A Fiery Sermon...

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening.. The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire... Guessing the reason for his preachers visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday.' We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

Author Unknown...

Cracking Conventional Wisdom - Satan?

What does conventional wisdom say about Satan? It says that Satan is...

1. equal in power to God
2. able to stop God's purpose
3. able to defeat the church
4. able to control our actions
5. the king of a domain called hell

What is the real truth?

1. Satan is not an equal to God. God has no equal. He is the creator of all things and His power is unmatched. God does not even have to break a sweat to defeat the enemy. Satan is simply a fallen angel that was cast out of heaven by God and his fall was like lightening from heaven.

2. God's purpose will not be stopped. He will ultimately be worshiped. He will ultimately be proclaimed king. Satan will ultimately be defeated.

3. God will have the Church. The Church will not fail or be defeated. It is founded on Jesus Christ the solid rock.

4. The devil cannot "make" us do anything. We have to give him influence. If we submit ourselves unto God then we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.

5. Hell is not Satan's domain. He is not in charge of hell. He fears hell. He dreads hell. He will be a victim of its torture just as any unrepentant sinner.

We have nothing to fear from our enemy, Satan. If we stay in the church and stay submitted to God then we will be victorious.

Remember, if Satan COULD destroy you he WOULD.

I met the Master face to face

I had walked life's way with an easy tread,
Had followed where comfort and pleasures led,
Until one day in a quiet place
I met the Master face to face.

With station and rank and wealth for my goal,
Much thought for my body, but none for my soul,
I had entered to win in life's mad race,
When I met the Master face to face.

I met Him, and knew Him and blushed to see
That His eyes full of sorrow, were fixed on me;
And I faltered and fell at His feet that day,
While my castles melted and vanished away.

Melted and vanished and in their place
Naught else did I see but the Masters face.
And I cried aloud, "Oh, make me meet
To follow the steps of Thy wounded feet."

My thought is now for the souls of men,
I have lost my life to find it again,
E'er since one day in a quite place
I met the Master face to face.

Author: Unknown

Beware of theThree Types of Leaven

Matt 16:6
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mark 8:15
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

The leaven of the Pharisees - This leaven expands the philosophy that if you dot every i and cross every t on the outside that you are pleasing God.

This is the leaven of hypocrisy.

The leaven of the Sadducees - This leaven expands the philosophy of questioning and doubting traditionally held views. They refused to acknowledge Oral History or Oral Law.

This is the leaven of compromise.

The leaven of Herod - This leaven expanded the philosophy of tolerance. Herod had to walk a fine line between Roman paganism and Hebraic doctrine to remain in favor with the Roman government. This resulted in a hybrid and convoluted religious culture that embraced worldliness.

This is the leaven of appeasement.

God help us to remove all the leaven from our lives and preach it out of our churches.

Withholding...

Ananias and Sapphira withheld a part and was judged.

I ask us a simple question today, while we preach, teach and live as examples of consecration, "What are we withholding?"

Have I given Him all?

My time? My will? My Finance? My Effort?

What am I reserving for myself?

Search me O' Lord and help me surrender all!

Acts 5:1-11
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Learning the Way of the Cross

Surrender
Discipline
Sacrifice
Giving
Loving

Oh, that I can learn the way of the Cross...

Satan has You Right Where God Wants You!

Satan is so dumb! (I say that in the kindest possible way...smile)

I have noticed that God loves to let Satan think that he has you right where he wants you. When, in reality, he is positioning you for your greatest victory.

Pharaoh thought he had Israel right where he wanted them. With mountains to each side and a sea before them, Pharaoh bore down on them. However, God had a different plan. God was using the enemy for His own purposes.

Purpose One - To show Israel who He is.

To show them…

...that He is the God of all the elements.

(Cloud, Fire, and Sea)
...that He is well able to deliver.
...that He is well able to defeat any enemy no matter how large or advanced their armies may be.

Purpose Two - To show us the type and shadow of the New Birth message

Israel…
...left their old life - Repentance
...passed through the sea - Baptism
...passed through the cloud - Holy Ghost

Therefore, the enemy was just a tool in the hands of God used to fulfill God's purpose in the lives of His people.

Satan thought he had Joseph where he wanted him… (Egypt)

Satan thought he had Daniel and the Hebrew boys where he wanted them… (Lion’s Den and the Fiery Furnace)

Satan also thought he had Jesus where he wanted him... (On the Cross)

Once again God was just using Satan's lust for power and his hatred for man kind to fulfill His purpose. He allowed Satan to orchestrate circumstances that seemed to be a defeat for God and His people, only to use those circumstances to propel His purpose in to the light for all to see.

So, when you feel that you have reached the end and the enemy has won.

Don't give up!

You are only being positioned for your promise!