Wed. 5/22/13 Witnessing

Dear Father in Heaven:  Thanks for another great day, and thank You for taking care of Jeff as he did our plumbing at our home.  Thanks, Lord, for looking after us and those we love, and thanks for knowing our hearts when we are prying and we forget where we are at in the prayer.  Thanks for the night's rest and waking us to serve You again.  Please protect us from the storms in our area, and be with those who have been hurt so badly in the mid-west.  I am sorry, Lord, when we complain about little things, it sure wakes us up when we see how others have lost so much.  I love You, Lord, and pray I sleep tonight and work for You again tomorrow.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

"Pastor Dan's Safety Tip."  Kicking a tire does not tell you how much air is in it.  Get out a gauge and check them.  No gauge, purchase one.  The cost of a gauge will be paid for fast by keeping proper tire pressure.  To get the best tire wear and fuel mileage, set the tire to the maximum according to what is ON THE TIRE.  Running tires low will ruin the sidewalls.  If your tires are wearing out on both the inner and outer edge, you have been running them low on air pressure.  If they wear out in the center, too much air.  If your tires are wearing funny, like on just the outside or the inside, or getting cupped, SEE YOUR GARAGE.  If you live in this area and do not understand this, call me, I will have you stop by and help/show you how to check your tires.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is Salvation Wednesday, and it is about over until I am getting to the computer.  I am sorry, I just do not know where the days go anymore.  I confess I did not get up until 5:00 AM this morning, so I did get a late start.  Please forgive me and let me get to the message now.

Salvation Wednesday 5/22/13 - Witnessing.

John 17:17 - Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  18 As you send me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.  20 My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.  (NIV)

These words of Jesus come from the gospel of John and it is Jesus talking to His disciples and getting them ready to go out into the world.  One thing we need to be thinking about when we witness for Jesus is we are His disciples of today.  One of the beauties of Jesus and His Word, it NEVER CHANGES, however, we do.  (Hebrews 13:8)

Verse 17 - "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."  We are being told to Sanctify them, those to whom we are talking by telling them the truth, and our word must be the truth to do just that.  I do want to bring out right here that our word should always be the truth, regardless of what we are talking about.  God knows if we are telling the truth, and those who hear you talk will soon know if you do not tell the truth, and if you do not tell the truth about some things, will people believe what you say when you witness about the Lord?  Now, we do  not need to confess our past lies to anyone other than the Lord, and if we do that now, He will wash them away and give us a clean start. Please note that I use the terms we and us meaning I need the same prayers and confessions.  Please, once you confess your past to God, do not let anyone hold them against you.

Verse 18 - "As you  send me into the world, I have sent them into the world."   Jesus has been sent into the world by His Father in Heaven and He is now sending us into the world.  A lot of people might long to get into heaven, I know I look forward to it, but I am not in a hurry to get there.  This is the point I think Jesus is making, our working days are needed here on earth, if we are saved, we might long to go home, but brothers and sisters, keep working for Jesus while you are here on earth.

Verse 19 - "For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."  We know that Jesus was without sin and will always be that way.  So why then sanctify Himself?  The only reason that I could think of on this would be He is setting an example for us to follow.  You recall how Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, baptized in water. And how God talked to Jesus about being a good Son.  This of course was setting an example, but being baptized in water does not clear us of sin, we need to be baptized by the Holy Spirit and that happens when we are "Born Again."  Examples, our good Lord taught us by example land He is telling us that we need to be truly sanctified, or in my words truly cleaned of sins.  That of course can only be done by Jesus.

Verse 20 - "My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message."  You can see here that Jesus is not just praying for His disciples back then, but was praying for all those who hear the message from them.  The message of course is the "Good News" and the good news is "Salvation through Jesus."  The message back then was given to a few, who then took it out to others, and that happened over and over again until we get to our time.  So know that when we go out to witness Jesus is praying for us.  And it is all  about  Salvation, on this Salvation Wednesday (even though it took me until Thursday morning to get it done ... I could not keep my eyes open last night, sorry).

Dear Father, please bless the message and dispatch it as only you can do.  In Jesus' Name, I pray.  Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings and sharing the Salvation Message.  Be calm and truthful as you witness for Jesus.  Love Ya.  (Pass it on.)

Pastor Dan

Reminder:  Saturday, July 6th, our annual picnic in the park.  And back to sing for us again this year, the rich bass/baritone voice of Timothy Beitzel.