17)

Tell people where you live and work about Jesus! The shepherds spoke as eyewitnesses, not as religious freaks or fanatics: “And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds had told them” (v. 17).

Every one who is born again has a personal testimony!

4. The shepherds glorified and praised God for all the things they had heard and seen (v. 20)

Let us enter this New Year with a renewed sense of commitment to glorify and praise God!

After having seen the glory of the Lord, the shepherds returned to their places of service, glorifying and praising God for all His glory!

Your countenance, your behavior, your attitude, your words, your actions should all reveal the glory of God!

5. The shepherds went back to work with inexplicable joy

Though the word, joy, is not used in describing the reaction of the shepherds, yet joy is implied.

Joy has to do with relationships. Happiness has to do with circumstances. Though we can’t be happy all the time, we can be joyful always because of our relationship with the Lord!

(Colossians 3:23-24)

I want to speak about passion or that which causes us to give our all.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving� (Col. 3:23-24).

In Cawker City, Kansas, Frank Stoeber started rolling sisal twine in 1953, and by 1957 it had grown to 2 and ½ tons and 8 foot tall. He turned it over to the city in 1961 where they hold an annual Twine-A-Thon. Today it continues to grow. Latest statistics show that it weighs over 9 tons, 40 feet in circumference and about 1500 miles long!

This passion is impressive but also bizarre!

What brings you to church this morning? Is it passion or obligation?

In order for you to live the abundant life that Christ desires for you to live, there must be both passion and obligation.

Passion without a sense of obligation can lead to recklessness and ruin (no limits or accountability).

Obligation without a sense of passion can lead to boredom and a sense of meaninglessness (church/school/job).

Most all marriages begin with passion.

Christian faith begins with passion.

A new car or home begins with passion.

But so often, passion will fade like the smell in a new car or home.

But it is possible to live each day with passion as we carry out the obligations with have toward God and our fellow man.

God intended us to live our lives with joy and a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

We honor God when we live our lives with passion and obligation.

I. What is Passion?

Passion is an attitude that embraces life, even when it’s difficult and filled with challenges and impossibilities.

Passion involves an emotional investment into accomplishing great things.

Christian passion strives to accomplish great things through His power and strength and for His glory and honor.

Where there is passion, there is always a possibility! The passion of the apostle Paul allowed him to write these words:

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength� (Phil. 4:13).

Eric Liddell, the Scottish Olympic gold medalist, was a man of passion. His story was immortalized in the 1981 Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire. Born to missionary parents in China, Eric loved the Lord with such passion, but he also loved running.

His father told him, “Eric, you can praise the Lord by peeling a spud if you peel it to perfection. Don’t compromise. Compromise is a language of the devil. Run in God’s name, and let the world stand back in wonder.�

In the 1924 Olympics in Paris, Eric won the 400-meter dash and earned the name, “The Flying Scot.�

Eric used his fame to promote the love of God and his love for God. He realized that his passion for God and running came from the same source. He told his sister, “I believe that God made me for a purpose: for China. But He also made me fast! When I run, I feel His pleasure…It’s not just fun; to win is to honor Him.�

1 Samuel 2:30 says, “Those who honor me I will honor.�

So, Eric used his passion for running to honor and glorify God.

II. Passion Should Encompass All of our Life

Paul said, “WHATEVER you do….�

“Whatever� refers to every task we do:

1) Includes anything you must do - duties and responsibilities as a citizen, a child, a parent, an employer/employee, a spouse (vv. 18-22);

2) Includes anything you choose to do – your leisure activities

3) Includes anything you are gifted in doing – music, dancing, sewing, preaching, building, electrical, computer programming

4) Includes anything you are commanded to do – The Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

A monk wrote these words around A.D. 1100:

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town, and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.�

5) Includes anything you are called to do by God – being kind to the unlovely and unkind, feed the poor, shelter the homeless, assist those in crisis, go on mission

6) Includes fulfilling your purpose in life – Why are you here on earth? What were you put here to accomplish? Rick Warren wrote The Purpose-Driven Life.

a) Created for God’s pleasure – worship

b) Formed for God’s family - fellowship

c) Created to become like Christ – discipleship

d) Shaped for serving God – ministry

e) Made for mission - evangelism

As Christians, we must be careful not to divide our passion. Some Christians are passionate only about their spiritual life. They’re at church all the time. They pray and study the Bible. Read all Christian literature, listen only to Christian music. But if we’re not passionate about all areas of our lives, our effectiveness as a Christian witness wanes.

Some are passionate about church attendance, but have no interest in building relationships with neighbors who need help in their spiritual lives.

Some are passionate about preaching and Bible teaching, but their moral life lacks integrity.

Some study the Bible but have no interest in ministering to the needs of others.

And on the other end of the spectrum, there are those who are passionate about everything except the things of God.

Some are model citizens. They do everything from PTA to United Way. They coach kid’s soccer, baseball, basketball and football teams. But they aren’t interested in spiritual matters. They find church boring.

Let us not allow our church to be boring and send out boring, passionless people into the community.

When you leave church each Sunday, you need to be excited and fired up in sharing what God is doing in and through your church!

III. Our Passion Should be for God’s Pleasure

“It is the Lord Christ you are serving� (v. 24).

That’s the key!!

God wants us to live for Him, our Creator, not for ourselves.

Do it for God! “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.�

A life that is lived with passion will experience risks, sacrifice, and pain, but there is always joy! When you’re struggling with your family, yet praise God for what He is doing in your family, the world will see Christ in you!

When you’re experiencing the sickness and death of a loved one, yet know that God has not forsaken you and that you will see that loved one again, and you praise God with joy, the world will see Christ in you!

Serving God should always be our goal. God will empower us with passion. Yet, if we are self-serving, then we will lose our passion.

A cleaning lady made a statement as she entered each house to clean it: “Let’s clean this house as if Jesus were staying here tonight.�

IV. Our Passion Points to God’s Grace

“since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward� (v. 24).

Suppose your father owned a profitable business and brought you in to teach you everything he could. And he promised you that when he retired, it would all be yours. But in the meantime, you would have to do everything he said, and if he ever found you messing up, then he’d leave you with nothing.

The Heavenly Father, on the other hand, wants to bring you in to the business (His Kingdom). It’s all yours with no strings attached. He loves you no matter your weaknesses and bad choices. He just wants to work closely with you, shoulder to shoulder. He doesn’t look for perfection, but for passion. And when you become weary and discouraged, just remember the inheritance and that we’re in it together.

Jim Eliot, a passionate missionary for Christ was killed by Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956. He prayed, “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life, that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like You, Lord Jesus. Jim lived a short, but passion-filled life.

A passion-filled life is not easy; it’s costly. But it’s also priceless and real. It may cost your life and popularity, but will save your soul.

Make a commitment today to live passionately for Jesus so that others may come to know Jesus also!

Ancient Paths

(Jeremiah 6:16)

I. Introduction

Drive Hwy. 59, past Reedy Fork, Return, and Snow Creek, then you come to a fork called Cross Roads. You have to decide whether you’re going to travel left or right. Left will take you to Tokeena and right will take you toward Oakway and Earles’ Grove.

A crossroads is the place where the roads meet or part.

Jeremiah wrote these words when Judah was in trouble. They had rejected the Lord their God time and again. They were self-centered and pleasure seekers. (“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain;…Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush� (vv. 13,15).

The people’s burnt offerings (worship) were no longer acceptable to God, for they had lost the meaning and purpose of sacrifice and were only going through the motions of religion (“Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me� v. 20).

The religious leaders were corrupt and useless (“Prophets and priests alike; all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace� vv. 13-14).

In the path of destruction, God called the people to “Stand at the crossroads and look.�

I believe that America also stands at the crossroads. Our nation, as a whole, has become so corrupt, and so greedy, and so self-centered, and so evil that like the people of Israel, “we have no shame at all; we do not even know how to blush anymore.�

God has given human beings a wonderful gift: The gift to choose. As a nation standing at the crossroads, we can choose the path we want to travel.

This Tuesday’s election will give this nation of millions an opportunity to choose the path for this country’s future. For many months we have heard the politicians give their speeches and promote their ideas and visions.

We have heard the debates on economics, foreign policy, health care, entitlements, social security, and taxes. We’ve seen personal attacks almost daily.

It’s been said that this election will be determined by economics – our pocketbooks. Who can best assure us of our continued wealth and well-being?

But there’s a question that begs to be asked: “Ask where the good way is (Where is the good way?) –

The good way is the path that God would have us to walk in accordance to His Holy Word. What is it that God would have us do?

We say, “In God we trust,� so why won’t we trust Him and walk in His paths???

Apparently, it is not politically correct to bring up the abortion issue (already decided by the courts!) or the issue of redefinition of marriage (already being decided by the courts!)

Let’s go back: “Stand at the crossroads.� When you stand at the crossroads, that means that you have come to a stop!

The Lord reminded the Psalmist: “Be still and know that I am God� (46:10). We need to stop and contemplate who we are as a nation, where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re headed.

We are a nation that has been founded on Christian faith and principles. Our constitution and our laws reflect Christian thought. But when our courts became so liberal as to allow a few persons to dictate that prayer not be allowed in our public schools, we began a very slippery path that has led us to where we are today.

As you and I vote this Tuesday, we must stop and take time to decide how our vote will be in keeping with God’s ways and commands.

The second thing to do at a crossroads is to Look! Look at the signs around you. Where are those signs pointing? Look where we are and where we’re headed as a nation. Look at who our leaders and future leaders are: Who they are and whom do they associate with.

The third thing to do at a crossroads is to Listen! Listen to what others are saying. If what a person is saying is too good to be true, then it most likely is. Make sure that you’re not just following the crowd.

The fourth thing to do at a crossroads is to Ask! “Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is.�

The ancient paths and the good way are both the same thing. They are the will of God. The ancient paths have been traveled by those who’ve gone before us. Those paths are proven to be the right way.

God has revealed Himself to His people and has shown us His ways and His will. All we have to do is to ask Him, and He will reveal it to us by His Spirit.

Jesus came to show us the way. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life� (John 14:6). Jesus is the way to a relationship with the Heavenly Father.

The good way is not necessarily the easy way nor the popular way nor the shortest way – but is the way!

I’m sick and tired of the media telling me what the right way is. I serve a living God who reveals it to me very clearly through His Word. There are so many voices telling us today what is the right way.

I read a story about a dog who wandered onto the baseball field in Kansas City. He trotted around the infield and sat on third base. The crowd began to yell and whistle at the poor dog. They yelled things like: “Bite the umpire!� and “Run for the home plate� and “Get off the field.� What did the dog do? He didn’t move. He finally had to be carried off the field.

A sports writer observed that the dog didn’t move because in the great confusion of voices, he did not hear anyone that was dominant for him to obey. There are so many voices that call this way or that and folks wonder what in the world they are going to do.

Listen to the voice of God through His Word. He will reveal to you the ancient paths, the good way.

Stop, look, listen, and ask. And then, walk in it. Decide the direction that you believe that God is leading. Base your decision this Tuesday on God’s direction for you. As a matter of fact, we should base all our decisions on God’s loving direction.

If you walk in the path God has you to walk in, the scripture says that “you will find rest for your souls.� This means that you will discover fulfillment in life. Spiritual rest comes from the freedom from anxiety after walking around aimlessly and without direction.

Those who claim Christ’s lordship over their lives, yet do not allow it, will not find rest.

There are some very sad words in this passage of scripture: “But you said, ‘We will not walk in it...We will not listen.�

“To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.� (6:10).

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season…For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear� (2 Tim. 4:2-3).

Judah was utterly destroyed as a result.

“Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it� (6:8).

Which Team Are You On?

(Colossians 3:14-17)

I. Introduction

Are there any Trojan fans here this morning? How about Paladins? Bulldogs? Gamecocks? Tigers?

Isn�t it amazing how we wear things that identify us with the team we support: hats, shirts, ties, pins and buttons, etc.

II. Wear Team Colors

Paul was talking to the Colossians about being genuine Christians. He spoke of things that they needed to wear and things they needed to take off.

Take off: (sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and deception)

Put on: The virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness.

You�re either for Christ or against Him. �I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm � neither hot nor cold � I am about to spit you out of my mouth� (Rev. 3:5-6).

Whose side are you on? Can the world tell?

Andy has a variety of caps he wears. The other day he was wearing all orange (shorts that Lewis Jernigan gave him, a shirt that Terry Don Phillips gave him, a cap that Tim Bowen gave him). No doubt that he was a Clemson Tiger. (Sometimes the world will try to convince you otherwise � Tennessee Volunteer!)

Some days Andy will wear a Clemson hat and a Carolina shirt. Do you confuse the world because you are wearing some things you need to remove and are not wearing some things you need to put on?

The most important thing that a person on Christ�s team must wear is love (agape). Love is the �outfit� and �compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness� are the accessories.

The life of Jesus is the demonstration of real love, for He loved people and gave His life for us!

Without the love of Jesus, all these other things would be far less meaningful! �If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal� (1 Cor. 13:1). NO HARMONY!

The love of Jesus in us �binds them all together in perfect unity (HARMONY).� It is the love of Jesus that binds us together as His body!

When I was a teenager, I remember a particular worship service when a business meeting was conducted. It got quite contentious; there were some red faces and angry, stressed voices. It was the tradition of the church that at the very end, we�d sing together this song:

We are one in the bond of love,

We are one in the bond of love,

We have joined our spirits with the Spirit of God,

We are one in the bond of love.

What struck me about that service is that although we weren�t in complete agreement about things, there was no doubt that we did love each other. And that love was based not on human love, but the love of God through Christ Jesus. The peace of Christ that �rules� in our hearts does not mean that we don�t have disagreements or conflicts in the Christian fellowship, but it does mean that we resolve them in love!!!

That love that we demonstrate through our words, thoughts and deeds leads us to �perfect unity� or Christian maturity. �Clothe ourselves� with the love of Jesus and it will get us through the challenges of life.

III. Show Team Spirit

Displaying a Seneca Bobcat Jersey on to the widows walk on top of our sanctuary.

PEACE

People look for peace today in many ways, including drugs and alcohol. So many think that peace is the absence of problems and difficult issues.

However, peace in the N.T. is much different. Paul said, �Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.� Paul was not thinking of peace without stress and duress, rather he was assuming that there would be a continuing conflict in the world between God�s team and Satan�s team.

When you and I give our hearts to Jesus, we are declaring war against the sinful world around us. God�s Word declares that you and I are not free to choose tranquility or conflict, rather we�re only free to choose which side we want to fight on!

To choose sin is to fight against God (�Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior� � 1:21); to choose peace with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, causes you to be signed up to be at war against sin (see Eph. 6:10-17).

To be at peace in God doesn�t mean that there are no storms, no struggles, no problems, and no challenges, rather it means that there is an inward blessed assurance that you are on the right team!

Jesus made peace for us on the cross (1:20; Eph. 2:14); He is our peace! The evil forces that put Him on the cross and that tempt us everyday were overcome (2:13-15).

But our peace is in Christ alone, because of what He has done for us. We are His, and we are on His team!

IV. Cheer the Team On

�Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly� � Words are capable of ending friendships or making them.

I�m sure that we�ve all spoken words that we wish that we could take back or forget.

There are some words that Christians should never forget � the words of Christ!

It�s good and important that we memorize the words of Jesus, but it�s even better to �let the word of Christ DWELL in you richly�.� What that means is that you need to live out and fulfill the words of Jesus! Jesus� words should have great effect on our decisions, our behaviors, our thoughts, our attitudes, and our words.

That�s the basis of the popular letters: WWJD.

When we�re living out the words of Christ, then we will strive to help others to know Him by �teaching and admonishing (warning).�

Teaching is not just for the sake of knowledge, rather it�s about teaching how to live successfully in this world. To live successfully, you�ve got to be admonished or warned about some things.

All throughout my children�s growing up years, I not only taught them but warned them about certain dangers. If we love people, then we�re going to want to teach and admonish them.

People who love me inside and outside this church still teach me and admonish me.

As we grow in Christ and experience the love of one another, joy and gratitude to God will result. Where there is joy and gratitude, there will be singing!!

My wife will hum a tune when she�s happy.

Psalms (from the book of Psalms)

Hymns (other songs that contain theology and express the feelings and convictions of the writer)

Spiritual songs (like hymns, but are more spontaneous like our praise and worship songs).

I love a singing church! A singing church is a joyful church!

To edit a line from a Coke commercial: �I�d like to teach the church to sing in perfect harmony!�

V. Stay Loyal to the Team

�And whatever you do��

Story of singing in a wedding when I was too cock-eyed sure of myself!

The point is to live out your life with gratitude under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Are We Appalled Yet?
(Jeremiah 2:11-13)

I. Introduction

v. 11 � �Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.�

In God We Trust!

What God are we talking about? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the everlasting God.

The God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This country was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs and principles!!

Or do we put our trust in any god we can imagine? Secularism, pluralism, universalism, New Age theology, absolute tolerance, political correctness, and humanism are all being systematically inserted into mainstream America by the media, by the Hollywood starlets, by those in high positions in our institutions of government, the courts, the universities, even the seminaries.

We have allowed the Truth of a Holy and Righteous God to be exchanged with the lies that come straight from hell itself.

Paul wrote: �They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator � who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lust�God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done�Although they know God�s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approved of those who practice them� (Rom. 1:25,26,28,32).

We have exchanged our Glory (the Lord our God) for worthless idols.

Jesus warned: You cannot serve both God and Money! (Mt. 6:24)

Look at the state of our economy! We�re going bankrupt. Yes, we�re going bankrupt economically because we allowed ourselves to become morally bankrupt. Greed has carried the day on both Wall Street and Main Street.

So many Americans have failed to use their resources to honor God, and have used them to fulfill their greed for every imaginable thing.

�Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,� declares the Lord. (v. 12).

Are you and I appalled yet at what has happened to America, the nation that we love? Is there no shame in what we have deemed acceptable in this nation so blessed of God???

Schools: We can hand out condoms and teach them New Age teachings, but we can�t hand out Bibles, we�re not allowed to pray in the classroom, nor are we allowed to display or recite the Ten Commandments!

To be a born-again Christian who believes the Bible to be the very Word of God is looked at by so many as being ignorant and narrow-minded and highly unenlightened. (I still believe in the virgin birth, the miracles of the Bible, the bodily resurrection of Jesus!)

To proclaim that the Lord our God is a God of love but also a Holy God of righteous judgment is looked on by the world as being fanatical.

To say that Jesus is the only way to salvation is politically incorrect!

I still believe that abortion is the killing of an innocent unborn child, whether it is legal or not.

I still believe in the sanctity of the home; I still believe that marriage is a sacred bond between one man and one woman.

I still believe that sexual relations outside of marriage, whether safe or unsafe, is sin!

I still believe that God intends parents to discipline and control their children rather than allow the children to control the parents.

I still believe that God expects us to love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Again, I ask: Are we appalled YET at what has happened to the nation that we love?

We go on with our lives as if everything is okay, while more and more people are falling for the lie that says we can live our lives any way we want. It is having a devastating effect on our children and our grandchildren!

We have more enthusiasm and passion about ballgames than the Kingdom of God!

Jeremiah declared the two indictments that God had raised against the people of Israel: 1) They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and 2) have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (v. 13).

First, they had forsaken the Lord their God, the One who delivered them out of slavery and brought them into the land of Promise.

They forgot so quickly! And so do we!

The Lord our God is the spring of living water.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman: �Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life� (John 4:13-14).

The people of Israel had rejected the flowing fountain of living water that comes only from God. This flowing fountain of living water is the Spirit of God which gives life abundantly!

When you give your life to Jesus Christ, He makes everything new and fresh!

�Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!� (2 Cor. 5:17).

When you invite Jesus to enter into your life, you feel clean and fresh. He forgives you of your sin and removes the stain of guilt. Death is removed and life everlasting is given through Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: �The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.� (1 Cor. 15:56-57).

Louie, my dog, was doing his job in the yard. I noticed that he squatted over a fire ant hill. The ants had been disturbed and had sounded the alarm and were making their way to attack. I pulled him away and delivered him from the sting just in time.

The Lord sees us in our lives, living in sin. Sin leads to death and destruction. Sin is the sting of death. But God in His mercy sees us and loves us and doesn�t want us to die in sin. He desires a relationship with us so that we can have life. So He sent Jesus, His Son, to be lifted up on a cross, so that by faith, He could lift us up and deliver us from the sting of sin so that we might have everlasting life.

So, Israel had committed the sin of forsaking God. Their other sin was just as bad: �They dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.�

In other words, they had bowed down to their own made up gods. (It�s terrible enough in marriage to have your spouse stop loving you and ignore you, but it�s even worse when they start loving someone else!).

In my first pastorate in rural Kentucky, I quickly discovered there were no restroom facilities. There were, of course, outdoor facilities with the added feature of facing the woods with no doors.

After being the pastor for a few months, I begin to notice a slab of concrete at the back of the church. I also noticed that the gutters all led down into the ground. After asking around, I learned that someone had the foresight of building a cistern, thinking that one day a restroom would be built.

It wasn�t long before we added an indoor restroom on to the church, pumping in the water from the cistern. The water was dirty and cloudy, and somewhat musty smelling. It served its purpose, but I wouldn�t want to drink the water! I�m used to pure, clear, chlorinated, fluorinated city tap water.

Down from the church, a lady had running water which came not from a cistern, but from a flowing underground spring. It smelled fresh and was clear and sparkling.

Not only is the water from cisterns not fresh and clean, the cisterns themselves aren�t dependable. In Israel, most of the cisterns were cut out of porous limestone � full of holes. When they most needed the water, it often had all drained out.

When you and I forsake God, we put our trust into something else: The economy (the stock market), the government, a charismatic leader, the military, technology, etc. But like broken cisterns, they will eventually fail.

Flowing fountains or broken cisterns? Which had you prefer?

I prefer to trust in the Lord our God, Yahweh, I AM THAT I AM, the great Jehovah, the Almighty Omnipotent God. He makes all things new!

Flowing Fountains or Broken Cisterns?

Are we appalled yet that our nation has chosen broken down cisterns?

Christians, we must choose the flowing fountains of living water. We must be the remnant of God�s people that choose flowing fountains of living water.

September 28, 2008

Which Attitude Possesses You?

(Exodus 35:4-5, 20-21)

I. Introduction

Context: Israel sinned against God (made and worshipped a golden calf). After much suffering, they repented. Revival occurred. Moses glowed, having been in God�s presence.

Revival came to Israel. The people were asked to give.

These are critical days for our nation. The House and Senate are meeting today, along with White House staff, in order to find a solution to our current financial crisis. All the while, other crises loom, such as the energy crisis, natural disasters, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, threats from rogue nations. All of us are being affected in one way or another!

It is such a time as this when our nation, our leaders, and the citizens turn to our God, whom we claim to be our trust, and confess our sins, repent, and seek His guidance and deliverance!

This morning, I would like to put our many crises in perspective, according to the Word of God. So much of our financial crisis has come from an attitude of greed: How can I get more? The solution to our problem will require a different attitude � an attitude of giving rather than receiving.

II. Giving is a Response of Gratitude

Those who survived the judgment of God were grateful to be alive. Out of gratitude to God, they gave (v. 21).

Society says: Live to get. But it leaves you empty and unfulfilled.

Some say: �Let me get my portion first, then I�ll be able to tell you whether I feel empty or full.� The danger of the �get� mentality is that you never think you have enough!

All of us have so much, and yet so many of us think we have so little!

Most families in America have more liabilities than assets, according to creditors. But we are all blessed with health, family, friends, shelter, food, transportation, and a job.

God�s Word reveals that the �getting� mentality is a waste of life and blinds you to the truth of life. From God�s perspective, from the biblical perspective, from the life-everlasting perspective, life is not about what we get, but what we GIVE!

We forget what we receive (Christmas, birthdays, etc.)

We remember what we give. People get a real charge out of giving. Jesus said, �What will it profit anyone to gain (�get�) the whole world and lose his life?� (Mt. 16:26).

Chad was a young, shy outcast. At the end of school, Chad was always left out as the other children walked home together in groups. Valentine�s Day was coming up and Chad wanted to make Valentines for all his classmates. His mother was worried that Chad would get his heart broken because the other kids wouldn�t give him any. But she supplied him with the paper, glue and crayons, and he spent three weeks making thirty-five valentines.

On Valentine�s Day, Chad was so excited about taking his homemade Valentines to school and handing them out to his classmates. His mother wasn�t so enthusiastic and feared that this day would lead to great rejection for him. To ease the pain, she made his favorite cookies when he came home.

After school, she saw the groups of kids walking to their homes and saw Chad walking all alone. She noticed his hands were empty and tears filled her eyes. When he came in the house, she choked back her tears and said, �I have some warm cookies and milk for you.�

He barely noticed what she said. His face was smiling and he said, �Not a one�not a one. I didn�t forget a single one!�

The greatest joy in life is reserved for those who are more interested in giving than receiving!¹

Jesus said, �It is more blessed to give than to receive� (Acts 20:35).

III. Giving Comes from the Heart

v. 5 � �Everyone who is willing�

v. 21 � �everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him�

When you give from the heart, you give something that is of real value to you.

�For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also� (Mt. 6:21).

Ex. 12:31-39 describes the articles of gold and silver and clothing they took from the Egyptians. As slaves, they owned nothing for hundreds of years, so these articles meant something.

How the Israelites responded to the Lord�s command to give an offering was amazing. They, who had nothing and now had something, were asked to give up part of that treasure. It was in their heart to do so.

People who ring the bell for Salvation Army � (those who are apparently wealthy give little if any, yet those who look like they don�t have anything to give are those who so often give)

A. Willingly (v. 21)

Everything you do for God is to be done willingly.

If you ever give because you feel like you have to, then you�re only making a payment, not a gift---no different than making a power bill payment (they�ll cut off your power if you don�t pay them)

When you write your tithe check, it should be done differently than paying bills.

When you do a service for God, you do it because you desire to do it.

�If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing� (1 Corinthians 13:3).

B. Generously (36:6)

They were giving so much, they were told to stop. Can you imagine?

Jesus said, �Freely you have received, freely give� (Mt. 10:8).

C. Continuously

It�s good to give a one-time gift, but it�s godly to give continuously. How fortunate God keeps giving to us!

�On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made� (1 Cor. 16:2).

IV. Giving is the Method of Building God�s Kingdom

No taxes are raised to support God�s work.

No fees are imposed to receive ministry.

No dues are required to be a member of the church.

No premiums paid to have eternal life insurance.

Building God�s Kingdom work is accomplished through the giving of God�s people.

Our mission is to GIVE!

A. Ourselves � the gift of self. Completely open to God�s leadership: �Use me, Lord!�

Isaiah said, �Here am I. Send me!� (Isaiah 6:8).

Serve in various areas of service.

B. Our Praise � worship Him in all you do.

�And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him� (Colossians 3:17).

C. Our Presence � the least thing a Christian can do is to be there when opportunity for growth, for service, for worship is provided. The ministry of presence is so vital: Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday evening.

Why do you think the schools have policies for tardiness and absenteeism? If you don�t show up for class, you miss out on the learning experiences!

�Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another---and all the more as you see the Day approaching� (Hebrews 10:25).

D. Our Resources � ��bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze�� (Ex. 35:5).

Offering Envelopes proclaim faithfulness, commitment, and unselfishness. Every member is given a set of offering envelopes. The members must give to carry on the work of the church.

When you tithe, you demonstrate a priority in your life, acknowledging that you are aware that all you have is given by God. We are only stewards of what God has chosen to give us.

A man tells the story of his 87-y.o. mother who belongs to a Sunday School class taught by Miss Maude, who is 90-y.o. Miss Maude watches over her class of elderly widows like a Mother Hen. One Monday morning, Miss Maude called Mrs. Adams and told her how much they had missed her in church the day before.

Mrs. Adams didn�t recall being absent. They kind of argued about who was right.

Mrs. Adams thought, �Now, was I or wasn�t I at church Sunday?� Then she thought of a foolproof method to know. She simply checked her box of offering envelopes. Sure enough, last Sunday�s envelope was missing. So, she was at church Sunday!

For Mrs. Adams, giving her offering on Sunday was just as important as being there.

E. Our Witness � sharing with others about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

�Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God�s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God---this is your spiritual act of worship� (Romans 12:1).

I heard of a church that was trying to be everything that they though people were looking for in a church. They were seeker sensitive and very flexible in just about every way. They called themselves the �Lite� Church: 29% fewer commitments required, home of the 6% tithe, 15-min. sermon, 40 min. worship service max, 8 commandments (your choice of which). I want us to be the �Complete� Church, not compromising God�s Word, His Commands, and His Requirements.

(Give with your very lives, your praise, your presence, your money, your witness)

Thank You

By Ray Boltz

I dreamed I went to heaven
And you were there with me
We walked upon the streets of gold
Beside the crystal sea
We heard the angels singing
Then someone called your name
You turned and saw this young man
And he was smiling as he came

And he said, Friend
You may not know me now
And then he said, But wait
You used to teach my Sunday School
When I was only eight
And every week you would say a prayer
Before the class would start
And one day when you said that prayer
I asked Jesus in my heart

CHORUS: Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am a life that was changed
Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am so glad you gave

Then another man stood before you
And said remember the time
A missionary came to your church
And his pictures made you cry
You didn't have much money
But you gave it anyway
Jesus took the gift you gave
And that's why I am here today

CHORUS

One by one they came
Far as the eye could see
Each life somehow touched
By your generosity
Little things that you had done
Sacrifices made
Unnoticed on the earth
In heaven now proclaimed

And I know up in heaven
You're not supposed to cry
But I am almost sure
There were tears in your eyes
As Jesus took your hand
And you stood before the Lord

He said, My child look around you
Great is your reward.

September 21, 2008

What Wall Street Teaches Us

(Luke 12:42-48)

1. Introduction

Wall Street has taught us this week that:

1. You don�t have to be accountable to anyone;

2. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil;

3. The end justifies the means, no matter the harm it may cause to individuals, corporations, the nation, and the world;

4. Absolute corruption can absolutely destroy.

Listen to what Jesus has to teach us today: �From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked� (Lk. 12:48).

This is told in the context of the Second Coming of Christ. Be watchful!!!

God expects more from His children than those who aren�t.

What is it that we have been given and what is required of us?

2. What We Have Been Given

1. The Savior

Without Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we were lost in our sins and going to hell. Hell is a place of separation from God and a place of eternal suffering.

But God�s grace and love gave us a Savior. God did the most wonderful thing when he sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins.

The disciples were rejoicing because they were able to heal people and the demons even came out of people at their command in Jesus� name. Jesus told them: ��Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven� (Lk. 10:20).

Rejoice, for we have a Savior!

Much has been given to us!

2. The Holy Spirit

The Spirit is with us to comfort, to guide, to teach, and to convict us of sin.

3. A Bible

Don�t you like to hear from those you love and who love you? God sends us His love letters through His Word, the Bible. It guides us along the path of life: �Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path� (Ps. 119:105).

4. Prayer

Prayer is more than asking God for something, it involves submitting your life and concerns over to His control. It is a conversation with the Father.

5. Forgiveness

When we sin, God is faithful to forgive us: �If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness� (1 John 1:9).

6. The Promise of Heaven

The Hope of Christ. No one and nothing can rob us of our eternal life!

3. What Is Required of the Christian?

1. A loyal and committed heart

Too many Christians love God a little and love the world a lot. This world, under the masterful direction of Satan, is constantly inviting you to conform its ways: Selfishness, aimlessness, hopelessness, greediness, complete tolerance to every imaginable philosophy, lifestyle, and religion.

2. A Holy Life

Remember who you are and whose you are. Our greatest testimony is the life we live each and every day.

3. Active and Passionate Service

Blessed are those Christians who are passionate about serving the Lord and others.

4. Faithful Stewardship

The parable reveals that a faithful steward or manager of his master�s resources acts responsibly with what he has been put in charge of. As a result, a wise steward is given more responsibilities.

Jesus is speaking of our financial resources as well as the other things we possess. Jesus wants us to use our money in such a way that will honor Him and advance His kingdom!

Your money is only a temporary possession. It fluctuates in value. Eventually, money will fail to get what you need, whether it�s good health, a relationship, a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, security, etc.

I read about a man who was a member of First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City back in the 1920�s. He was a young deacon, who was very wealthy financially.

The church needed to build an educational building, and so he gave generously. Later the Great Depression hit, and wiped him out financially, leaving him heavily in debt.

However, he never failed to give his tithe, knowing that He could not afford not to give God His share. Later on, God blessed him again financially, and he was able to contribute even more to God�s work.

He told his pastor, �During that time of my financial embarrassment, I would go by and look at the building and say, �All that I have left is what I put into that building.��

That�s what Jesus was talking about. Money used for selfish ends will eventually fail, but money used for God�s work endures forever. Money you spend on dinner will last a couple of hours. Money spent on new shoes will last a few seasons. Money spent on a new automobile will last a decade or more. But money spent on the kingdom of God lasts forever!

So many of you in this congregation only invest your money in temporal things. Why not invest in the things of God that will last for eternity!

Cal Thomas, in today�s article in the Greenville News entitled Living within one�s means makes life richer in the long run, stated that �wealth is best used when it becomes a river, not a reservoir; when it blesses and encourages others and does not solely feed one�s personal empire.¹

Money spent wisely for God�s kingdom work not only lasts, but expands our ability to serve!

A church member was asked what he had been doing during the past week. He replied:

Monday � preached in Jesus� name in Hong Kong.

Tuesday � ministered in Jesus� name to migrant workers in Fl.

Wednesday � performed laser eye surgery in Jesus� name and gave sight to a blinded Ethiopian.

Thursday � taught English in Jesus� name on a college campus in Taiwan.

Friday � established a church in Jesus� name for ostracized Gypsies in Romania.

Saturday � helped clean up from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, TX in Jesus� name.

Sunday � led multiple worship services in Jesus� name there in Moscow.

The friend replied, �There�s no way you can do all that in one week!� The church member said, �No, I can�t, but I gave my tithe to the Lord in Jesus� name this past Sunday, and through the Cooperative Program I have been able to do all these things!

And did you know that your stewardship can continue long after you�ve gone to be with the Lord?

You can put God�s will in your will. The Baptist Foundation of South Carolina would be happy to work for you at no charge to set up a will so that you can keep giving to God�s kingdom long after you�ve died. They�ll even administer your will and estate for you if you choose.

A good and faithful steward, when he or she dies, may leave behind those who mourn, but will be welcomed in heaven by a multitude of those who were enabled to be there because of his or her wise stewardship.

�From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked� (Luke 12:48).

1. You don�t have to be accountable: You must be accountable - Judgment Day)

2. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil: Don�t let money rule your life (If you don�t manage your money, it will manage you!)

3. The end justifies the means: The means to an end does matter (We�re to glorify God)

4. Corruption destroys: honor edifies!
   
   1 Cal Thomas, The Greenville News, �Living within one�s means makes life richer in long run,� 9/21/08, p. 3B.
   

September 14, 2008
The Teachings of Jesus:

Humility

(Matthew 5:1-3)

1. Introduction

To sit at the feet of Jesus!

As disciples, we�re to go forth and teach others to obey everything Jesus has taught and commanded us (Mt. 28:20).

Preaching helps people to know how to get into a right relationship with God. Teaching helps people to know how to stay in a right relationship with God.

At Capernaum Jesus saw the crowds. (There were several groups listed in the Gospels � The disciples were those who had made a commitment to follow Jesus; the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and the crowd who curiously followed Jesus around, amazed at His teachings and ministries.

Jesus went up to a hillside and sat down (the position of a teacher). The disciples came to Jesus and he began to teach them.

Matthew has shared these teachings of Jesus, which we refer to as the Sermon on the Mount.

The first of these teachings is called the Beatitudes. The Greek word for Blessed is makarios and the Latin is beatus. From the Latin, we derive the word, Beatitudes.

Some translators have translated this word as Happy or Fortunate, but both of these words suggest an emotional state that is dependent on circumstances.

To be blessed is a state of being in a right relationship with God in which a person is blessed from God�s perspective even when he or she doesn�t necessarily feel happy or in the best of circumstances.

Rough times (depression, times of need, crises, loneliness, hopelessness) can�t take away your state of blessedness because you have a relationship with the King who is sovereign and will meet every need that you have in life!

Blessed are the �poor in spirit� � ptochoi � extremely poor

Ptochos � begging, dependent on others for support

More than a child coming to a father for money. This implies a person who has nothing, including no credit line, no home equity, with nowhere to go, no one to bail them out � busted, broke!

Those who are poor in spirit are those who are spiritually and emotionally spent. They may be disillusioned, oppressed, depressed, despairing and need the help that only God can give.

When you take on the attitude that God is your only source of real help, then you are blessed, because yours is the kingdom of heaven. You are living your life as a citizen of heaven, not of this world.

Paul warned the Philippians about those who cared only about the things of this world. He said, �Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven� (3:19-20).

When the crowds began to turn away from Jesus, He asked his disciples, �You do not want to leave too, do you?� Peter answered, �Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life� (John 6:67-68).

When nothing else seems to help, when there�s no one else to turn to, why not try Jesus? He alone has the words of eternal life.

The kingdom of God belongs to those who know that they have no resources to help them except God.

The word, �humble,� describes this attitude of being poor in spirit. Being humble is the first step into the kingdom of God!!! It�s also the necessary step to obey the commands of Christ.

II. Humility Lowers the Pride but Raises the Person�s Performance

Illustrations of biblical characters who were humble:

1. Noah � a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God�Noah did everything just as God commanded him (Gen. 6:9, 22)

2. Abraham � �Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness� (Gen. 15:6).

3. Moses � �Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth� (Num. 12:3).

• prince to pauper (Ex. 2-3)

• shepherd of flocks to shepherd of a nation

• slow of speech and tongue to speaking the voice of God (Ex. 4:16) � �Let my people go�

• fugitive to a deliverer

4. Job � after losing his earthly possessions, his servants, and children, he fell down and worshipped God: �Naked I came from my mother�s womb, and naked I will depart. The lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the lord be praised� (1:21).

After being afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, he refused to curse God, rather said, �Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?� (2:10).

In one of the truths that Jesus shared, one of those truths that seemed paradoxical, Jesus said, �Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven� (Mt. 18:4), and �Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first� (Mt. 19:30), and �Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave��(Mt. 20:26-27).

Jesus exemplified the attitude of humility: �Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death � even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name�(Phil. 2:5-9)

�If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land� (2 Chron. 7:14).

As an individual Christian, if I want to raise my standing in the community, I could become everything to everybody, wield my sphere of influence, smile all the time, shake everybody�s hands and kiss babies. But if I want to raise my standing before God, I must humble myself!

2. Humility Lowers the Pride but Raises the Person�s Character

1. Eager to Confess Sin (Ps. 51:3-4)

�For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.�

2. Eager to Obey (Isa. 6:8)

And I said, ��Here am I. Send me!�

3. Eager to Serve God and one another (Acts 9:36) �In Joppa there was a disciples named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.�

4. Eager to Give (Luke 19:8) But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, �Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.�

5. Eager to Listen and Learn (Ex. 33:13) �If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.�

6. Eager to Commit to God�s Work (Num. 14:24) �But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly��

7. Eager for God to have His way (Matt. 26:39)
   �Yet not as I will, but as you will.�

September 7, 2008
A Devotion on the Lord�s Supper

(Mark 14:12-26)

As Jesus gathered His disciples around the table in the Upper Room to eat the Passover, He was aware that His suffering and death would soon follow, as well as His resurrection.

Jesus took the cup and stated, �This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many� (v. 24). This covenant is an agreement or promise between God and people. It is a covenant that is conditional on the faith and obedience of the people.

I. A New Covenant

The covenant is new. The old covenant was based on works � the Law of Moses. But the Law proved too burdensome for people to keep. So God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a sin offering for the sins of the world. He died, was buried and on the third day arose from the dead. The gospel or good news that we proclaim today is that all who believe in Jesus Christ are saved from their sins.

�For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith � and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God � not by works, so that no one can boast� (Gal. 2:8-9).

We come to the table of communion. The word, communion, comes from the Greek word, koinonia, which means to share, to fellowship. And so, as God�s people, as the disciples of Christ, we come together to celebrate the newness that we have in Jesus Christ.

Jesus told the disciples before His ascension into heaven �Therefore go and make disciples of all nations�� (Mt. 28:19a). What is a disciple? It is a follower or learner. To use the jargon of public education, a Christian disciple is a life-long learner.

So Christian disciples are to go and make Christian disciples � that is our task. As a deeply committed church of Christian disciples, we are to make disciples, not just here but throughout the world.

II. A New Fellowship

This new covenant involves a new fellowship. As Christian disciples we enjoy a wonderful fellowship with one another. The world is longing for a sense of belonging that comes through fellowship with God and His people.

�Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband�s will, but born of God� (John 1:12-13).

As Christ�s disciples we find ourselves drawn to those who share in our faith. The church is where brothers and sisters in Christ can fellowship with one another. When the church gathers, it�s always a reunion time.

III. A New Heart � repentance

Faith in Jesus confronts each of us with our sin, pride, and unworthiness. When Jesus comes into your heart, He gives you a new heart � a heart that is repentant and desires forgiveness.

Jesus announced at the table that someone would betray Him. Each disciple asked, �Surely, not I?� This indicated their desire to be faithful to the Lord.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to examine themselves before eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord, searching their hearts for sin that may exist.

So must we, who have been given a new heart, broken by sin and unworthiness, examine our lives and repent of any evil that exists.

IV. A New Grace � to forgive ourselves and others

God is gracious to forgive us of our sins and failures. First John 1:9 says, �If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.�

When you have God�s forgiveness, you can forgive yourself.

When you have God�s forgiveness, you must forgive others. Forgiveness is a gift. Jesus said, �For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins� (Mt. 6:14-15).

The same goes with love. �If anyone says, �I love God,� yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen� (1 John 4:19-20).

Hatred and an unforgiving spirit is a terrible burden to carry, and breaks the fellowship with God and fellow disciples. Release it, give it to God, and be rid of that heavy burden. To hang on to it will make you guilty of �sinning against the body and blood of the Lord� (1 Cor. 11:27).