FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
June 8, 2004

THANK YOU LORD!

There are many Christians who struggle with their contentment and joy in life. They seem to be in the dumps most of the time and do not know why. One reason given in Scripture for this is because of a lack of thanksgiving. We know we cannot be happy, content, and satisfied if we are in rebellion to our Creator who tells us, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thes 5:18). If we are not giving thanks in everything, we are in violation of a very important command of God.

There are three attitudes concerning giving thanks. One attitude is like the rich farmer in Luke 12 who thought it unnecessary. He thought he deserved what he had and was looking forward to future prosperity, but he was ungrateful for his past prosperity. He did not recognize where his life and resources came from!
Being satisfied with himself and all he had, he came up with a plan in in Luke 12:19-21, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

The farmer forgot whose land the crops had been grown on. He forgot who sent the rain and gave the fruit. He had not thought of God; therefore, he gave no thanks to Him. He failed to realize that “every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.”
We have a tendency to look down on this man, but how many of us commit the same sin he did. None of us have power to protect our lives against accidents, disease, heartache, or death. Our life, health, protection, and all we have comes from God, but do we thank Him for his abundant grace? How would we feel if we provided many gifts to someone and they took them, used them, but never thanked us for them? It would make us not want to give them any more.

When we fail to give God thanks, it is not only the sin of ingratitude, it is also the sin of unbelief. Living a thankless life is living like the pagans or the atheist who do not recognize God for all the good He does for them. Sure, we know God is there, but do we acknowledge Him and give Him the thanks He deserves? To fail in thanksgiving is to live like the foolish farmer.

When any person goes day after day without thanking God for all His blessings, he is acting like the unsaved. If we fail to give thanks, we reveal that we are quenching the Holy Spirit who leads us to thank and praise God. It reveals you are not Spirit filled. If the Holy Spirit is not filling you, you are being filled with yourself. This leads to a walking in the flesh which produces a selfish life. Unthankful people are selfish people. You absolutely cannot be filled with joy, peace and contentment if you are not filled with the Spirit. You cannot be filled with the spirit if you are unthankful.

A second attitude of thanksgiving is illustrated by the Pharisee in Luke 18:11-12, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” He is acting like he is in his house giving himself praise and thanks rather than in God’s house praising and thanking Him. He illustrates the thanksgiving of a hypocrite.

The right attitude about thanksgiving is illustrated by one of the ten lepers Jesus healed in Luke 17. All ten lepers were healed of their dreadful disease, but only one came back to give Jesus thanks. All ten received bodily healing, but only the one who came back to give thanks received spiritual healing and eternal life. This is one illustration that reveals that thanksgiving pleases God.

God seeks people to worship Him. John 4:23-24 says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” There is a satisfaction of our inner nature when we worship correctly. Part of the correct way to worship is by knowing how we are to come before Him. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

Ephesians 5:20 tells us when, for what, how, and to whom thanks is to be given, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When are we to give thanks? Always! Regardless of what is happening to us, we are to recognize that God is in control of our lives to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. When something comes our way and we are upset, ungrateful, and lose our joy, we are forgetting about our Creator’s leadership in our lives.

There may be some bad things that happen to us for which we cannot be thankful, but we can still look to God who has promised in Romans 8:28 to turn everything into good for us. It is easy to be thankful when we are blessed. This is easy and requires little spiritual maturity. A second level of thanksgiving is to be thankful for some victory we hope will come. This is in anticipation of something and requires more maturity and faith.

The third level of thanksgiving is the hardest. This level thanks God while you are in a battle and do not know how it will turn out! Daniel illustrates this by the way he continued to pray even though it looked like it would cost him a trip to the lion’s den. We are to give thanks always and for all things. How? In the name of Jesus. To whom are we to be thankful? God the Father.

If you are born again, God is your Father. He is Creator of all but father of only those who trust Him as God and Savior. Since He has all power, since He is in control of everything and knows everything, and is completely righteous, we should be able to give Him thanks continually. A failure to continually give thanks to our Lord reveals a wicked attitude of the nine lepers who takes what God gives but refuses to give God what He wants. He want to be thanked!
 

(IMMANUEL CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
June 25, 2004

THE KEY TO BLESSINGS!

When a person gets saved, he is called to follow and obey the Lord, but because of the “Adam nature” that is still in the believer, there is the tendency to sin and disobey. Most of our problems come because we violate some principle or command God has given in His word. Anytime sin is committed, trouble is associated with it.

Every Christian wants to completely obey the Lord, but every Christian fails. The pull of the flesh is so strong and deceitful that many times we fail to obey as we should. Some people fail to obey because they have never been saved, but think they have been. They need to recall the story about the rich young ruler who came to Jesus seeking eternal life. Jesus told him to sell all he had, give to the poor, and follow Him. This man showed that he cared more for his wealth than he did the Savior. He would not obey. If there is a lack of strong desire to obey the Lord, there is a lack of salvation. First John 2:3 says, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”

Every Christian wants to obey, but every Christian has a hard time obeying the way he wants to. We know that obedience is the path to blessing and joy, but we still have a hard time. Even the Apostle Paul said, “The things I want to do, I don’t do, and the things I don’t want to do, I do.” Most can identify with that. Even thought obedience is the desire of our hearts, it is not easy to obey as we should.

Romans 13:8,10 tells how to fulfill all the law of God, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” There is a debt we owe, but it will never be paid no matter how much we pay on it, but as we try to pay on our debt of love, something wonderful happens according to First John 2:10, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” Loving others protects us from falling into many hurtful things. Loving our brothers is one way to know we are saved. Matthew 5:44 tells us what our relationship is to be with the rest of the world, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” We are to love everyone, but only God’s people can do this!

The Bible tells us that loving one another includes, teaching others, setting godly examples, bearing one another’s burdens, covering others faults, and forgiving one another. We can do these things because we have the love of God in us. Romans 5:5 says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” As a child of God, we have a debt to pay. It requires the love of God to pay it, and we have been given that love by the Holy Spirit.

When sin comes in, the desire to love goes out. This is one reason we are told, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Peter 1:22). As we purify our hearts, we can have the ability to love fervently. This is one reason we come to church, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Heb 10:24).

If you love someone, you will not steal what they have, nor lie against them, nor murder them, nor commit adultery against them, nor covet what they have. You cannot love someone and do them harm. This means that the key to obedience is love. If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, there would not have to be any more laws. When we violate a law of God, it reveals that we are not loving God as we should. When we violate any person, it reveals that we are not loving them as we should. Love is the key to obedience!

We are called to love because love fulfills all the law God has given. We have been given the ability to love by the Holy Spirit at salvation. The question is, “How can we love like that? We want to, but how can we?” Galatians 5:22 gives the answer, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.”

If we make a determined effort to yield our self to the Holy Spirit’s power and direction, He has promised to produce love in us. With that love will come joy, peace, etc. If we fail to yield our self to the Spirit, we will yield our self to the flesh which produces the works of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16 instructs us to “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” If we allow pride or selfishness to control our lives, it destroys love. If we continually submit to the Spirit of God, we will be directed by Him. He produces love in us which desires to be expressed in doing for others. The more we do, the more we want to do. The more love is exercised, the stronger it gets.

If we are going to be more obedient and experience the blessings of that obedience, we must be filled with the love of God. To be filled with His love, we must be filled with the Spirit who produces God’s love in us.

This requires a conscious yielding to the Holy Spirit who will then produce love according to Galatians 5:22. For us to be able to yield to the Spirit so that we are filled by Him, we must be filled with His Word. No one can live a consistent Christian life without having the “word of Christ to dwell in him richly.”
This is a major reason God has given pastors and teachers to help Christians to know His word and His will. Make sure you are in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church every time the doors are open. Fill your mind with the things of God. Whatever you fill your mind with will be what you think about. What you think about is what you do. What you do will either evoke the blessings or the chastening of God. Make the word a priority in your life!

(IMMANUEL CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
June 3, 2004

HIGH COST OF PARTIAL OBEDIENCE!

First Samuel 15 contains eight principles that illustrate the high cost of partial obedience. The first one is: “GOD’S JUDGMENT IS BASED UPON THE TREATMENT OF HIS PEOPLE. Samuel told King Saul to destroy the Amalekites and all they have. In verse 2, God said, “I remember that which Amalek did to Israel.” The Amalekites attacked Israel when they came out of Egypt. Now God is bringing retribution. In Verse 6, Saul allows the Kenites to go free. Why? They had shown favor to Israel and were now being blessed because of it.

God made the promise to Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee.” When the Lord comes back at the end of the Tribulation period, the nations will be judged on the basis of how they treated the nation of Israel. Beware of anyone who is cruel to God’s chosen people.

The second principle is: “HUMAN REASONING IS NOT TO TAKE PRIORITY OVER THE REVEALED WILL OF GOD!” If God says to do something, do it whether you understand it or not. If Scripture says something, that is God speaking to us. When we decide to not obey, we are saying by our actions that we know more than God does. God plainly told Saul to kill the Amalekites and destroy all they had, but Saul spared Agag, their king, and some of the best live stock.

Saul’s human reasoning took priority over the known will of God. Pride caused that! When God says one thing but we do another, it reveals pride in our hearts. Every time we have a decision to make we are under a test. Will we do what we know God wants or what we want. A decision to do something other than what God says reveals that pride is present.

Saul tried to justify himself by saying he was going to sacrifice the animals to the Lord, but that does not make sense. God said it was refuse and was to be destroyed, but Saul said, “We will not do that, but we will save them and then offer them to the Lord for a sacrifice.” It is insane to offer God what He has already said was garbage?

When Abraham was in the land where God wanted him, God brought a test. There was a famine and Abraham failed. He went to Egypt where he acquired a servant named Hagar. He has a son by her named Ishmael. This son was the beginning of the Arab nation that is a sworn enemy to the nation of Israel to this day. You cannot disobey without harming yourself and others. Scripture tells us to read the Word, give, pray, witness, live holy lives, etc. The degree that we obey reveals the degree that we are trusting our Lord.

The third principle is: “GOD’S PEOPLE OUGHT TO FEEL WHAT GOD FEELS!” In verse 11, God was grieved at the behavior of Saul. When Samuel learned what Saul had done, he to was grieved. Godly people ought to feel what God feels. A Christian should not only love God, but he should hate sin. Why? One reason is that God does. If you love your child, you will hate the things which would harm him. If we love God, we must develop a hatred for sin.

The fourth principle is: “PRIDE BRINGS DISOBEDIENCE.” In verse 12, it says Saul set him up a place. The word place could be translated a “monument.”

Saul has had some success and begins to think he is greater than he is. Pride is like sleep. You don’t fall into pride just like you don’t fall asleep. You drift to sleep. You have to wake up to know that you have been asleep! When pride slips in, it is unnoticeable unless you know its signs. Pride always leads to disobedience. Pride says, “My will is more important to me that God’s will.” As it was with Saul, so it is with everyone. When we disobey, realize that pride is the culprit!

The fifth principle is: “THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR OBEDIENCE.” Today, we have substitutes for almost everything, but the only substitute for obedience is disobedience. We either obey or disobey. There is no other choice!

The sixth principle is: “DISOBEDIENCE IS A BIG SIN.” We like to think that when we disobey that it is a “small” sin, but read verse 23, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” We want to sugar coat our disobedience, but God says it is the same as practicing witchcraft or idolatry.

If we see sin as God sees it, we are more likely to hate it as God does. Parents, don’t allow your children to practice witchcraft in your home by allowing them to rebel against the authority over them. The authority is you, the teacher, the pastor, the police officer, etc. When they are allowed to rebel, they are being allowed to practice witchcraft.

Stubbornness is like idolatry. Idolatry is to set up an idol and worship it. The idol is self. We bow down to self instead of bowing down to God and His word. That is why Paul said, “I die daily.” Daily he did what he did when he got saved. He said, “Lord, I count the old flesh dead today. I acknowledge you as my Lord and Savior.” To be rebellious and stubborn is to say self is god of my life.

The seventh principle is: “DISOBEDIENCE WILL BE PUNISHED.” Because of Saul’s disobedience, he lived the rest of his life without the blessings of God on it. Later, he was removed as King of Israel. No one can sin without bringing the punishment or the chastisement of God to their life.

The eighth principle is: “WHAT YOU DON’T DESTROY WILL DESTROY YOU.” Saul was told to destroy the Amalekites but he did not. Later in his life, there was a battle, Saul was wounded, and was later killed by an Amalekite, (2nd Samuel 1). If there is some sin or habit in your life, deal with it, or it may one day destroy you! Remember, whatever success a person has in this life is in direct proportion to obedience to the revealed word of God.

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)
 

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 1, 2004

DEALING WITH STUBBORN SIN!

Many times in our lives, it is the same habits, practices, or sins that keep causing us trouble. They get so deeply ingrained in us that they become hard to deal with. Our Lord gives us some principles in His Word which will help us deal with those stubborn things that give us trouble. One is given in Galatian 5:16, “walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Only the Holy Spirit can control the flesh in us. If we are not continually yielding to the Spirit, the flesh will get and stay in control of our lives.

Another principle is given in Jude 1:21, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” There is a place where the love of God flows. This place is described in John 14:23, “...If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Here is the promise of God that if we love Him, he will come to us and live in us. What a great promise. But, it is based upon the stipulation that we love the Lord. John 14:21 tells us what loving the Lord really means, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

Another help for stubborn problems is in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” If we are to prevent bad habits or some sin from destroying our lives, we must be on guard. We must watch for sin creeping into our thoughts. God tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it” (Jer. 17:9)? Sin can even creep into our most spiritual times if we do not develop a watchfulness over our thoughts.

We must learn to stop sin at its beginning instead of waiting until it is near its end. The longer sin is allowed in our hearts, the more difficult it is to stop. James 1:14-15 gives us the evolution of a sin, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Sin begins small like a seed planted in the ground. At the beginning, sin looks good and always promises some pleasure, but the end of it is always death. Sin begins in the mind with a thought. As you meditate on it, the desire increases until the deed is committed.

If we are to overcome sin, there must be meditation on the Word of God. Psalm 119:9 says, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” You cannot take heed to the Word if you do not know it. You must not only hear the word, but it must be in your heart. Psalm 37:31 says, “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” To get the Word in our heart, we must read it, meditate on it, and obey it. It is then that we develop convictions which will protect us in times of temptation.

The way to guard the mind against the filth in this world is to have it filled with the Word of God. When the Word controls our thinking, we will be wise enough to detect those things that promises us good but are really evil.

Psalm 19:7 gives some benefits of Scripture in our hearts, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” The word of God will transform us from being simple into wise people who can spot danger. When we learn that there is more evil in the least sin than in the greatest calamity, we will be on the road to becoming wise people. The only thing that can reveal sin and protect us from it is Scripture. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).

Regardless of how hard we try, there will be moments of failure. Peter failed the Lord and went out and wept bitterly. He had immediate remorse for his failure. After a failure, repent immediately. Keep short accounts with God. When you repent, name the sin. Call it what God calls it. Promise the Lord you will never do it again. Tell the Lord how wicked it was and that you did not have to do it, and that you will not do it again.

The fact is that you may do it again, and you may have to go through this same process, but you will commit it less frequently. By continuing this, you will soon have the victory over it. When a person fails to name the sin and make God these promises to keep them, it reveals that he wants to commit them again.
Sinful things are hard to deal with because it appeals to the flesh in us. We must continually pray for divine help. Ephesians 6 describes the armor we are to continually wear to do battle against the world, flesh, and Satan. Jesus told the disciples in Matt. 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

If we are not watching and praying, and keeping our armor on, sin can creep in without us detecting it. The temptations will come and we will not be strong enough to resist it. If we do fall into sin, we will suffer for it. We must be continually watching, praying, and maintaining our armor to resist sin.

When we are doing well, we need to remember Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” When a person does fall, and we help to restore them, it will strengthen us.

We must not allow a sin to become habitual. How can we do this? First, we must realize how powerful sin is in us. When we do sin, confess it immediately and promise God not to commit that sin again. If we fail, do the same thing over until we have the victory. We must submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from us. We must meditate on and memorize the Word coupled with prayer and we can expect the love and power of God to protect us.

(IMMANUEL CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 1, 2004

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 8, 2004

ROADBLOCKS TO PROSPERITY!

We believe God wants every person to be a success. Many people equate being successful with making a lot of money, but Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” A man who becomes a millionaire is considered successful, but Jesus says if you gained the whole but was not saved, you are a failure.

How much money you have has nothing to be with being successful in the eyes of God; therefore, a person who wants to be successful must decide whose criteria he will go by: the world’s or God’s. I hope you choose God’s criteria for prosperity. If you do, this article will give you God’s plan for prosperity.

The first step in being prosperous is to be saved. If you could gain the world in this life, but spend eternity in hell, you are not a prosperous person. As long as a person lives his life in rebellion to his Creator, he cannot be successful. The first step in prosperity comes in John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior puts you on the prosperity road in this life and gains you eternal prosperity in the life to come.

There are many Christians who will spend eternity in all the riches God has provided for them, but lead very miserable and unprosperous lives on this earth. Our Lord is not pleased when His people lead miserable lives here. Psalm 35:27 tells us, “...Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” It gives our Lord pleasure when his servants are prosperous.

God’s plan for prosperity is a little different than man’s. Most people think that being prosperous is being your own boss and have others serve you. They think it is having a lot of money so you can have a lot of material things and a lot of pleasure to go with it. God’s plan of prosperity does not associate material wealth with prosperity. God does want us prosperous, but not necessarily rich. God wants us to have our needs met and to enjoy Him and His blessings on our lives.

There are some roadblocks to God’s prosperity. These roadblocks will prevent us from having our needs met. They will prevent us from enjoying God and His blessings to us. The first roadblock is given in Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” An old adage says, “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” It is also true, “To err is human, and to try to cover it up is also.”
Eve was trying to cover her sin when she blamed the serpent. When Adam blamed God and Eve for his sin, he was trying to cover it. One wise man said, “He who falls into sin is human. He who grieves over his sin is a saint. He who boast of his sin is a devil.” If you are a saint, you will sin. What you do about that sin will determine if you are successful in this life or not. If you try to cover your sin, God promises you that you will not prosper. If you obey 1 John 1:9 and confess and forsake that sin, you will have the mercy of God on you.

King David was a man after God’s own heart. He was the killer of Goliath and liberator of Israel, but David sinned. David did like most of us will do at some point in time. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He saw a woman he should not have seen and did what he should not have done. He committed adultery with Bathsheba. He had her husband killed to try to cover up his sin. There was a child born as a result of that adulterous affair. For the whole year David tried to cover his sin he was miserable.

He writes in Psalm 51:1-2, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” David felt dirty and he was dirty. He could no longer enjoy God nor the blessings which had been given to him.

The most miserable person in the world is not a sinner. It is a child of God with unconfessed and unforgiven sin in his life. David may have bathed in a marble tub, used perfumed soap, and slept on a silk sheets, but he felt dirty on the inside. The soap could not wash away the filth in his mind.

Sin not only dirties the soul, it will dominate the mind. A whole year passed before David confessed his sin, but all that time, his mind was dominated by it. Psalm 51:3 says, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” Night and day David thought about his sin. One proof of your salvation is that you cannot sin and forget it. The Holy Spirit in you is grieved when you sin. If He is grieved, there is no way you can be happy, satisfied, content, or joyful.

If you try to shove sin out the front door, it will crawl in the basement window. You may not consciously think about your sin all the time, but it will show up as a migraine headache, an irritable disposition, an inability to concentrate, or a loss of joy. There will be an inability to pray effectively. Psalm 66:18 contains a prayer promise to God’s people, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Sin in the life of a believer will shut the ears of God Your sin will be like a monkey on your back until you confess and forsake it.

Sin will not only dirty the soul and dominate the mind, but it will depress the heart. Psal 51:8 says, “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Verse 12 says, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Sin is a cause of depression in the life of a believer. It will steal your joy and make you think life is not worth living. Next week’s article will have some more roadblocks to prosperity.

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 15, 2004

THE REWARDS OF GIVING!

Our Lord promises that He will take care of us, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil4:19). Since there are over 2,000 verses in the New Testament dealing with money and physical resources, this will be a source of manipulation for the false teachers. God has promised to meet our needs, but it will be according to His word and not some concoctions of man.

One of the steps on God’s path to prosperity is given in 2nd Corinthians 9:6, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” No one needs proof of this principle. We know from experience and from scripture that we will reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow. If you sow corn, you get corn, not wheat. Whatever you want, you must sow. If you want friends, you must sow friendship. If you want money, you must sow money. If you want love, you must sow love. You can’t sow selfishness and expect to reap love.

As Paul was collecting an offering for the poor saints at Jerusalem, he taught the Corinthians about giving and the benefits of it. Verse 7 tells us how to give and also the first return on the investment of giving to God’s work, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” One result of this kind of giving is love from God. When you give from your heart, with a purpose, and cheerfully, God loves you in a special way. Why? Because God loves a cheerful giver.

Jude 1:21 says, “Keep yourself in the love of God.” There are places we can be where we experience God’s love more profoundly than in others. The obedient Christian experiences more of God’s love than the disobedient. The gracious and cheerful giver experiences more of God’s love than those who do not give or do not give with the right attitude.

In addition to a special love from God, those who give like this will reap special grace from God so that they can have all they need for every good work they attempt to do. Verse 8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
When you sow bountifully, God gives you the grace to make sure that you will reap bountifully. When you do reap like this, it enables you to give even more to the work of God. Those who give generously prove that they can be trusted by God with all the material things He gives.

Verse 10 says, “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” It is God who gives you the seed to sow in the first place. It is He who gives us bread to eat and increases our investments, both in the physical and spiritual world. God will bless us so we can turn around and give even more so we can be blessed more.

Luke 6:38 tells us the same thing, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” God promises to bless those who give generously to His work with a special love from God and generosity from God.

Another reward for giving is, “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor 9:11). When we give to God’s work, people’s needs will be met which will cause them to give thanksgiving to God. When these Jerusalem saints got this money, they would thank God for meeting their needs. The Corinthian saints generated thanks and praise to God from the Jews because they gave.

When you give money to the local church, the needs are met in that church. Souls will hear the gospel of Christ and there will be much thanks and praise to God because you gave. Every Christian should be involved in a good local church so the needs of that church will be met. Find a good church and invest in it. Since God does hold us accountable for how we use our money, make sure it is being used for the building of God’s kingdom instead of building some person’s empire.

Verses 13 and 14 give another benefit of giving, “Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.” The Jews doubted if the Corinthians were truly saved, but when this large gift came from the Corinthians to the Jews, it proved that they were genuine. This prompted the Jews to pray for them and thank God for the grace He had given to enable them to give so generously.

These Corinthians had made friends of the Jerusalem saints. They now had friends who loved and prayed for them. This giving proved that the Corinthians were doers of the Word and not hearers only. The poor saints could not do much materially for the prosperous saints at Corinth, but they could offer prayer and thanks to God for them. The prayer of a righteous man availeth much!

Verse 15 says, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” This gift given to us by God is Jesus Christ. God gave joyfully, sacrificially, and voluntarily. When we give like that, we give like God gave which proves that we are like God. The rewards of generous giving are: A special love from God: Generosity from God: Glory to God; Friends from God; and Likeness to God.

(IMMANUEL CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 22, 2004

WHAT TO DO IN DISCOURAGEMENT

There will come difficult circumstances in our lives when we do not know what to do. It will seem as though we are in darkness. These are times when there is no clear direction as to which way to go. These are times when there will be no “light at the end of the tunnel.” These are times of discouragement which will come to all of us at one time or another. It is a time of darkness either physically, socially, mentally, or spiritually.

A simple story illustrates this. Suppose a man begins a journey to a certain place. He knows where he is going and how to get there. Everything is going just fine, except for the fact that the sun is setting and the light is getting dimmer. After a while, he finds himself in complete darkness and unable to find his way. He cannot tell where the dangerous places are nor can he distinguish friend from foe. He started on his journey in light, but now he is walking in darkness. Since he does not know which way to go, he becomes discouraged. The darkness has sapped his energy, vigor, vitality, and courage.

Times of darkness will come to every person. To the non-Christian, it can be a time of evaluating his relationship with God who is the source of light. To the one who thinks he is saved, it will be a time of revealing the degree of his faith as well as a time of strengthening the faith he has.

Isaiah 50:10-11 tells us what to do and what not do in these times of discouragement and darkness, “Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.”
We know that times of discouragement and darkness are as much a part of life as the good times are. Abraham found himself in darkness when he was in the land God told him to go to and then found himself in a famine? How would he feed his family? Where would he go and what would he do? He was discouraged and in darkness. Abraham said, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll kindle a fire myself and walk in the light of it. He went to Egypt and came back with Hagar. As a result, he did lay down many nights in sorrow.

Job found himself in darkness when all the calamities came into his life. He did not know of anything he had done wrong. He believed all was right between him and God. Why were all these things happening? He was in darkness and had no idea of what he should do. He was in darkness, but he kept doing right.

What are we to do when the darkness comes? We are to just keep right on walking. If you are driving at night and the lights go out, you stop as quickly as possible. But for a child of God, when the lights go out, you keep on walking. You keep on doing those things you know are right. If it is right to pray, give, go to church, study the Bible, witness, and practice holiness when everything is going well, it is right to do these things when it seems like all is going wrong.

We are not to do right simply because we feel like doing right. We are to do right because it is right. When we live the way God wants us to live and are contented, healthy, happy, and holy, we feel the sense of the blessing of God on our lives. The time will come when we pray and feel that God does not hear nor is anywhere around. We may even feel that God does not care. We may not be able to help our “feelings” but we can help our “willings.” Christians who live by their feelings live the heathen do. We are to do right whether we feel like it or not.

When the darkness comes, we are in a test which reveals if we really trust God. The darkness will reveal what we really trust. The degree that we live by the commandments of God is the degree of our Christian maturity. We are to keep on doing those things we knew were right before the lights went out! The most common thing to do in darkness is to stop walking and begin to be controlled by our feelings instead of God’s commandments.

Principle number two is that we are not to light our own fire. That is what Abraham did when he decided to go to Egypt. He wanted to substitute his way for God’s way. He did what God said not to do. He kindled his own fire and then walked in the light of it. God has a way of doing things and man has a way of doing things. When in the dark, we must go on “automatic pilot” and trust God’s word.

Our society tells us there is a way to have happiness, peace, contentment, and fulfilment in life. They tell us to get a good education, get a good job, get a lot of money, and get a lot of material things, and then you can get happiness in life. That kind of thinking is “man lighting his own fire and walking in the light of it.” The result of living like that is given in these verses in Isaiah. He tells us, “This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.”

There are two kinds of sorrow that will be experienced by those who choose to neglect God’s way of living. They will have the sorrow of a wasted life. They cannot be and do what their Creator designed for them because they decided to light their own fire and do their own thing. They will have the sorrow of an eternity separated from God in a lake of fire. That is a high price for selfish living.

God’s way is given in Matt. 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” If we put God and His word first in our lives and live by His commandments, we will have the best possible life here with an eternity that will be more than we could ever wish or hope for. The choice is yours. Live by feeling or commandment! Walk in His light or your own. If we can be any help to you, please call us at Immanuel Church. The number is (606) 573-6839. 

(IMMANUEL CHURCH: PASTOR, Arnold Martin)

 

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 29, 2004

THE PLAGUE OF FEAR!

Fear is an emotion that can help or harm us. There are some things which we ought to have a healthy fear of, but many things produce fear because of a lack of knowledge. For example, many people were consumed with fear over the Y2K computer bug. They thought that when January 1, 2000 came, the whole economy would shut down because of computer problems, but those who understood computers knew that if there were problems they would be solved.

The greatest problem was not caused by the computers, but by the fear produced when people think of the things that could happen. Fear is a great motivator that causes people to do things they would not otherwise do. There were some people who took their money out of the banks or stock market because of fear of losing it. Fear, like the emotion of love, will motivate us to do things we would not otherwise do.

All of us face uncertainty. There is now and always has been fear about the future. No one knows when a bad doctor’s report will come or a terrorist attack will take place. We all face the prospect of accidents or illnesses which could totally change our way of life. We live with uncertainty daily. If we do not have the right scriptural knowledge, fear will be produced.

The best thing to dispel the fears which are so common to this life is given in 2nd Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” The spirit of fear does not come from God. A child of God can have the mind of Christ with the ability to read and understand God’s word which reveals God’s plan for this world which will reduce fear!

If we know God’s plan, we will know how things are ultimately going to turn out. This will prevent us from being controlled by the spirit of fear. As you learn the Bible, you began to realize that “history” is simply “His Story.” It is God working out His plan. You learn that whatever God says is going to happen will happen, and that God always brings to pass what He promises.
God promised a deliverer through the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. He fulfilled that promise when Jesus came as the Messiah. Over and over in Scripture God promises blessings for doing right and punishments for doing wrong. These promises have always been fulfilled.

God made every child of God a great promise in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” It makes no difference what comes into the life of a child of God, in the end, it will be for his good in some way. It may strengthen his faith, prepare him for some duty, reveal what is important, or cause him to love the Lord more.

God has promised to finish the work He started in us at salvation, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Our Lord does not start something and not complete it.

When we understand that God is in complete and total control of all that happens in this world, and that He is working all things according to His plan, we can live without the crippling emotion of fear. We do not know what will happen tomorrow, but we do know that there is a God in heaven who is sovereign. That means He is in complete control of all that happens in this universe. Our God is omnipotent which means he has and controls all power. He is omnipresent which means that He is everywhere at the same time. He is omniscient. That means He knows everything. He is immutable. That means He does not change.

These attributes of God would not relieve fear if it were not for His other attributes of love, mercy, justice, impartiality, and righteousness. Our God is holy. He is completely separated from anything that is sinful or not right. Christians who know God’s attributes will have the fears that cripples so many eliminated.
Everyone needs a Savior because everyone is born with a sinful nature and is in danger of hell fire. Romans 14:12 says, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Anyone who has not had his sin forgiven has a real reason to fear. He will stand before his Creator with the knowledge that he lived a life of rebellion against the known will of God. That is a good reason to have fear!

There is one fear that should be in everyone’s life, the fear of God. Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Without the fear of God, a person will have no wisdom. When we do not fear God, we will fear many other things.

Some people say they fear God but continue to live a life without submission to God’s word. In Matthew 25 is a parable that tells of a man leaving some money with his servants and going into a far country. When he came back, one of them gives his master back exactly what was left to him. His reason for not using the money to get his master gain is given in verse 25, “And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.”

That sounds like the man was being safe, but the real reason for not investing his talent is given in verse 26, “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed.” Every person is given talents, abilities, and resources that one day he will have to stand before God and give an account of how he used them.
We must be concerned about our condition when we stand before God. It would be great to hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant?” When we have the right fear of God, we do not have to fear anything else in this life!

(IMMANUEL CHURCH: PASTOR, Arnold Martin)